StoryScape #9

Stephanie Dallas became the CEO of Allwood Neighbourhood House in August 2022. Her mission is to bring people together for social support, to learn new skills, and to improve health and well-being, with a vision of a welcoming, inclusive and resilient community in which all individuals have equitable access to support, practical assistance, information, and a sense of belonging.

Keira de Hoog is the Community Development Officer at Allwood Neighbourhood House since 2023. She is also a long-term Nillumbik local, growing up in Panton Hill and loving the community and environment. As she came from a publishing background, it was a perfect fit to work together with Allwood historian, David Kerrigan to write and produce The Bridge play in 2024. Keira then co-founded The Bridge Collective, a community arts group that had its roots in The Bridge play that still meet regularly. She was also on the Board that ran the Nillumbik Festival of Stories in 2025 and she curates and helps develop the First Nations Fridays blog for Allwood House, exploring the histories and lore of the Wurundjeri people. Keira is passionate about the arts, local history, First Nations stories and events, and the environment, which is why she adores working at Allwood Neighbourhood House.

Jan Pierce was a beloved member of the Hurstbridge community and sadly passed away in early 2025. Her son Tristan Pierce lives locally in the hills of Nillumbik Shire and creates video, music and sound for a range of diverse projects. He has collaborated with The Bridge Collective team at Allwood House on projections and soundscapes for The Bridge play in 2024, and the Living History tour in 2025 as part of the Nillumbik Festival of Stories. He is currently working with them to film a short musical about Ned Kelly at Gulf Station.

Rebecca is a Hurstbridge local who used to creep around the Allwood House gardens with her children wishing it was theirs, it’s now become something of a home away from home, as they spend so much time there! Rebecca loves to dance (and still dreams of being on Young Talent Time), so she puts that energy into running No Lights No Lycra Hurstbridge and Hursty Dance Club social events. Having worked with children for 20+ years as an entertainer and photographer, she has loved facilitating Storytime & Dance for Kids at Allwood House since 2022. She is also on the Allwood Committee of Governance and a member of The Bridge Collective.

Her number one goal is to honour the creative child that she was and inspire creativity in the children she meets. She finds Allwood House to be a wonderful community and a space to bring your ideas to life.

Jean Verso is President of the Nillumbik Historical Society and the Nillumbik Cemetery Trust and school crossing guard at Hurstbridge Primary School. Charles Joseph Verso was her great grandfather, and the one who brought Allwood House from the city by horse and cart and put it together like Lego.

David Kerrigan is the Vice President of Allwood House, and local amateur historian and archivist in the History Room. He is also the Nillumbik Volunteer of the Year 2025 and on the advisory committee for the Nillumbik Arts Advisory Board.