Council
10 January, 2023
Tribute to Esk council stalwart
FORMER Esk Shire Councillor, Simeon Lord, who served almost four decades in local government, has passed away.
Simeon Lord, also known as Sim, was appointed to the then Esk Shire Council in August 1968, after being nominated to succeed his father Cr Alan “Bill” Lord.
He stood aside from council more than 39 years later following the amalgamation of the Shire of Esk and the Shire of Kilcoy into the Somerset Regional Council.
During his tenure, Mr Lord was a strong advocate for safe and adequate roads for people living throughout the shire.
He also served during the 10-year construction of Wivenhoe Dam in the region which is now an integral part of the South-East Queensland water grid.
Mr Lord’s dedicated service on council was officially recognised by the Local Government Association of Queensland in 2008 by then LGAQ President Councillor Paul Bell.
Sim said, at the time of his retirement from local government, that serving the community was one of his greatest achievements in life and was made more enjoyable because he had the welcoming support of his wife Jill and two children, Kate and Murray.
Somerset Mayor Graeme Lehmann paid tribute to Mr Lord’s unwavering commitment to the community.
“Sim was someone who wore his heart on his sleeve. What you saw is what you got,” Mayor Lehmann said.
“The whole time I worked with him on council, he was definitely community minded, and I would go as far as to say he put the community before himself.
“He will be missed a lot. One of his favourite things to say was ‘you have to sow a bit of sunshine right across the region’.”
