At one stage it had looked as if the annual Paynesville New Year’s Eve fireworks would not be going ahead, however after the community rallied together it was able to host another fantastic display on Monday night.

This year the fireworks event was hosted by the newly formed Paynesville Community Events and president, Simon Ellis, says he was rapt with how the night was received.

“They were a huge success,” he said.

“There was a big turnout from the community and the crowd really got involved in it.

“There was perfect weather and for the entire night there was only one arrest.

“I spoke to one of the policemen and he said there was just over 3000 people attending.”

With the funds for the fireworks raised through the community and local businesses, Mr Ellis said the support of the community had been nothing short of outstanding.

“The support of the community was fantastic and there was more than $16,000 raised from the community and local businesses,” he said.

“The main aim was to try and keep the event running and that is exactly what we did.

“We just wanted to give people a family event with fireworks and some of the messages we received, people said it was a really good event and they were happy with how the event ran.

“As a committee we have only been together for about five weeks and to see the work we have done over five weeks finished was a real enjoyment.

“We are also looking forward to next year and we have started preparing for next year’s event already.”

PICTURED: Julian, Owen and Grace McKenna, of Glenaladale, were eager ahead of the Paynesville New Year’s Eve fireworks celebration, which kicked off at 10pm along the foreshore. The annual fireworks display drew a large crowd of around 3000 people.