Kingsley Klau - a little about me and,

Why you would vote for me:

About Me:

I was born in Ceduna, South Australia and settled in my current home in the older part of Warnbro in 1995, after purchasing the land 700 meters from Beach in 1987.  At the time I was encapsulated by the opportunity it live in the area after considering other possible locations in Australia.

I joined the Navy at 16 years of age at the then HMAS Leeuwin as a Junior Recruit.  My initial Navy service completed in 1995 rising the non-commissioned rank of Warrant Officer. I saw War Service in the Gulf War in 1990/91.

I went onto gaining a Commission as a Naval Officer in 2003 whilst undertaking contracted Navy service.

In 1999 I was employed as an Accommodation Assessor for RACWA, inspecting and reporting on all styles of tourist accommodations for this amazing state of WA.  I travelled from Kununurra to Eucla in the role over the three years of involvement. This engagement provided me with a tremendous insight to tourism and the tourism industry.

In January 2006, I opened a new business: PhotoCoffee
Rockingham at that time had no dedicated coffee shop and combining this with photography services made for a unique outlet.
Being his first foray into business, it was a huge learning experience, employing several staff and engaging strongly into the community.

Today I remain as a professional photographer in a reduced capacity, photographing specialist events and commissions for selective clients.

I remain as one of the photographers for the City of Rockingham. This has allowed me tremendous insight to the differing activities and infrastructure of this great city.

In mid 2006, I founded the Rockingham Photography Club, that went onto being one of the largest WAPF (Western Australia Photography Federation) Affiliated Camera Club in Western Australia.  Clubs bring like-minded camera enthusiast together to share their imagery, develop skills and enjoy fellowship. 

In 2010 I was voted in as the President of the WAPF - a 2 year position.  During this time I initiated new clubs, reinvigorated older clubs, updated competitions and built the club base to double the overall Western Australian club membership. I was again voted as President for the 2016-18 years.

During this time I initiated and had printed the book ‘WAPF Affiliated Clubs - A Snapshot - 2017’, celebrating 100 years of the WAPF and made available to all 40 WAPF Affiliated Camera Clubs at the time.

In addition I have been the tutor and sponsor for a local PhotoVoice competition in conjunction with the City of Rockingham - engaging school students, adults and others to photograph in line with ‘Act-Belong-Commit’ and has seen how this competition has effected people’s life in a positive way.

During 2015, I volunteered my time to photograph WW2 Veterans. 

Called ‘Reflections’, undertaken by the then AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photographers) and was the largest photographic project ever undertaken in Australia. I photographed over 60 WA Veterans and now these images, along with 6,500 others were published into a book held in the National Library and images now form a visual and story collection in the Australian War Memorial.

During these and subsequent years I been involved with and supported major local events, including:

1. •Musselfest
   

2. •The Long Table Lunch,
   

3. •Rockingham Beach Cup
   

4. •Book publications showcasing this amazing place.
   

On the 24th December, 2015 - I (sadly) closed the shop-front in Rockingham after a 10 year tenure and moved my business activities to home.  Whilst this allowed me to concentrate strongly in improving his skills and provide more personal service to his clients, I was saddened to close, forced by an over-zealous property owner.

In 2018 I took a call to consider further Naval Service.  This service commenced in early 2019.  Prior to this call I had been engaged with Defence for more that 28 years in both full-time and part-time service, however it was now nearly 14 years since my last Navy employment.
Keen, I undertook severals roles that i not only relished, but it allowed me to broaden my skills.

Several of these roles included:

1. •Senior Management of a Submarine Logistics Team
   

2. •HR Manager for Fleet Support Unit-West
   

3. •Catering Manager for HMAS Stirling
   

My time with Defence completed on the 31st January 2023.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why you would consider a vote for me:

My key - interests - though not limited to - lay in the following areas:

1. •Support for current and past Defence personnel toward the upcoming Defence Veterans HUB:
   

2. Rockingham has been identified as the location for a new Defence Veterans HUB with the design/creation being developed by RSL-WA.  The proposed location of this HUB is important, along with how the HUB will co-exist in the community.  I will be following this progress with great interest and be active in any City of Rockingham involvement whilst communicating strongly with key stake holders.
   

3. LINK to current information.
   

4. •Matters of Health and Health Education/Mental Health:
   

5. Rockingham is a lifestyle location of significance, with a broad demographic of people living in the location.  My health support focus is on preventative health. This comes in the form of mental health initiatives, dietary and physical considerations. 
   

6. I am keen to support ‘Health Cafe’s’ and Community Well-being Hubs and events.  I am currently involved in creating photographic walks to engage the environment and absorb the beauty of nature both naturally and through the lens - this being one of many ideas for betterment of health and well-being.
   

7. Another interest of mine is making Rockingham a destination of choice for Medical Education.  I am an active Parkrun Runner.
   

8. Rockingham is an attractive destination for learned and highly qualified medical practitioners to live from around the world, thus opening the scope to develop/teach and engage in specialist medical fields.  Rockingham could quite possibly be the ‘silicon valley’ of health.
   

9. •Sustainability:
   

10. I recently completed a two week Permaculture Design Course (Jan 23) where the focus is on Earth Care/People Care and Fair Share.  The concept looks toward the longevity of our environment through waste management, gardening techniques and building design.  If we are to have a world for our children to enjoy, we need to act now to understand how we can better integrate these concepts into the City of Rockingham’s future development.
    

11. Grow your own, community gardens and waste management are of keen interest to me.
    

12. •The Arts:
    

13. Public art reflects a community and its surroundings toward expressing the values and an elevated sense of awareness for community members and visitors. Aspects that value-add:
    * Economic Growth - Public and community art leads to increased foot traffic that benefits local businesses.
    

14. * * Cultural Identity - Artwork aids to express a community’s values and creates a raised sense of awareness for both community members and visitors.
    

15. * * Sense of Belonging - Art has the ability to bring people together. Displayed art in the community, accessible to everyone inspires engagement and a feeling of belonging to a community.  Note for example Silo Art and the impact on community and tourism.
    

16. * * In summary - Investment in art and public art can improve street safety, provide tourism, create new jobs, combat social isolation and improve anxiety. There are many visual art opportunities that are yet to be tapped into - I would love to see a stronger focus in this area.
    

17. •Multiculturalism:
    

18. Rockingham, as with many Western Australian locations has a very diverse population. A focus on multiculturalism offers many benefits, including cultural enrichment, creativity and innovation, improved social cohesion, improved perspectives and understanding, along with improved tolerance and acceptance.
    

19. Engaging the different cultures within our community through themed markets, food, dancing, events amongst others will all add to these benefits. 
    

20. •Tourism:
    Given the location of Rockingham on the coast, along with other tourism destinations along the fringes of the city, we are open to broad tourism opportunities. Many terrific events are engaged already - for example the Rockingham Beach Cup attracting visitors from far and wide.  Many opportunities abound - especially - but not limited to water activities.  By supporting agencies, clubs, organisations and businesses toward creating or enhancing opportunities for the City of Rockingham and community, we can ensure Rockingham is a destination of desire.
    I also strongly support upgrades of Cape Peron as a Coastal Nature Park with walk and cycle access, preserving nature whilst providing gentle community leisure access.
    

21. •Youth and Seniors:
    

22. Rockingham’s future and learned population. 
    

23. The Youth of Rockingham are our future leaders, business owners, workers and community.  Engaging youth allows them a voice, but also a sense of belonging.  Once this is established youth are such a positive influence into the community, they advocate, care and energise the city to the betterment of all.
    

24. The awarded Rockingham Youth Centre is a terrific concept - a inclusive space meeting point that encourages youth to engage, hang out and put forward ideas.  This concept I strongly endorse - such great things happen here. 
    

25. If you can then combine the knowledge of the past - the Seniors, who are well established/embedded in Rockingham and also form a large portion of the communities volunteer population, they can speak to the youth of life and how a concept may work.  It would be terrific to connect the two - I feel many great outcomes could be developed through this collaboration.
    

I am truly grateful to be living in the city of choice, and aim to ensure the the quality of lifestyle is not only maintained, but improved through initiatives that attract and sustain our amazing city.