Frank Martin

This plaque is located at 40 Curdie St.

Frank and Jocelyn Martin arrived in Cobden in 1995 after buying the local hardware store from the Parlour family but hard work didn’t stop within the considerable boundaries of Martin’s Hardware.

Right from the outset and fully supported by Jocelyn, Frank took on several community roles that assisted Cobden organisations and the whole town to progress in many ways.

This was no surprise because he came to Cobden with the very best experience in project management. With a background in engineering, Frank had already given 30 years of great service to the State Electricity Commission in Melbourne and across the Gippsland region – in very significant positions.

Frank was soon involved in groups like Progressing Cobden (the Chamber of Commerce), the Rotary Club of Cobden, Cobden District Health Services (Cobdenhealth) and Cobden Civic Hall – not just as a mere member but as a committed volunteer prepared to go the ‘extra yard’.

Over 28 (unfinished) years, he has held most executive positions in these organisations – chair of both Rotary and the Health Service but also in the high-intensity roles of secretary and treasurer with all four groups. Needless to say, Frank has a great head for detail and figures.

Highlights are many but an observer might talk up the development of the warm water pool/fitness centre, coordinating Rotary’s New Year’s Eve extravaganza for 19 years, overseeing all Progressing Cobden’s activities from a financial perspective, leading the Lake Cobden revitalisation program and the Civic Hall facility upgrade as stand-outs – but you may still get an argument about his many other achievements. Frank’s CV, in Cobden alone, is incredibly impressive.

Understandably, acknowledgements are also many – like the Corangamite Shire Citizen of the Year (2014), a Federation Medal awarded for community service for the celebration of the Centenary of Federation, a Paul Harris Fellowship and Avenues of Service Awards from Rotary and the Dan Tehan MP community service award.

Although Frank and Jocelyn have taken a step back from the hardware industry in recent years, their interest and dedication to the Cobden cause has not waned. Frank has just got Cobden over the line as a RV Friendly Town and his support for new and ongoing Progressing Cobden, Cobdenhealth, Rotary and Civic Hall projects continues at a great pace. If he had a dollar for every grant application he has written over the years, he would be a very wealthy man.

At one time during his State Electricity Commission career, Frank held the title of CEO of Generation Victoria. When he arrived in Cobden, he certainly did not lose his capacity to generate ideas, initiatives and projects of all types.