Carradin Blyth is a lifelong Werribee resident who last year took on the mantle of chairperson of the Wyndham Relay for Life fundraiser. He sat down with Charlene Macaulay to talk about his childhood, relay and what he would do if he was mayor.
What is your connection to Wyndham?
I’ve lived in the area since 1977, when I was born at the old Werribee Hospital. Bruce Downing delivered me, as he did with a lot of locals! My nan used to say if you’re not born in Werribee, then you’re not a true local.
My family has got a lot of history here because my great-grandparents were market gardeners down at Werribee South.
What are your childhood memories of Werribee?
The biggest childhood memory is that Werribee was more of a country town. I could ride my bike to school and then we’d ride it down the river or to the pool, you’d stop at Captain Chook on the way home and get your hot chips and by the time you got home your parents would always know where you’d been and where you’d stopped and what you had done.
You could pretty much walk down the main street and if people weren’t relatives, then they were a family friend. Now you can walk down the main street of Werribee and not know anybody, which is not bad either!
What kept you here as an adult?
It was a place that I wanted to bring my kids up in. It still has that country town feel to it. Having all the attractions that we’ve got, there’s so much for the kids to do.
How did you meet your wife Belinda?
My wife is from Montmorency, and she didn’t even know where Werribee was when we first met. We met at a mate’s 21st birthday out in Eltham, and she invited me to her 21st birthday the next weekend and I went along, to her surprise, and we’ve been together ever since. We’ve got Lily, who’s 15, and Jade, who’s 21.
You’re chairperson of Wyndham Relay for Life, why did you take on the role?
I suppose it was the committee who approached me. I was really blown away because I’d only been on the committee for two years. We’ve all got our own personal reasons to relay, but I just wanted to do that little bit more.
What’s your favourite Wyndham location for a meal?
Our favourite at the moment is Shadowfax. We ride our bikes along the river and follow the trail and then we go out near the K Road cliffs and cut across to Shadowfax and we generally have a nice pizza outside and a glass of wine doesn’t go astray!
If you could change something about the area, what would it be?
If I became mayor, I would transform Station Place and have that as it is with the pop-up park with no cars and have all the retail shops in there as cafes and restaurants. I’d bring the old cinema back, and really have that as a happening place – similar to Yarraville, how they’ve got the Sun Theatre and the street blocked off and the wine bar across the road and the bookstore next door and all the cafes.
