After 16 years of dedicated service to the West Tamar community, Mayor Christina Holmdahl has announced that she will not recontest her seat at the upcoming Local Government elections in October.
In making her announcement, Mayor Holmdahl expressed her profound gratitude to the people of the municipality.
“Serving this community has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. Every challenge, every decision and every achievement have been shaped by the trust that you placed in me and in our Council,” Mayor Holmdahl said.
“During the past 16 years that I’ve served on Council, our municipality has grown stronger, become more connected to our ratepayers and forward looking.
“Together we have delivered projects that have improved the daily lives of our residents and strengthened the foundations of our future.”
Mayor Holmdahl said that the region’s progress was a collective achievement.
“Major infrastructure, enhancements to recreational and cultural amenities, support for business and economic growth, community engagements with community and environmental stewardship initiatives, were never mine alone,” she said.
“They belong to our dedicated Council staff, my fellow councillors, our community, our volunteers and most of all the people of the West Tamar, who have always shown passion, drive and a willingness to work together.”
Looking ahead, Mayor Holmdahl said she leaves the role confident in the strength of the West Tamar community and full of optimism for the region’s future.
“Thank you everyone for your support, your trust and your commitment to making the West Tamar Municipality a place that we can all be proud to call home.”
Mayor Holmdahl’s retirement from political life marks the conclusion of a distinguished chapter in a diverse, nationwide career.
After emigrating to Australia with her Polish parents in 1949, she began her career in television, film and journalism in Hobart.
She later moved to Canberra, spending 14 years in a special projects division producing extended political reports, documentaries and overseas assignments, meeting her Swedish husband Olle on one of those assignments.
This period gave her a thorough understanding of the workings of Federal Parliament and sparked a lasting interest in political advocacy.
She relocated to Adelaide, taking up a role in senior public affairs with the Australian National Railways Commission.
In February 2000, Christina, Olle and their two much-loved dogs Meggie and Lilli, moved to Clarence Point in the West Tamar.
While intending to settle into a relaxed life of retirement move, her passion for community advocacy quickly took over.
Concerned by the state of the West Tamar Highway – a road she travelled daily – she joined the Northern Ratepayers Association and successfully lobbied the State Government to remediate the Supply River section of the highway, securing a critical $3 million grant.
Driven by a desire to make a greater contribution to her newly adopted West Tamar community, she ran for council in 2009.
She was elected as a Councillor, later serving as Deputy Mayor before being elected Mayor in 2014.
During this time, she also served as President of the Local Government Association of Tasmania, and Vice-President of the Australian Local Government Association.
Alongside her role as Councillor and Mayor, she became a volunteer in the arts and small business sector.
She was the inaugural vice-chair of the Festival of Golden Words Writers Festival (now the Tamar Valley Writers Festival) and a member of the West Tamar Rotary Club, the West Tamar Arts Group, the West Tamar Chamber of Commerce, the Tamar Valley
Film Society, Tamar Valley U3A, the Kelso Fire Brigade, the Beaconsfield Rural Fire Service and the Australian Independent Retirees Northern Tasmania branch.
She also helped establish the National Rose Garden at Woolmers Estate in Longford, and served on the board for the Adelaide Rose Festival.
In recognition of her contributions to the local government sector and the broader community, Mayor Holmdahl was inducted into the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women in 2023.
“To be inducted into the Roll and recognised for my work was incredibly rewarding and I hope that my story will inspire women of all ages to work for the things that they are passionate about,” she said.