Just 12 names currently grace the honour board near the entrance of the Bathurst Regional Council chambers, but that is set to change. 

As part of Bathurst’s bicentenary celebrations next year, council has announced plans to add to the region’s list of honorary citizens.

And it’s only right that the community has its say on who deserves the honour.

The criteria are quite broad – the person must not be a citizen of Bathurst, but must embody all that is good about the region and promote the city. And that is why the motor racing fraternity already features so prominently among the current honorary citizens.

Peter Brock, Allan Moffatt, John Hinxman and John Reid have strong links to Mount Panorama, and Craig Lowndes and Ivan Stibbard have been early nominees to join them on the honour board.

Dick Johnson, Mark Skaife and Jim Richards – among others – will also likely come under consideration, but we must also look beyond the Mount Panorama circuit.

Charles Sturt University is another key Bathurst employer that has greatly shaped the city we live in now.

Former vice chancellor Professor Ian Goulter drove much of the expansion of CSU and is sure to be part of the discussion as well.

The region’s choice of honorary citizens will not only say something about where Bathurst has been, but also where we see ourselves going.

It’s a worthy bicentenary project being undertaken, and it will be fascinating to see how it unfolds.