Pride of Australia Awards salute humble heroes of our community
FROM a little boy who saved to his brother from drowning to a climate change campaigner, the South Australian finalists in the 10th Pride of Australia awards have been announced.
A HUSBAND who sacrificed his life to save his wife and strangers from an avalanche; an incredible teenager helping those living with disabilities, a doctor who has restored the sight of indigenous Austrailans and a woman who has devoted her life to protecting an Austrailan wildlife icon.
They are among the 30 people whose compassion, dedication, inspiration, courage, bravery and sense of a fair go has seen them named finalists in the 10th Pride of Australia Awards.
Native wildlife advocate and environment finalist, Rae Campbell, of Marion, said she was “gobsmacked” to be a finalist.
The 70-year-old has dedicated most of her life to the care of koalas and other native animals.
“I’m very proud and it’s most unexpected,’’ she said.
“What I do I do for the animals, not for anything else.
“I think the ceremony will be lovely but I’m rather nervous.”
The awards’ South Australian ambassador, Channel Ten newsreader Rebecca Morse, said it had been incredibly hard to choose the finalists.
“The Pride of Australia awards uncover and reward South Australia’s humble heroes,’’ she said.
“Being involved is always uplifting and inspiring although having to choose the winners is the hardest part.
“All the nominees and finalists should be so proud of themselves.”
Morse was joined on the judging panel by Sunday Mail editor Andrew Holman, The Advertiser editor Sam Weir, Messenger Community Newspapers editor Paul Ashenden and Nova 91.9’s Shane Lowe and Dylan Lewis.
The nominations in the awards, held in conjunction with media partners Network Ten and Nova Entertainment, were in categories covering environment, heroism, inspiration, courage, fair go, young leader, community spirit, outstanding bravery, child of courage, and care and compassion.
South Australian winners will be announced at a ceremony at Keith Murdoch House, Waymouth St, on Wednesday.
All medallists honoured at the ceremony will be eligible to win the gold medal in their category at the National Pride of Australia ceremony.
The National Pride of Australia ceremony will be held at Sydney Town Hall on Thursday, December 11 and will again be broadcast by Network Ten.
COURAGE
Aidan Barry, 17, Marion
At just 17, Aidan has dealt with many health issues as a result of being born with a major heart condition, diminishing eyesight and without arms.
The simplest of daily tasks are often difficult but this hasn’t stopped Aidan from accomplishing his goals. He attends a mainstream school and is an avid sports fan.
He plays golf and soccer and recently helped establish the No Handicap Golf Run. He is also training for selection for the Paralympics table tennis team. In addition to his sporting achievements, Aidan regularly speaks about the importance of improving services for people with disabilities, on behalf of Variety, the Julia Farr Youth Centre, Thalidomide Australia and Novita.
Debra Ann Campbell, 59, Cummins
Debra Ann is a treasure of the Eyre Peninsula who, despite having a terminal diagnosis and
having only a short time to live, embarked on a fundraising drive to realise the completion of the Bridgestone Leukaemia Foundation Village, at Northfield.
This is where sufferers undergoing treatment can stay for as long as necessary at no cost. Debra Ann, who raised $180,000 in five years, officially opened unit 12 of 15 in the village, naming it “The Spirit of Eyre Peninsula” in honour of the many residents who had helped make this dream a reality.
Jacquie Hordacre, 49, Novar Gardens
Jacquie has overcome much adversity in her life after suffering complications and chronic illness
from juvenile diabetes. Despite her illness, she was able to have a much longed for child, a son who was born with cystic fibrosis and later diagnosed with autism. Jacquie not only manages the daily care of her son, while battling her own health issues but is President of the Richmond Lions fundraising for the less fortunate.
YOUNG LEADER
James Harrington, 21, Reynella
Jimmy Harrington, 21, walked 18,000km around Australia to raise awareness and funds for Brainchild Australia after being inspired by the story of a young brain cancer victim.
The founder of Jimmy’s Walk for Cancer, he organised the entire project himself, from
mapping out routes to securing sponsors and signing on a support crew. He raised $250,000 for
the Foundation, to support children with brain and spinal cancer. Throughout his journey, Jimmy
stopped at numerous hospitals to deliver gifts to ill children and visited schools to share his journey.
Alexander Clothier, 20, Aberfoyle Park
At the age of 12, Alexander Clothier was diagnosed with cancer. As part of his journey, he joined Camp Quality and met children who were going through similar battles. Four years later, Alexander was still receiving treatment when he signed up to join a fundraising effort and walked the Kokoda Track. The group raised $150,000 for Camp Quality but Alexander didn’t stop there. He inspired nine others to ride bicycles from Perth to Adelaide, 2500kms in 17 days, and raised a further $140,000 for Camp Quality. The total funds raised meant that 330 children living with cancer were able to be supported through a variety of programs for an entire year.
Tara Fatehi, 24, Dernancourt
When migrating to Australia with her family at the age of five, Tara was scared, unable to speak
English and unsure of what the future held. Since then, the PhD medical student has given back to her community in many ways. She volunteers at the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s health promotion unit and the Kurdish Ethnic School in Adelaide. After experiencing shocking medical conditions during a trip to Kurdistan, Tara co-founded the Kurdistan Health Project. She is committed to helping migrants and refugees build a better life in Australia, while also helping others across the globe.
ENVIRONMENT
Margaret Hender, 63, Modbury Heights
Margaret Hender is the originator of Citizen’s Own Renewable Energy Australia or CORENA, an innovative way for people and organisations to fund new renewable energy installations. To date CORENA has raised more than $37,000 and is funding its third community solar project. She has run the national “One Person Can” campaign, aimed at showing that every day safe-climate actions really make a difference. Margaret has big plans to fund Australia’s largest solar power plant, all through community funding.
Lisa Brinkley, 47, Tea Tree Gully
Lisa Brinkley was in Nepal when she discovered the environmental benefits of Biochar,
a completely sustainable soil conditioner derived from coal. Upon her return to Australia, she used new technologyto build a Biochar kiln and educated her community about the long term environmental benefits.
She has supervised a research project aimed at producing a soil conditioner that will remove the
dependence on fertilisers that cause weeds to flourish and intends to extend her work to Cambodia this year.
Rae Campbell, 70, Plympton
Rae Campbell co-founded the Adelaide Koala & Wildlife Hospital in Plympton, the first of its kind in South Australia. Rae has been rescuing and caring for injured koalas for more than 50 years and during the heatwaves earlier this year had up to 50 koalas receiving treatment. The self-funded hospital treats birds, reptiles and various other wildlife as well as providing education to students, carers and veterinary students. Her passion for our national icon extends to participation in research and development of the behaviours and medical treatment for koalas.
COMMUNITY SPIRIT
Margory Head, 80, Tumby Bay
Margory has supported Novita Children’s Services for 54 years.
Her work as part of the Port Neill/Cleve auxiliary has raised more than $600,000 for the charity since its inception. Even after her son, Trevor, died after being diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Margory continued her fundraising and volunteering efforts determined to effect positive change for children with disabilities. Her dedication and inspiration is greatly admired by all in her community.
Phillip de Pinto, 38, Brompton
Phillip founded the Living Without Limits Foundation in 2012 and has raised more than $150,000 towards establishing a respite home for families of children affected by autism and cerebral palsy. He has also worked tirelessly over the past two years to help establish the Treetop Autistic Special School, the first of its kind in SA. He has donated thousands of hours of voluntary service and never wavered in his commitment to make a difference for children living with autism.
Terry Smith, 75, Burnside
Borne from their experiences as full-time carers for a family member, Terry and wife Diana founded the Believe Foundation in 2009. This was formed after the couple noticed a gap in the carers support market for respite care. They also launched the “Thanks for Caring” initiative which helps unpaid carers by providing them with financial support, respite opportunities and education opportunities for young carers.
HEROISM
Tammi Schubert, 44, Tailem Bend
For the past 24 years, Tammi has dedicated her life to saving others. At 20 she began volunteering for the South Australian Ambulance Service after witnessing a horrific car accident in which she gave her all to save the people trapped inside the car. Since then, she has continued to spend countless hours of her own time with the SAAS on it board and as a zone secretary, all awhile juggling a nursing career and raising her two children.
Christopher “CJ” Shaw, 32, Seacombe Gardens
CJ Shaw is a “hero-maker.” For almost twenty years he has worked in the State Emergency Service tirelessly educating and training volunteers to become skilled rescuers. He instils confidence in his trainees by helping them overcome fears and limitations in a multitude of rescue scenarios, whether it’s climbing a ladder in wild weather or crawling through confined spaces. CJ physically attends hundreds of call-outs each year in addition to training SES rescuers.
Trevor Stevens, 57, Wirrabara
When the Bangor bushfires devastated local residents in February, Country Fire Service volunteer
Trevor Stevens went above and beyond to help his fellow neighbours. When not on duty for the CFS, he spent his time putting out hot spots with this farm firefighting unit, carted water to properties in the line of fire and at times didn’t sleep for days while fighting the blaze. Trevor lost 75 per cent of the grazing land on his two Wirrabara Forest properties, but that didn’t stop him from lending a hand.
FAIR GO
Sidique Bah, 40, Mitchell Park
Born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Sidique fled during the civil war and was living as a refugee
before he was relocated to Australia under the UNHCR Humanitarian Program. Since his arrival
in Australian, Sidique has achieved a Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia, founded the Sierra Leone
Community of SA, the Fullah Friends of SA and the Association of Sierra Leonean Journalists in Exile.
He also served for SA Senator Annette Hurley for more than five years and helped found Afrikarts Australia — an African arts organisation that features the talents of African musicians and artists.
Cynthia Caird, 56, Richmond
After Cynthia was widowed at 33, she moved to Australia with her three sons in 1996. She found employment at the Migrant Resources Centre, where she assisted Filipino women and their families adjust to their new surroundings and helped mitigate their settlement difficulties. Cynthia also established the Filipina Network of SA, providing support and empowering women to succeed in their new lives. She also founded Filipino Aged Care to address aged care needs and issues for the Filipino community in SA.
Mallika Prasad-Chowta, 66, Myrtle Bank
After arriving in Adelaide in 1975, Mallika threw herself into community activities and embraced the many opportunities in the arts arena. As a qualified arts administrator she acted as a publicist during Adelaide Fringe Festivals and has worked extensively in the arts for over 30 years. She has helped to showcase the contributions of migrants from the Indian subcontinent and managed a number of fundraising events. Mallika has also educated thousands of children on multiculturalism and helped give them the tools to counter racism.
INSPIRATION
Fiora Christou, 42, Brompton
As the mother of a son diagnosed with autism, Fiora was faced with the challenge of deciding
whether to place her son in a school where children had various intellectual disabilities or a
mainstream school where he could fall prey to bullying. She decided instead to found the first
Autism Specific School in South Australia. It took a lot of research, professional advice and
encouragement from other passionate parents to form a committee and the battle began. Her
dream, Treetop Autism Specific School ,has now been given a site and funding to enable the school to open. It is scheduled to open in 2015 and has already received over one thousand applications from students.
Tammy Edwardson, 48, Cumberland Park
Tammy is a passionate teacher who has worked in the public schools for more than 16 years. She has produced a number of significant policy and strategy changes to improve the educational outcomes of indigenous youths. With a wealth of achievements under her belt, Tammy has produced quality curriculum publications at a state and national level and was the first indigenous person to win a non-Aboriginal-Torres Strait Islander position on the Australian Education Union.
Daina Pocius, 44, Woodville Gardens
Daina Pocius saw a need to address the shortfall in literacy among young people in her region and implemented “The Gift of Reading” program. By partnering with Anglicare’s Christmas Hamper program, she used this as a delivery tool to provide families with donated books. It wasn’t long before libraries and schools adopted the “The Gift of Reading” program, supporting children learning to read and helping them discover the joy of reading.
CARE AND COMPASSION
Louanne Johns, 48, Ethelton
Louanne has volunteered with Camp Quality for 19 years bringing joy to the lives of children
living with cancer. As a Camp Leader, Louanne is instrumental in organising activities that bring
respite from the stress of the children’s day-to-day lives and lives by the motto that laughter is the best medicine. Louanne has supported countless families in her time as a volunteer and has also assisted with fundraising efforts for the charity.
Dr James Muecke, 51, Norwood
Spurred on by a vision to help people with avoidable blindness, eye surgeon Dr James Muecke
founded Sight For All; an organisation that over the past two years has trained the first paediatric
ophthalmologists in Cambodia and Laos. Dr Muecke’s work has extended to treating blindness in
remote Aboriginal communities and he is also actively involved with the My Eye Health Program, which seeks to educate the community on issues around eye health, intervention and rehabilitation.
Monica Perrett, 40, Murray Bridge
South Australian foster parents will gain new rights thanks to a campaign fought and won by Monica Perrett. Monica, who was awarded the 2014 Mother of the Year title, ran a petition to convince the State Government to change procedures when a child in foster care dies. Monica’s campaign, brought on by the death of her young foster son and nephew Finn, will allow foster parents to view the child’s body and also allows for a an addendum to the death certificate to recognise the role of foster parents in the child’s life.
OUTSTANDING BRAVERY
Paul Southerton, 50, Taperoo
While camping on the Murray River with his wife, Paul Southerton noticed an overturned boat in perilous weather. Two men had been swept away by the strong current of the river. Quickly, Paul tied a rope to a piece of wood and followed them down the river bank until he was able to throw the wood near one of the men, Dave, and pull him to safety. Sadly the second man could not be saved but Paul’s actions that day saved Dave.
Kenneth (Dean) Higgins, 61, Glenelg
Dean and Wendy Higgins were holidaying with friends in Tibet when they were hit with a freak
snowstorm. An ensuing avalanche buried their small two person tent, covering them in six feet of snow. Quickly running out of air, Dean ripped the tent apart to give them air from the outside but they were unable to move. After six hours of digging with a stick, Dean made a hole through which they could climb out. Sadly, Dean passed away from hypothermia a day after being rescued, but his strength, bravery and commitment saved Wendy’s life.
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CHILD OF COURAGE
Louis Kempster, 5, West Beach
After a day at school, Louis, 5, went to West Beach beach with his family and were playing near the shallows where the River Torrens and the sea meet. Louis’ younger brother Astor, 2, had gotten too close to the edge of the water and fell in. Despite it appearing to be shallow, the water had a sharp drop and was well above Astor’s head. Louis put his leg out for his brother to hang onto and called for his mother to come and help. After Astor had been pulled from the water and was safe and dry, Louis said: “He was trying to swim back Mum but he couldn’t do it so I had to help him”.
Lachlan Gray, 4, Belair
Lachlan was just four years old when he witnessed his younger brother Mitchell fall head first into a wine barrel in his backyard. Seeing his younger brother submerged in the water, Lachlan jumped into action — first yelling for his mother and then secondly running towards his brother to pull him out of the water. When he realised he was not strong enough to pull his brother out of the water, Lachlan had the presence of mind to know he had to get Mitchell’s head out of the water — and wait for his mum to come and pull him out. Lachlan’s brave actions saved Mitchell’s life.
Felix Walgos, 11, and Chester Walgos, 8, Dover Gardens
Felix Walgos is just ten years old and suffers from severe multiple disabilities. Despite these
disabilities and the daily strain they put on his life, Felix has an immense will and desire to live — teaching people daily about being grateful for what they have in their lives. Felix’s younger brother, Chester, spends much time supporting his older brother and leads by example to show acceptance with children with disabilities.