Albany Creek path name honours Kevin Couch

A walking path through an Albany Creek park will be named in honour of a man renowned for connecting the local community.

Moreton Bay Regional Council last week voted in favour of naming the pathway through Cowrie Parade Park after resident Kevin Couch.

The request for Council to name a walkway honouring Mr Couch was supported by a petition with 50 signatures and nine individual letters of recommendation.

In January, Mr Couch received a Moreton Bay Australia Day Community Spirit Award for his volunteer work organising community events and connecting people in his neighbourhood.

Organising events

His twice-daily strolls around his Albany Creek neighbourhood during COVID-19 lockdowns sparked a series of morning teas and a festive barbecue in December, creating a unique sense of community in the suburb.

The 89-year-old chats with everyone he meets on his walks, which sparked the idea of hosting regular morning teas on public holidays in local parks around the neighbourhood.

To promote the events, he drops invitations into local letterboxes, makes signs to hang in the park and writes in chalk on the park’s footpath – with one morning tea attracting more than 100 neighbours.

Councillors voted unanimously to endorse naming the path “Kevin’s Way” and to install a history board in conjunction with pathway signs to explain Mr Couch’s connection to the area.

The proposal will now be released for public comment before it is officially endorsed.