Western Downs residents recognised in lead up to Australia Day 2023

The Western Downs is celebrating 24 people and groups from across the region in the lead up to Australia Day 2023 for their work and achievements in the community. See the full list of winners here.

Emily Devon

@EmilyDevon7

3 min read

January 25, 2023 - 3:00PM

Shirley Makin - Local Volunteer of the Year for Miles & District, and Joshua Griggs - Local Sports Award for Chinchilla & District.

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To kick off Australia Day celebrations, Western Downs Regional Council have selected 24 people and groups who have given back to their communities as recpients of this year’s Local Awards.

Mayor Paul McVeigh said the awards’ purpose were to recognise excellence in local towns.

“Our prestigious Australia Day Awards offer an opportunity to shine a light on those groups and individuals who are going above and beyond in their local towns,” he said.

“In 2023 we have 24 individuals and organisations receiving special recognition in the areas of creative arts, sports, or through an outstanding effort as a volunteer or community group, and the stories shared through the nominations process have been incredible.”

Winners of the Local Community Organisation Achievement award, Tara District and Dirt Riders, who won alongside The Gums Sports Club, said they were “stoked” with the win.

“We’re a fairly new committee, it’s a new event that’s only been going the past three years,” Tara District and Dirt Riders events’ organiser Carissa Hallinan said.

“It’s great to have some positivity, we have some fantastic events in Tara and this is one of them.”

She said all of the money earnt from the events went towards improving regional facilities at The Gums Sports Club.

“We can’t grow an event without the support (of volunteers) and commitment, and we’ve had fantastic sponsorship as well that has allowed us to grow,” Mrs Hallinan said.

Local community organisation achievement award winners, Tara Dirt Riders. Picture: contributed

Winner of the Local Sports Award in the Dalby and District Region, Macauley (Mac) Nolan, is no stranger to great achievements and said the win came as a surprise.

“I was surprised, I was pleasantly surprised actually, since we have a decent sized region,” he said.

The young Dalby man celebrates the award as his 18th birthday approaches in a few weeks, and says most of his life has been taken up with sports.

“I started with soccer, I’m a competitive person and love the competitive side (of sports), I’ve made heaps of new friends from it from different regions, from way up north to mates in NSW,” he said.

Mr Nolan said his biggest sporting highlight was achieving his goal of playing touch football for Australia.

“Making the Australian squad and getting invited back to the Australian camps that are coming up in February is my biggest achievement, I’ve always wanted to try and play at the highest level and you probably can’t get much higher than that,” he said.