By Jaidyn Kennedy
On the King’s Birthday, Walter Villangonzalo was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to the Wyndham community.
Since arriving in Australia in 1988, the Hoppers Crossing resident and former deputy mayor has certainly left his mark.
“We moved here in 1988 and I originally got involved with Filipino and migrant communities,” Mr Villangonzalo said.
Making good money in his profession, he decided to follow a path that valued a different form of currency.
“I chose to do volunteer work because I love the feeling of being useful,“ he explained.
His decision involved some sacrifice.
“Being a volunteer, I was spending a lot of time and missing a lot of family dinners in order to support the community,” he said.
Which is what makes the recognition special.
“To me it’s just recognition and acknowledgment of work and service that’s been done. It means a lot to me, especially since I am getting this as a full time volunteer.”
The journey of a migrant is seldom simple.
“I brought my family back to the Philippines after 12 years, and as a migrant I still felt like I still didn’t belong,” Mr Villangonzalo said.
“[My children said] But dad, we are Australians, so we had to make a decision.”
“That’s why I ran for council five times, to help out with migrant rights.”
Before he stepped into the council chambers in 2016, Mr Villangonzalo was already well known.
“In 2015, I fell from a trailer and broke my leg, and then I spent six months in a wheelchair, but I still volunteered by supporting asylum seekers.”
He did that through the Migrant Hub, a social enterprise he founded in 2009 to help newly arrived migrants assimilate into Australian society.
For his assistance to those in need while ambulant himself, he was named the 2015 Wyndham Citizen of the Year.
More than two decades into his volunteer journey, Mr Villagonzalo decided to breathe new life into the community– quite literally.
In 2021, he founded the Canopy Accelerator Cooperative to address the low rates of trees and canopy coverage in Wyndham and the western suburbs more broadly.
“I saw there was a gap that wasn’t being met,” Mr Villagonzalo said.
The social enterprise, for which he still volunteers, grows trees so that other organisations can purchase them for their own canopy increasing initiatives.
Having been involved in agribusinesses in the Philippines that helped grow vegetables on lands devastated by volcanic eruptions, Wyndham has also benefitted from Mr Villagonzalo’s sharp mind and green thumbs.
“After my term in council, we started the cooperative so that groups Vicroads, council and Melbourne Water can use the trees we plant,” he said.
“What are they going to use if no one is growing the seeds?”
Trees aren’t the only thing growing.
“We saw the growth–and we are now ready to scale and pitch the company to other councils.”
Rotary, Hoppers Crossing Neighbourhood Watch and Weerama are just a few of the many organsiations Mr Villagonzalo has lent his hand to over the years
Of his journey he said “I have no regrets, I feel like I have served my purpose.”
