Meet our new columnist, Neil Reilly, former mayor of Kiama
Who I Am and Why I Write – by Neil Reilly, former mayor of Kiama
Who I Am and Why I Write, by Neil Reilly, former mayor of Kiama
If you’ve lived around Kiama for any length of time, you’ll know that community life has a rhythm of its own, part sea breeze, part conversation. I’ve been part of that rhythm for nearly 30 years now, as a resident, councillor, mayor, board member and, more recently, a writer.
My civic story began modestly, volunteering for Meals on Wheels about 15 years ago. Every delivery brought a short visit and a longer conversation. Behind those doors were people with extraordinary stories: sportspeople, doctors, farmers, writers. The meals were frozen, but their memories weren’t. That experience lit a spark in me, the idea that wisdom often waits quietly until someone knocks and asks.
That curiosity eventually led me into local government. I served on Kiama Council from 2008 until my retirement, including a term as mayor. It was a privilege that taught me far more about listening than speaking. Leadership, I discovered, isn’t about having the loudest opinion; it’s about drawing out the quiet truths in others and shaping them into action.
Before public life, I worked in advertising and media production. For decades, I ran small agencies that produced television commercials across regional Australia. That work sharpened my sense of storytelling, how to capture an idea honestly and in plain language. It also taught me that most great ideas start at the kitchen table, not in a boardroom.
In between, I also wore a different uniform. My time in the Australian Defence Force, as a young gunner with 8/12 Medium Regiment, was formative. The army teaches you many things, but the most enduring lesson is trust, in your mates, in your training, and in the idea that courage is often quiet. That understanding stayed with me throughout my civic life: trust built slowly is what keeps a community standing when everything else feels uncertain.
Later in life, I studied International Relations, which deepened another conviction, that no matter where people come from or where they end up, we share remarkably similar hopes: security, dignity, purpose, and a fair go. Those studies gave me a global frame for what I already felt locally — that connection and cooperation matter more than competition and noise.
These days, I’m happily retired from office, but not from community. I serve on the board of ITSOWEL, which supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and I founded the Tough Guys Book Club – Kiama Chapter. Despite the name, it’s a friendly mob: men of all ages meeting once a month to talk books, life, and the things that matter when you’re not pretending to be tough.
Home life keeps me grounded. My wife, Wendy, is my secret weapon — a nurse and teacher by training, a force of nature by temperament. She gives me strength, perspective, and occasionally permission. Our daughter lives with us, raising two energetic grandsons, aged one and three. They keep our house noisy, joyful, and occasionally sticky. Between the laughter, the toy cars, and the odd tantrum (sometimes mine), I’m reminded daily why community and care matter so much.
So why write?
Partly to share a lifetime of stories, partly to explore what I still don’t understand. The Illawarra has shaped me — its people, its coastline, its contradictions. Writing lets me return the favour, to hold up a mirror to the region and ask, gently, “What do we want to become?”
I don’t claim to have the answers. What I do have is curiosity, and a belief that communities, when they work together, can achieve remarkable things. If my words spark a conversation, or remind someone that we’re all in this together, that’s reward enough.
Next Friday: They Should… or We Should? Neil Reilly reflects on how the Illawarra can shape its own future: together.
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