King's Birthday: Honours recipients from Border and North East revealed

The 2023 King's Birthday honours list includes:

When people meet John Dermer, they always ask what he did before pottery.

Most are surprised when he tells them he's made a living for 56 years from his hands.

Mr Dermer has been honoured on the King's Birthday list with an OAM for his service to creative arts as a ceramicist, which he said was important for the art form in Australia.

"Ceramics in Australia is usually treated as a hobby. It will give due respect to Australian ceramics," he said.

"Australia is probably one of the countries that least respects ceramics as an art form, because we don't have a tradition. Asia and Europe have got traditions going back thousands of years, whereas we don't have that."

Mr Dermer has had three retrospective exhibitions to showcase his work, including A Life in Clay, his first major display in the Albury-Wodonga region, this year, but said he couldn't have done what he has without the support of his wife, Shirley.

"I could have given up many times, because it's simply just too hard, and without her, I wouldn't have got this far," he said.

"The National Gallery of Victoria recognised my work in 2019 with a retrospective that ran for six months.

"I had the exhibition and the retrospective in Wodonga this year. I've been here just 50 years and to have it represented locally was wonderful."

Mr Dermer said he took great pride in his commission of ceramics for the Prime Minister's office and cabinet room entrance at Parliament House in Canberra in 1987 and 1988.

"They are in the most important few square metres in this country for the decisions that affect people. It's a very wonderful spot to have them," he said.

"Everybody who goes to Parliament House, whether it be the Prime Minister of India or the Queen, they always went past my pots and often would touch them. It concerned the curators initially, but I designed the rims of the pots so people would run their hands on them."

A passion for local government burns strongly in Denise Knight.

The former Hume Shire and Greater Hume Council mayor's service to the community has been recognised with an OAM as part of the King's Birthday honours list.

Mrs Knight was elected to Hume Shire in 1987, and was mayor when it was proposed parts of Hume would be taken over by Albury Council in the early 2000s, which led to a community campaign.

A vote was held and a staggering 97 per cent of residents voted 'no', before it eventually became Greater Hume Council when it joined with Holbrook and Culcairn.

She spent 18 years as director of Apprenticeship Trainees Employment Limited, now known as Squad, and 24 years with the NSW Department of Family and Community Services, in housing.

"I'm just so pleased that our communities worked with us on the things we wanted to achieve. I think that makes you proud when you've got your community backing you and understanding the decisions we're making and getting involved in them.

"I was lucky enough to have employment that I love. The best job I've ever had in my life was for the last 14 years before I retired and to have 33 years in local government was an absolute honour also."

Mrs Knight said she also took great pride in her involvement with the Woomargama Hume Highway bypass, opened in 2011.

Activities, programs and projects like that are once in a lifetime things," she said.

"You learn so much from those sorts of interactions with people you wouldn't normally. I would never have become that involved with highway development and things like that."

The former deputy and mayor of Hume Council and Greater Hume's inaugural mayor said she owed a lot to her mother, who raised two children in the late 1940s into the 1950s.

"My mum passed away last year at 97. She was an amazing woman, she led in so many instances," Mrs Knight said.

"I wish she was with us to see this. She'd always ask 'Denise, why aren't you getting an OAM?', so it's just amazing."

Yarrawonga's Lee Powell enjoys helping people in need.

That's exactly what he's done for the past 25 years for the Moira Shire community, largely through FoodShare.

A foundation member of Moira FoodShare in 1998, Mr Powell will be recognised with an OAM for his service on the King's Birthday.

He also helped to start up a community opportunity shop at Yarrawonga in 2008 and volunteered there for 10 years.

"I always say you do something because you love doing it, not to win awards. It's very overwhelming," Mr Powell said.

"You don't do all this on your own. It's the people that work with you as volunteers, they're just magic.

"All of the people I've worked with have been fantastic. We all work together and get things done and we're still doing that at FoodShare.

"We spent quite a bit of time during the pandemic taking food to people. It's just a job that has to be done."

Mr Powell said the demand for the service had ramped up again this year as more and more people struggled with the cost of living.

He has been a member of several other community groups including Probus, Legacy Ladies, Friends in Common and the Yarrawonga and District Community Car project, as well as 10 years as social club president for Mulwala Football and Netball Club.

At 83, he said he was ready to step aside and see a new generation of volunteers carry on the good work at Moira FoodShare.

The preservation of creative pastimes at Tumbarumba can largely be put down to the efforts of Anne Thoroughgood.

A founding member and volunteer curator since 1985 of the town's Pioneer Women's Hut Museum will receive an OAM on the King's Birthday for service to the social history of women in rural areas.

Ms Thoroughgood also helped to start the Heritage Quilt Room exhibition within the museum, and the recent addition of the Button Hut, launched in 2022.

She was a founding member and part of the committee of nearby Glenroy Cottage Crafts from 1978 and been part of the Glenroy Heritage Reserve committee where the Pioneer Women's Hut Museum is situated since 1980.

A National Quilt Register volunteer since 1995, Ms Thoroughgood helped compile information for the book Memories of My Mother: Recollections of Everyday Life of Rural Women in the Tumbarumba District, 1850-1950, in 1990.

Ms Thoroughgood offered up her time from 1988 to the early 1990s as volunteer coordinator and driver as part of Tumbarumba's community transport initiative.

Vietnam War veteran Gary Treeve's motto has always been "if I can save just one from falling through the cracks, then I have achieved my objective" and it continues to be his mission.

The Wodonga man who served in the Australian Defence Force for 20 years now helps others who have struggled to transition back into civilian life.

His volunteer efforts spanning more than two decades with the Department of Veterans Affairs' peer health program have seen him recognised with an OAM on the King's Birthday.

"I find being a veteran myself that I can relate to their issues, which is very rewarding," he said.

"They miss the camaraderie with their mates and their communication with them as different to communicating on Civvy Street.

"Some of them, unfortunately, do fall through the cracks and sadly we have a situation where we have quite a lot of homeless veterans and also suicidal veterans, which is very distressing.

"Sadly, over the years of volunteering, I've had a number of emails from sub-branches to say someone has passed away and I've found out later that it was from suicide."

The Albury RSL sub-branch member and former Murray Border Association of Vietnam Veterans president continues to give up his time to ensure veterans and their families are looked after.

"I'm very humbled by it to be recognised for something that I really enjoy doing," he said.

Plenty of families have found it difficult to put food on the table, but there's a fair chance Frank Wallace has helped make life a little easier.

A foundation member of Moira FoodShare and volunteer since 2004, Mr Wallace helped to transform the service from what started as a shopfront in Cobram to a large warehouse to cater for those in need.

His service to the community through a range of roles will be recognised on the King's Birthday with an OAM.

"It was one of the original ones to start in the area back in the time of the 2004 drought. We were helping to support the farmers and other people associated with the industries," he said.

"Over the latter years, it certainly exploded. It's quite a big organisation now.

"We've opened branches in Finley, which caters for people as far as Deniliquin and Jerilderie, there's one in Tungamah and Nathalia. We do have quite a good connection with Albury Wodonga Regional FoodShare where we can exchange products that they may not get and that helps the situation quite a lot."

Mr Wallace took on the role of warehouse foreman and helped secure a new four-tonne truck through community funding.

"It's not a one-way thing. You gain a lot of experience and it's great to see the expression on people's faces when you hand the food out to them," he said.

"We've had such a good team of volunteers who are more deserving of the award than myself I think."

The 90-year-old recently took a step back from his duties, but will always cherish the friendships he has made through FoodShare.

Simon Warrender has always considered Falls Creek home.

Born and raised in Melbourne, his connection to the mountain runs deep.

The Falls Creek ski instructor and public art commission convenor is thrilled to be acknowledged with an OAM as part of the King's Birthday honours for his service to arts and the community.

Mr Warrender, the founder and executive director of the Melbourne Prize Trust and annual Melbourne Prize since 2004 helped with the Flower of the Alpine Sun project, a sculpture by Giovanni Veronesi to be installed at Falls Creek as part of a viewing platform.

"The commission that I put together with the management committee is going ahead, which is fantastic. It's a tourism asset and my hope with that is it'll be an icon for the village," he said.

"It will be unique and hopefully gives Falls Creek a local, national and international profile."

Mr Warrender was also part of the project group behind the Alexander Warrender Memorial Ski Patrol Base in 1990, in honour of his late brother who died in a car crash when leaving the mountain in 1976.

"The ski patrol plays a big role and they're such a great group of people. They've kept my brother's memory alive," he said.

"My brother and my father's ashes have been spread at Falls Creek. My mother, who's in her late 90s, and in fabulous form, also wants to have her ashes on the mountain.

"I feel very fortunate to have this award for that and other work that I've done."

Thurgoona's Rosalie Wilson offered to lend a hand at little athletics when her eldest son started in the early 1990s.

Almost 30 years later, she's still involved in the sport and has been recognised with an OAM for her dedicated service.

"It was convenient for me, my husband used to work night shifts, so he couldn't make it to sport, so it was handy having three kids at the same spot at the same time rather than having to trip off to different sports," she said.

"It's a case of when you put your hand up for one job, they come after you. As time went on, I did quite a few different roles."

Mrs Wilson held various positions at Albury Little Athletics for 20 years, but has now shifted her focus solely to the northern country region, where she has been secretary since 2017.

She has been a referee, judge, announcer just to name a few.

"We actually have 21 centres involved with the northern country region from Albury, Wodonga, Wangaratta, Benalla, through Mansfield across to Seymour, Bendigo, Kyneton, Kyabram, Shepparton, and back up the river to Yarrawonga-Mulwala and Howlong," she said.

"I helped train a lot of new people coming through and I'm still now on the northern country region committee. I got voted in for another two years as secretary, so I'll be around for a bit longer."

Mrs Wilson paid tribute to Wodonga's Christine Doubleday, an OAM recipient on Australia Day for service to little athletics this year, for her support.

"Chris actually has taught me everything I know. She's an amazing lady and just so knowledgeable about everything little athletics," she said.

"She's always been our go-to person. She got me involved over the years and I thoroughly enjoy it."

Emeritus Professor Lindy McAllister has shaped the way speech pathology is taught in rural Australia.

The inaugural head of the speech pathology program at Charles Sturt University's Albury campus was shocked to learn she'd be honoured with an AM as part of the King's Birthday honours.

"I'm really pleased to be getting this award, not only personally, but because allied health is underrepresented in these honours lists," she said.

Professor McAllister moved from the University of Sydney at the end of 1997 to take on the position on the Border and taught first year subjects in 1998, before she recruited more staff.

In what was the first speech pathology course offered outside of a metropolitan area, Prof McAllister said the goal was to educate students close to home in the hope they would seek employment in rural areas.

"The employment rate of students that go from the degree at Charles Sturt University into rural employment is very high. It was a very successful outcome in that regard and one that's given me enormous satisfaction," she said.

"I grew up in western Queensland and it was very hard to get any sort of allied health professional. Charles Sturt University has done a great job in contributing to the building of the allied health workforce for rural Australia."

Professor McAllister said she moved away from the medical model when developing the course.

"I wanted graduates to have the skills to go into a community that had no speech pathology service and be able to work out what was needed, who to partner with, who to draw in as partners in service delivery and educate families, teachers and carers," she said.

"I was there until late 2008 and in that time we built up the undergraduate degree, we started a double degree in communication disorders and education and we had masters and PhD students going through.

"We began the discussion about an online masters degree and that came to fruition a few years later. The staff that are there now who have developed and implemented that are doing a sterling job. It's one of the few online speech pathology degrees in the world."

Professor McAllister said she was also proud to start a clinical education program that placed students into a Vietnamese orphanage for children with disabilities in 2001.

"It was to give them cross-cultural experience and also hands-on experience in training staff to support children with disabilities," she said.

"It's an award-winning program and is still continuing 22 years later."

Former Victorian deputy premier and Member for Benalla Pat McNamara could never have imagined the life he'd go on to have when he was a 20-year-old.

Mr McNamara will receive an AM on the King's Birthday for service to rowing, to the Parliament of Victoria, and the community through a range of roles, but he admitted he was in the right place at the right time.

Working with Premier Jeff Kennett in the 1990s, the state government was able to turn around a debt of $30 billion through the sale of Victoria's coal-fired power stations and invest it into infrastructure.

"One of the ones I'm probably most proud of is that 365 country water boards got an upgrade in their water quality with filtration plants, and in some cases, a sewage scheme," Mr McNamara said.

"If you want to get a food processing industry, you've got to start with good quality water. It was about a $2.5 billion project, which was a lot of money back in the 90s.

"Through my political career, I couldn't have achieved that without the terrific support that my wife Merryl gave me over almost 20 years."

The former Victorian Nationals leader retired from politics in 2000 and became the president of Rowing Australia, which he held until 2009 and remains the longest-serving in the role.

He then chaired the appeal fund for Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires from 2009 through to 2019 and took charge of a second appeal off the back of the Black Summer season in late 2019 to early 2020.

"The bushfire recovery in 2009 was obviously a horrific experience. It's the largest civilian loss of life in Australian history," Mr McNamara said.

"What was also overwhelming was the generosity of the Australian public. Almost $400 million was donated and we had to decide how to distribute that."

Mr McNamara continues to be a key decision maker and has served as deputy chair of Goulburn Murray Water since 2015.

To say Noel Graham knows a bit about rice would be an understatement.

The Deniliquin farmer will be recognised for his service to agriculture through the rice growing industry with an AM in the King's Birthday honours.

Mr Graham enjoyed a 34-year career in the sector through Ricegrowers' Association of Australia, the Rice Marketing Board and corporate experience with SunRice.

He said the existence of the marketing board delivered more than $500 million worth of payments to rice growers that wouldn't have been possible without vesting to ensure the best export price.

"It was a very important part of the rice industry and I was fortunate enough to be with a very good group of people that worked hard to get good results for rice growers," Mr Graham said.

"SunRice was a great opportunity to contribute and learn about corporate agriculture.

"We went from a $600 million business to a $1.3 billion business in the time I was there.

"I was fortunate enough to be involved with the Sunrice subsidiaries in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and the Pacific. I managed to spend a bit of time in those businesses and help get good results for food security for the Pacific."

Mr Graham spent four years with Murray Irrigation and helped deliver a $160 million refurbishment of all structures and outlets.

He also oversaw the Cadell land and water management process, the first NSW environmental plan that involved farmers.

"It involved engaging farmers in thinking about the environment on their properties. It was more than just ploughing and growing crops, it was about trees, doing up a farm plan and thinking about wildlife.

"It really changed the way that farmers in the Cadell irrigation area looked at the farms they had."

Harrietville's Roy Kennedy admits he almost fell into the role of SES unit controller at Bright.

His late second wife, who was battling leukaemia, suggested he try something different to help take his mind off what she was going through.

"I'd been asked a couple of times to be a lost person when they were doing some of their training and eventually I thought I'd give it a go and join up," Mr Kennedy said.

"It comes from really wanting to put something back into the community in which you live."

Mr Kennedy went on to lead Bright SES for 10 years and will be honoured with an Emergency Services Medal as part of the King's Birthday awards.

He has now transitioned into a new role within the service as an intelligence officer, to share his expertise as part of incident management teams.

"About six years ago I was assisting with a carry out from Eurobin Falls and my foot slipped and I badly jarred my right hip, which meant I ended up having to have a hip replacement," Mr Kennnedy said.

"I didn't have the fitness to do all the Alpine searches, so you push your talents into the area that is needed and that suit your particular skill set.

"There is a place in the SES for people with all sorts of skill sets. It's not just people who want to drive vehicles or be on searches.

"I'll keep going as long as my mind is active."

Mr Kennedy worked alongside police and other agencies to develop a series of processes to deal with paraglider incidents, was part of the working party assessing the volunteer code of conduct and the SES representative on the Bright risk management panel.

His efforts haven't been solely in the Bright region. He also assisted with flood responses in NSW and various Victorian centres.

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