Sue Salthouse, Mark Vergano: Canberrans acknowledged in Australia Day honours

From disability advocates to palliative care workers to sports administrators; here is the full list of Canberrans receiving Australia Day honours

Julia KanapathippillaiReporter, Canberra Star

7 min read

January 24, 2022 - 12:02PM

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The ACT has punched above its weight in the Australia Day Honours with the national capital boasting a total of 28 award recipients.

Here is the full list of all ACT recipients.

The late Sue Salthouse (left) has been awarded an AM posthumously for her disability and family violence prevention advocacy. Pictured, Sue Salthouse and her daughter Luisa Fearnside Geocaching together.

Sue Salthouse

Sue Salthouse received her AM posthumously for her work as a disability and family violence prevention advocate.

Ms Salthouse was the president of Women with Disabilities Australia from 2009 to 2012, an ambassador for Our Watch from 2016-2020

The renowned advocate passed away in mid-2020 following a motorcycle accident.

Her daughter Luisa Fearnside said she and her mother were “partners in crime”, and described Salthouse as her best friend and an unwavering supporter while growing up.

“Mum had a large broad impact on the Canberra community,” she said.

“She really believed Canberra could be an exemplary town that could lead the way in all manner of things be it disability access, support, inclusivity.”

Ms Fearnside describes her mother as a strong mentor for women especially women with disabilities.

“She was a very strong feminist, she very much believed in equality and equity for all,” she said.

Ms Fearnside said she admired her mother’s unwavering sense of adventure and “default yes” attitude.

“She would get invited to things that as a wheelchair user people might say ‘no’ to straight away,” she said.

“She would always say yes first and figure out the details later.

“I think that came from an innate sense of curiosity … I think that did a lot for her.”

During her lifetime Ms Salthouse received numerous accolades including being named the ACT Senior Australian of the Year in 2020.

“She was always confused as to who was nominating her for these larger awards,” Ms Fearnside said.

“Mum was always very humble.

“She never got the opportunity to sit back and see how far we have come in this city.

“It does make me very sad she‘s not here to take stock of all the things she made happen”

Following her death, Hands Across Canberra launched the Sue Salthouse scholarship for people with disabilities.

Meredith Maxwell Hinchliffe was awarded an AM for her work in the arts sector.

Meredith Maxwell Hinchliffe

Meredith Maxwell Hinchliffe has been awarded an AM for her significant service to the arts as an administrator.

She is currently a donor and patron of the Canberra Museum and Gallery and a current National Gallery of Australia donor.

Ms Hinchliffe is a former director and executive secretary of the ACT Crafts Council and she volunteered at the National Gallery of Australia from 1987 to 2019.

“Its very humbling. A lot of people work really hard in the arts all the time, especially artists”

Ms Hinchliffe said she “accidentally” fell into the arts sector in 1977.

“I needed to get a job and (then-Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser) had just got in,” she said.

I wanted to stay in Canberra and this job was going – the executive secretary of the Cross Crafts Association of the ACT.”

“I applied, and I got the job … I’ve been in the arts ever since.”

Ms Hinchliffe said she believes the arts are overlooked in Australian society.

“If you find a piece of well designed furniture people will say they really love that chair,” she said.

“But they don’t always consider that making and designing of it could have well been a really major piece of art.

“I’m especially keen about design, but good design is something that goes unnoticed, often because its such a good design; it works properly, it doesn’t cause problems, and it adds to your pleasure or efficiency.”

Ms Hinchliffe said she believes Canberrans are keen supporters of the arts.

“I think there’s a level of consciousness of the importance of the arts (in Canberra) that’s perhaps a bit higher than other places,” she said.

“We are so lucky in Canberra, its so easy to go to exhibitions and theatre performances and so on.”

Ms Hinchliffe said she feels honoured to have been involved in the arts sector throughout her career.

“Its hard not to become passionate about the arts,” she said.

“It offers so much richness, diversity, pleasure and emotion to our lives.”

Lifelong tennis player Anne Haycock has been awarded with an OAM for her work in the sport.

Anne Haycock

Lifelong tennis player Anne Haycock, 79, has been awarded an OAM for her contributions to the sport.

Mrs Haycock said she has been playing tennis since she was 8 years old and describes her work in the sport as a “labour of love”.

She was president of the Ladies’ branch of Tennis ACT from 1977 to 1983, president of the Belconnen Tennis Club in 1984, and was president of Tennis Seniors Australia’s Canberra Tennis Veterans from 1991 to 1999.

She is a lifetime member of the Belconnen Tennis Club, Tennis ACT and Tennis Seniors ACT.

Mrs Haycock said despite pushing 80 the sport remains a key part of her life for its health and social benefits.

“It‘s a well-known fact that it is a very good idea to keep active the older you get, she said.

“Tennis is a great sport to keep active and keep alive.”

“After you play a game of tennis you have coffee and a chat and you solve the problems of the world.”

Retired social worker Julie Kulikowski was awarded an OAM for her work in end-of-life care.

Julie Kulikowski

Retired social worker Julie Kulikowski was awarded her OAM for her work as a bereavement counsellor.

Ms Kulikowski previously worked as a social worker and bereavement counsellor at Clare Holland House and as a social worker at Canberra Hospital’s Haematology Unit.

She said her work in end-of-life care was focused on ensuring patients could live as well as they can before they passed away.

“The health system is absolutely oriented to extending and improving life, getting well and getting better but a lot of haematology and oncology is not like that,” she said

“I often used to tell doctors if we can’t cure patients we can care for them, it‘s a subtle but important shift.

“I think being clear and realistic is helpful but it’s not easy.

For people who are considering working in palliative care, Ms Kulikowski says work-life balance and perspective is key.

“Don’t make work your life – you need a full life to be able to do this work,” she said.

“You need to be pretty robust and enjoy what you do; if you don’t enjoy this work don’t do it.

Ms Kulikowski said her work is focusing on the people affected by terminal illness.

“There’s a person behind the distress, that‘s what you’re going to keep the focus on; the person and their family,” she said.

“You can never be too caring with people.”

Mark Vergano has been awarded an OAM for his services to sport.

Mark Vergano

Canberra Raiders Regional and community rugby league general manager Mark Vergano has received an OAM for his services to sport.

Mr Vergano has worked in the sport sector for more than three decades and was the CEO of Cricket ACT prior to his appointment to the Canberra Raiders in 2015.

He said he was “surprised and humbled” after receiving his OAM.

To people interested in being involved in sport, be it in playing or as an administrator, Mr Vergano said it was important to go all in.

“Participate fully in the life of whichever team or club that you are involved or associated with,” he said.

“You often get skills that you can enrich the lives of others with and improve the club in the process to make it something we can pass on to our children and that’s a legacy there in perpetuity.”

Mr Vergano said he wouldn’t be able to achieve what he has without the support of his family, in particular his wife Michaela.

“Michaela supported me right through all the endeavours,” he said.

“She’s been an inspiration in many ways to my involvement in women’s sports and disability sports”

“She’s been wonderfully supportive and we need that, we have a big family and we’ve have had six children, to be able to do (my work) as a volunteer or professionally you can only do it with a supportive family.

Caroline Fiona Stacey

Caroline Fiona Stacey was awarded an OAM for her service to the performing arts through administration.

Ms Stacey has been the Artistic Director and CEO of The Street Theatre since 2006 and has worked in the Arts since 1996.

She said it felt “incredibly special to be recognised for a lifetime of work” especially following two years of difficulty due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Stacey said it was hard to put her finger on exactly what drew her to the performing arts.

“There’s a cerebral component, there’s an emotional component, a melding of personal and professional, (the work is) highly collaborative,” she said.

“(Performing arts) is really about the questions you want to ask yourself, your community and the world we’re in.

“Its about how we want to be, not just now but visioning for the future.”

She described working in the arts industry as a “rich and rewarding path” that requires “enormous resilience and the capacity to hold a vision no matter what.”

“Its work, its hard work, it‘s a real career, its demanding and it requires enormous skill,” she said.

“Professional work is professional work and in the arts you work as hard as everybody else and you having a wage is just as important, being able to support a family is important.

“Many artists talk about being asked what their ‘real jobs’ are and these awards are part of changing that conversation.