The newest recipients of the honour were Margaret Ashelford, James ‘Jim’ Buchan, Frederick Collett, Wendy Jenkins, Debbie Lynch-Benham, Iain McPherson and Norah Taylor. 

Each recipient was presented with a framed certificate on stage during the main Proclamation Day ceremony around the flagstaff in Bicentennial Park. 

Mayor Graeme Hanger, who was one of the original 200 Living Legends, said the newest inductees were all incredibly worthy of the title. 

“It is a wonderful group of people who have given so much vigour, energy and commitment to Bathurst,” he said. 

The 2017 Living Legends will have trees planted and named in their honour along Bradwardine Road, where the other 209 recipients of the title are recognised in the same fashion. 

Mr McPherson earned the title for his contributions in the areas of culture, community and education. 

He felt honoured to be named a Living Legend.

“It is an honour to be recognised among the many people who contribute,” he said.

“There is something special about regional communities and the sense of belonging we get from being part of the community and contributing to it.

“As all of us move about the community, we’re surrounded by our past and present and we work for the future we want to live in.” 

Fellow inductee Wendy Jenkins, who was honoured for her contributions to sport and creative and performing arts, said it was lovely to be included among so many people she knew in the community. 

“I was as nervous as anything,” she said. “It is so far out of my comfort zone, getting awards like this, but it was lovely.” 

As the Living Legends were recognised on stage, they were watched by a crowd of dignitaries, family members and the wider community. 

They enjoyed a ceremony that not only marked the contributions of the living, but acknowledged the history of the city they were representing. 

Members of the Wiradjuri community were included in the formal proceedings and truly showed how far Bathurst had come since the days of settlement. 

Elder Dinawan Dyirribang said it best when he spoke of how the bicentenary Proclamation Day celebrations in 2015 had allowed the community to “move together as two peoples”, recognising the past and bettering the future. 

“We want our culture to be part of Bathurst’s culture, too, with everything it has and shares with people,” he said.