Australia Day: Hills Shire residents named in honours list
A beloved music teacher and conductor, the founder of a writer’s festival and a local netball legend are among the Hills residents to make the 2022 Australia Day Honours list.
Hills Shire
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The outstanding achievements of residents across the Hills have been recognised in the 2022 Australia Day Honours.
Among the recipients is James Brice who was recognised for his service to music education and performance.
This Castle Hill resident’s love of music started in 1984, when he was first introduced to the euphonium.
James moved to Sydney in 1996 to accept a full-time performing position with the Royal Australian Air Force (R.A.A.F) band, where he performed for 11 years, including on tours in East Timor and Gallipoli, for the Dawn Service and Lone Pine Services on ANZAC DAY in 2002.
Now, Mr Brice is educating students of all ages and skill levels in brass instruments.
He has also “taken up the baton” as the full-time conductor for the Castle Hill Youth Wind Orchestra and North West Wind Ensemble.
“It is an absolute privilege and pleasure to work with musicians of all ages and all standards because we have the opportunity to have huge influences on the lives of others,” he said. “You’re really tapping on every possible emotional and intellectual resource when you engage in playing a musical instrument — I can think of no other area that draws on so many aspects of the mind.”
Also honoured was Beverley Garside, who was diagnosed with two auto-immune diseases (Grave’s and Hashimoto’s disease) and a Multinodular goitre back in the mid 1980s.
“Because of those diagnoses, I had my thyroid removed, and that’s when I saw the Thyroid Foundation were having an information day,” she said.
That information day spurred Beverley on to put her hand up for the Thyroid Foundation’s committee nominations and she was soon appointed president in 1999.
The foundation is made up of tireless volunteers and has helped countless Australians who are living with different thyroid disorders and are looking for support or educational resources.
Beverley also raises awareness in the community about thyroid disorders and how people can best detect symptoms and changes to their thyroid.
“It’s a great honour to receive this award through being able to help thyroid patients,” Beverley said.
“We’re constantly looking at ways to reach out and we provide one-on-one support for members of the organisation and information, so we’re always trying to improve outcomes for patients in all different ways.”
Another OAM recipient is Lorna Clayton, a resident of Living Choice Glenhaven, a retirement village in the Hills.
Just after settling in to her new home, Lorna set up a writing group, having been inspired by a recent visit to the Sydney Writers Festival.
“Coming home from the Writers Festival in 2015, I was thinking we must have writers in the village I’ve moved into — maybe we could have our own little writer’s festival,” Lorna said.
“I did a letter box drop in the village and asked people if there were interested, and I managed to get a handful of people involved to give talks about things they’d written.”
The success of this event spurred Lorna on to create a writing group, which still meets once a month and now organises her retirement village’s annual Writer’s Festival.
This year, Lorna is thrilled because she has managed to snap up the three Moriarty sisters (the famous Australian authors: Jaclyn, Nicola and Liane Moriarty) to give a guest speech in March.
“My writing group is only a small group but people get a chance to get things off their chest on paper and then in discussion later on,” Lorna said. “We have an agreement for confidentiality, so people trust one another and feel brave enough to say anything they want to say.
“There’s a sense of community within the writing group and when they share their writing, their reminisces and opinions at our Writer’s Festival … (it) touches the people who are listening.
“Being part of a writing group gives people a voice, and sometimes people think that they can’t write or what they have to say is not worth listening to and that changes when they start writing and sharing.
“Having a voice, developing a voice is, I think, a really valuable thing, particularly as you’re getting older some people tend to think that they’re not valued as much for some reason — I don’t agree with that at all.”
Others recipients from The Hills
The late Anthony De Luca (OAM)
Anthony (‘Tony’) De Luca was recognised for his service to motoring clubs. Mr De Luca, who lived in Glenhaven, was the former Vice President and member for over 35 years of the Council of Motor Clubs. He was also the founding member of the BMC-Leyland Australia Heritage Group and volunteered for over 40 years at the Institute of Automotive Mechanical Engineers.
Kay De Luca (OAM)
The Glenhaven resident, Kay De Luca (wife of Mr De Luca) was also honoured for her service to motoring clubs. Mrs De Luca served as the Treasurer and as a Committee Member of the Council of Motor Clubs for 12 years. She is also the current Secretary, Treasurer and Public Officer of the Leyland p76 Owners Club which her husband founded.
Carol Murphy (OAM)
Carol Murphy, a North Kellyville resident, was honoured for her service to netball. Mrs Murphy started playing netball as an adult and soon fell in love with the sport. At the Baulkham Hills Shire Netball Association, she served on the executive for 16 years and helped grow the sport in the area — they added 2000 new members in a short period of time and grew the number of courts at Kellyville’s Wellgate Avenue Netball Complex to 38. Mrs Murphy is a Life Member of Impalas Netball Club and the Baulkham Hills District Netball Association. In 2021, Mrs Murphy also earned the honour of becoming the first Baulkham Hills Association Member to be appointed as a Life Member of the NSW Netball Association.
“The best part of netball is that it’s a team sport — it means that people get used to working together and learning that it’s not all about you, it’s about doing the best you can for your team,” Mrs Murphy said.
“That’s what I’m taking out of this award. It’s not just for me, it’s for all the people who have been involved and volunteered … it’s such a big commitment and our volunteers don’t do it for any award or acknowledgment, just because they love the game.”
The late Sidney Smith (OAM)
The late Sidney (‘Lionel’) Smith was recognised for his service to emergency response organisations. Mr Smith, who lived in Kenthurst, was a Life Member of the Kenthurst Rural Fire Brigade and served as Deputy Captain. He gave over 75 years of service to NSW’s firefighting organisations, with his first firefighting experience starting at the age of 15. Mr Smith was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal in 1990 and, in 2021, he became the first NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) member to earn a Sixth Clasp to his National Medal.
The Honourable Garry Watts (AM)
The Honourable Garry Watts was recognised for his service to the law and judiciary, especially to the Family Court. The Hon Garry Watts has served as a Justice on the Family Court of Australia since 2005 and as a Justice of the Appeal Division from 2018 to 2021. He is also a Judicial Member of the Law Society of NSW and a Guest Lecturer on Family Law at The University of Sydney and Arbitration at the University of New South Wales.
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