Community
24 September, 2025
50 years in Simpson
THESE Simpson residents have spent over 50 years helping shape the town into what it is today and they wouldn’t change it for anything.
Max and Helen Begely came to Simpson to start a dairy farm and found themselves involved in a large variety of community groups, building the town up from the dirt into something wonderful.
Mr Begely has been on a wide range of committees, spanning from the Simpson Hall, Lions Club, the church, Cobden Artificial Breeders and the local school.
He was on the original committee of the Simpson Hall and has been on it for over 50 years, stepping down finally last week for his daughter Sue Stevens to take the helm in his place.
“The first public meeting we had to get a hall in Simpson – we hoped to build a hall for $60,000,” Mr Begely said.
“It took probably 12 months to settle on a radius of Simpson and finance the hall, which was about $12 a year to be added onto our rates.
“When we got our first estimate, the price had gone to $90,000, which put us on the back foot for a while.”
“We called on the Otway Shire and we met the Otway councillors. On our way home we discussed the meeting, and we said we had no bloody hope of getting any money out of the Otway Shire.
“But about two or three weeks later they wrote and they said they agreed with us. That was a real boost to our confidence.”
With inflation going up, Mr Begely said the hall eventually had a plan put together with a new total of $210,000, nearly four times their original estimate.
“We had a meeting, and we met fairly often, to decide if we would go on, or pull the pin,” he said.
“I still remember that meeting – we went around the table, and it got to my spot and I said we’ll never get to this stage again.”
The committee negotiated to $205,000 and Simpson Hall was finally under construction.
Today, Mr Begely is the last standing member of the original hall committee.
Back then, Simpson was a developing town, with a school so full Simpson students often had to go to other schools outside the area.
“There were 340 kids at the Simpson school when it first opened,” Mrs Begely said.
“There’s 40-something now. It’ll break your heart.
“It was unique, the Heytesbury region, because there was nothing here.
“When we came, 13 other families came up this road in the same few weeks.
“We were like a family. As a community, how we all bonded together – there’s nothing like it.”
Mr and Mrs Begely were on the committee for the World Ploughing Competition in 1997 and joined the Lions Club after that.
Mrs Begely had high praises for her husband and his many years of volunteer services.
“After the World Ploughing Competition in Geelong, Max and I said it was time to give back to our community, Max actually said ‘I think I’ll join Lions’,” she said.
“Max is a really good leader – he’s been the president on many committees.
“Max worked very hard for the community, and he cleaned our farm up and got it going.
“That was his ambition in life – to own his own farm.
“We got the chance to get Heytesbury, get one of these, and boy oh boy, we worked to get it good.”
Mrs Begely said her and her husband have always been focused on ways they can assist their community.
“We both were and still are community-minded people,” she said.
“Our daughter Susie (Sue) is the same.
“It’s sad to see it all the way it is today.
“Back then, if you were a community person, it was a good chance to be a community leader.
“Even though we worked hard, we loved it. We still love Heytesbury.”
Mr Begely was the first treasurer for the Simpson Bowls Club and helped it become what it is today and also built a church in town.
The list of what Mr Begely contributed to Simpson is long, and now after his 91st birthday, he’s finally slowing down.
“I’ve achieved a lot,” Mr Begely said.
“Whatever I did, I enjoyed it.”
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