Bruce Wadeson appointed first manager of Leith Park

Local Diamond Valley man Bruce Wadeson was an obvious choice to become the first manager of Leith Park. He was local and well connected.

He was appointed in 1972, and stayed for 13 years saying: “You’ve got work for the OCAV to realise how good an organisation it is.”

From the start, Wadeson was determined to connect the new village and its residents more fully into the local community. When he arrived, there was only one resident from the local area. Many residents in 1972 had come up from Rushall Park, and with no links to the area felt quite isolated. By the time he left, around 50 per cent of the residents were from the area.

Wadeson had managed the local Diamond Creek fruit shop for many years, and knew many of the residents and Leith Park when he arrived due to delivering fruit and vegetables to the village.

One of his first initiatives was to build up a staff of local people from Diamond Creek, Eltham and Greensborough. His reasoning – that it would inject money into the local economy and to bring more elderly residents into the village – has withstood the test of time.

As manager, his job knew no boundaries. He had to change light globes, fill in tax forms, provide a listening ear, interview prospective residents and collect the fortnightly maintenance payments from the residents.