Full list of Fraser Coast Australia Day 2023 award winners | Gallery
The Fraser Coast’s brightest stars and community leaders have been honoured at the 2023 Australia Day Awards. Check out the gallery of winners and nominees.
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The developer of a high school’s “farmbot” and a rising sports star were among the community leaders celebrated at the Fraser Coast Regional Council’s 2023 Australia Day award ceremony Thursday night.
Charlie Morris, who claimed the Young STEM of the Year Award, and Emmily Lingard, winner of Young Citizen of the Year joined Citizen of the Year Ginger Maryland and among those named as this year’s award winners.
Check out the gallery of winners and nominees, and further details about their work released in a Fraser Coast Regional Council statement below.
Ginger Maryland
Citizen of the Year
Ginger Maryland, for her passionate advocacy for the community, volunteering her time to promote Maryborough events, clubs, activities and op shops through her self-funded Shopfront Showcase project.
She has also been the Program Officer for the Maryborough Combined Probus Club for the last two years, and is actively involved in many community events and festivals, such as the Mary Poppins Festival, STEAMfesta, Wings & Wheels, Burrum Heads Coalfest and Relish.
Emmily Lingard
Young Citizen of the Year
Emmily Lingard, for excelling at school and in sport, while also working as mentor for young athletes and volunteering to support children with disabilities.
Emmily represented the Hervey Bay district in seven sports and was a Wide Bay representative in four sports, serving as captain of the athletics team and vice-captain of the netball team.
She is a patrolling member of Hervey Bay Surf Life Saving Club and mentors younger children at the surf club and swim club. She was under 17 surf club captain and was named the club’s 2021/22 Youth Competitor of the year.
Annette Clifford
Sportsperson of the Year
Annette Clifford, for her role with the Fraser Coast 8 Ball Association coaching young, enthusiastic pool players, representing Queensland and competing in many local, state and national tournaments.
Annette helps with a weekly juniors’ program and has also facilitated a ‘ladies’ night’ at the pool hall, working hard to create a safe space for all.
Jaden Hardy
Young Sportsperson of the Year
Jaden Hardy, for excelling in his chosen sport of scooter riding, and for his advice and support for others learning the sport.
Jaden has had significant representative success and is currently ranked first in Queensland Under 16 and placed first in Australasia Under 16.
He competed in the Junior World Titles in Arizona in the USA, where he placed fifth, a massive accomplishment considering there is no longer an indoor skate park locally.
Jon and Sue Erbacher
Cultural Award of the Year
John and Sue Erbacher, for their five decades of work researching, documenting and preserving the local history of Hervey Bay and K’gari (Fraser Island).
They have jointly written over 40 books on the history of the area as well as environmental books describing how different ecosystems operate and the lives of birds, insects and marine life.
Rhys Canham
Young Cultural Award of the Year
Rhys Canham, for his performances, guidance and leadership in many aspects of local theatre both on and off the stage.
Rhys has played both leading and ensemble roles in various productions by Macabre Theatre and Flame Studios, including the 2022 original production of Rose Glasses, which he directed and helped write the script.
Dr Vernon Harris
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Award of the Year
Dr Vernon Harris, for his work in zoology in universities in the United Kingdom, Africa and Australia and in particular for discovering 40 new species of copepods, a marine species previously unknown to science that he collected from New Zealand, Japan and Australia.
Conducting his research from a private laboratory set up in the bedroom of his Hervey Bay retirement villa, Dr Harris uses a microscope to examine, illustrate and record species of the little- known creatures that measure between 1 to 2 millimetres in length.
Charlie Morris
Young STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Award of the Year
Charlie Morris, for showing innovation through the introduction and development of the Hervey Bay State High School’s Farmbot, an automated farm that plants seeds, waters and eliminate weeds using a cartesian plane robotic arm.
Charlie saw the project through from start to finish, and did system fault finding and addressed sensoring issues during testing.
Jenny Elliott
Volunteer of the Year
Jenny Elliott, for her decades of volunteering service with a range of local organisations and events.
Jenny has been a secretary of the Gallipoli to Armistice Committee since 2014 and has been president of the Maryborough Military Airport Museum Association since it formed in 2016.
She took leading co-ordinator roles in the Fraser Coast Technology Challenge, initiated the development of an event to bring the steampunk concept to Maryborough as Timeless Mary and then Steamfesta.
Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre
Community Group or Organisation of the Year
The Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre, for providing programs and support to the most disadvantaged and isolated people in the community.
The centre has over 350 volunteers and donates 15,000 volunteer hours a year offering support such as transport for the elderly, playgroups for young families, youth mentoring, and English classes for multicultural groups.
Mobility Scooter/Wheelchair Convoy
Community Project or Event of the Year
The Mobility Scooter/Wheelchair Convoy, for being a unique and inclusive event that promotes the safe use of mobility scooters, while also providing a social opportunity for people with mobility issues.
While the convoy narrowly fell short of breaking the record, the day was still a great success with participants decorating themselves and their vehicles
Nominees
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