15 December 2022

Three little Riverina artists to feature on the federal member's Christmas card

15 December 2022 | Chris Roe

Member for Riverina Michael McCormack looking through more than 1300 entries. Photo: Supplied.

Estella Public School student Lyra Tenison has been declared the winner of Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack’s annual Christmas drawing competition.

The winner will feature on Mr McCormack’s annual Christmas card that is sent out to community members and other politicians.

The eight-year-old’s drawing features a Christmas koala cruising on the water, and Mr McCormack said it had perfectly captured the theme Christmas in my Back Yard.

The winning entry, drawn by year 2 student Lyra Tenison from Estella Public School. Photo: Michael McCormack.

“The judges had a tough time picking a winning entry from so many good designs, but Lyra’s surfing koala was deemed the standout in a quality field,” he said.

Now in its ninth year, the competition attracted more than 1300 entries from students in kindergarten, year 1 and year 2 across the Riverina and Central West.

“Regional Australians have had a tough few years with drought, COVID-19 and floods testing the resilience of Riverina and Central West communities,” Mr McCormack said.

“Considering these challenges, I was delighted to see so many entries submitted to my annual Christmas card drawing competition.”

Runner-up entry, drawn by Murrumburrah Public School Year 2 student Liam Beal. Photos: Michael McCormack.

Liam Beal from Murrumburrah Public School was the runner-up and Anna Gleeson from St Joseph’s School in Lockhart earned third prize.

All three finalists will have their work featured on Mr McCormack’s 2022 Christmas card.

“The three winning entries will each receive a book prize, and every student who submitted a drawing will receive a participation certificate,” he said.

“Thank you to each and every student for taking the time to enter the competition and thank you, also, to the participating schools’ staff for supporting the competition and ensuring a little more Christmas spirit is shared throughout our communities.”