Four Far North Queenslanders recognised in King’s Birthday Honours list for services to community
Five members of the Far North community have been rewarded for their outstanding service to a variety of good causes. Here’s who was celebrated this year.
Cairns
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cairns. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Four of the Far North’s finest have been recognised for their services to the community in the King’s Birthday Honours list.
A correctional officer who’s dedicated almost two decades of service to Lotus Glen prison has also been recognised with an Australian Corrections Medal.
Phil Harrison, a former Chief Commissioner of Scouts Australia, was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his “significant service to youth, and to outdoor and environmental education.”
Jo-Ann Lees, Margaret Maunsell and Effie Bacalakis were awarded Medals of the Order of Australia (OAM) for their service to youth through Girl Guides, service to business and the community of Cairns and service to the community of the Cairns region respectively.
Mr Harrison said it was a humbling experience to become an AM, an honour awarded to just 131 non-military Australians in this year’s list.
“I was pretty humbled really,” he said.
“Lots of people do lots of good things in the community and to be recognised in this way is very special.
“I suppose it was very unexpected.”
Mr Harrison was Chief Commissioner of Scouts Australia from 2017 to 2023.
He said the skills young people learnt in the scouts equipped them well in their careers and their lives.
“Whether it’s people management skills, whether it’s planning skills, organisation skills, or whether it’s the skills or the teacher, they’re all skills that are directly transferable across many scenarios,” he said.
Outside the Scouts, Mr Harrison’s main job is as a teacher, where he also works to inspire a love of the outdoors in the next generation.
He is currently the principal of the Tinaroo Environmental Education Centre in the Atherton Tablelands, which runs nature-based activity camps for about 5000 Far North Queensland students each year.
In a similar field to Mr Harrison, Manunda woman Ms Lees received her OAM for over half a century of service to the Girl Guides, an organisation she first joined in 1957.
Ms Bacalakis was honoured for her many contributions to the Cairns’ Greek community in particular, having been a Foundation Member of St John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Parish Cairns, and for dedicating over 20 years’ service to Community Care for the elderly through the church.
Ms Maunsell, a Freshwater accountant and former board member of the Cairns Port Authority, was rewarded for services to business and the community.
She has been a Member and Treasurer of the Far North Queensland Youth Assistance Fund since 1998.
Lotus Glen Correctional Centre custodial correctional supervisor John Rosset was also recognised with an Australian Corrections Medal for almost two decades of service to the Far North jail.
During his career he has provided skills training in his role as trade instructor before being promoted to his current role in 2019.
“I’m absolutely speechless, it’s such a privilege to have this award,” he said.
“Corrections is a career you can move around so easily in … I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support I’ve received from my mentors.”
The recipients will travel to Canberra in the coming months to receive their honours from the Governor-General.
Anyone can nominate any Australian for an award in the Order of Australia.
If you know someone worthy, nominate them now at www.gg.gov.au.
More Coverage
Originally published as Four Far North Queenslanders recognised in King’s Birthday Honours list for services to community
300mm monster: North staring down barrel of fresh flood event
North Queensland faces more life-threatening flooding, with an active monsoon trough expected to dump up to 300mm in some areas.
New emergency alert as Far North braces for second coming of biblical flood
A second deluge of up to 300mm is set to pound Far North Queensland, with flood warnings for half a dozen rivers and more than 140mm of rain recorded overnight in some parts.