Baton passes to community

CRANBOURNE is gearing up for the arrival of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay early next month.
The City of Casey will provide an integral link in the world’s longest, most inclusive relay when it passes through Cranbourne on Thursday, 2 March.
With less than a month to go until the opening Commonwealth Games ceremony, Casey mayor Kevin Bradford said the event was a unique opportunity for locals to join in the celebrations.
“Significant planning has been undertaken to ensure the relay is a remarkable success and the Casey community should be both excited and proud that the Queen’s Baton Relay will travel through our vibrant municipality,” he said.
“I encourage residents to watch this fantastic spectacle and cheer on our local relay runners as the Queen’s Baton passes schools, public halls, Cranbourne’s main shopping precinct and other local attractions,” he said.
The Casey route of the Melbourne 2006 Queen’s Baton Relay starts at the Casey Indoor Leisure Complex on Berwick-Cranbourne Road about 11am.
It then passes Cranbourne primary and secondary schools, Cranbourne Public Hall before travelling along High Street and Sladen Street, past J&P Cam Reserve and Cranbourne Park Primary School.
The Baton is then taken by car to Endeavour Drive at approximately 11.45am, passing near St Therese’s and Lyndhurst Secondary College before being driven into the City of Greater Dandenong.
The Queen’s Baton enters Casey from Phillip Island, travelling via Koo Wee Rup and Cardinia, progressing through Cranbourne and Cranbourne North, on to Dandenong and Mentone, following along Port Phillip Bay to Frankston.
Several high-profile personalities and community members have been selected to participate in the relay.
Casey’s local relay runners include Jessica Abernathy, of Berwick, Jocelyn Blows, of Cranbourne East, Lichelle Clarke, of Cranbourne North, Allyson Croxford, of Berwick, David Cunningham, of Cranbourne, John Dunscombe, of Narre Warren South, and Olivia Stanley, of Cranbourne.
For more information, contact the City of Casey’s events team on 9705 5200 or visit the council’s website at www.casey.vic.gov.au/commonwealthgames.