Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to pay tribute to two lions of my community that we have recently lost.

Jimmy Frangos put Daylesford on the map as a food destination. The Frangos family arrived from Greece when Jimmy was just a little boy and spent their first years after their arrival in Geelong and Warrnambool. After majoring in fine arts at RMIT and then being conscripted to serve in Vietnam, Jimmy married his wife, Dianne, in 1968, and they raised their three daughters in Daylesford and in Ballarat. Their hospitality venues in Ballarat included the French Bakehouse, Cottage Kitchen, Cafe Pazzani, Cocos and the Ansonia. Everyone of a certain age in Ballarat would have very fond memories of at least one of these venues. In 1996, the family developed Frangos and Frangos in Daylesford, and they later developed Koukla. With its open fire, its large shared table, its stylish design and its European menu, Frangos and Frangos immediately made its mark on Daylesford. Jimmy also operated the Swiss Mountain Hotel in Blampied, which is one of Victoria's oldest weatherboard pubs and a simply beautiful country venue.

Jimmy was a builder, a designer and an artist, but more than anything else he was an iconic frontman. He was always ready for a chat and always welcoming, and he was an entrepreneur, a prolific rose gardener and a genuinely lovely person who will be very sadly missed. Jimmy is survived by his wife, Dianne, and his three beautiful daughters, Petra, Bianca and Melia. I want to say to them: we're really sorry that we've lost Jimmy. Vale, Jimmy Frangos.

Graeme Johnstone was a pillar of the Clunes community. He was born in Warrnambool in 1946, and the family had a dairy farm near Allansford. Graeme trained as a cadet midshipman and spent two years in Plymouth at the Manadon Royal Naval Engineering College before finishing his degree at RMIT. Through his distinguished naval career, Graeme served on a number of ships and ferried Australian troops to and from Vietnam. He became a teacher—in fact, he taught my husband—transforming children's lives by creating space for them to express themselves through theatre. He also had a great love of rugby. He formed a deep involvement with and love of the Croydon rugby club, playing until he was 50.

He arrived in the Gold Rush town of Clunes in 1997. With his wife, June, he opened the Dukes B&B, which soon became a popular destination with its spectacular cooked breakfasts. Together with the late Michael Cheshire, Graeme established the now internationally recognised Clunes Booktown, and after being inspired by his wife's pottery he started the Clunes Ceramic Award. He also served on the Hepburn regional tourism board and as president of the Clunes Tourism and Development Association.

My condolences go out to Graeme's family, especially June, Kylie, Kate and Andrew. Our region has lost a wonderful community activist. His legacy will continue. He was someone I was very proud to call a friend. We've lost really beautiful human beings in both these people.