Queen’s Birthday honours for South Aussie greats
A star athlete, a tireless campaigner and an Operation Ironside cop are among the brilliant and exceptional citizens on this year’s honours list. See the full list of honourees.
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OAM for her service to Australian rules football and to basketball
OAM for her service to Australian rules football and to basketball
Erin Phillips was 14 years old, when, one night, just as the family sat down to dinner, there was a knock at the door.
SEE THE FULL LIST OF SA QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HONOUREES HERE
It was Neil Gliddon, a junior basketball coach from the South Australian Sports Institute.
He was holding two basketballs and immediately handed them over to the teenage Phillips, who had recently taken up the sport after her beloved football decreed girls couldn’t play anymore once they turned 13.
But basketball wasn’t coming quite as naturally as footy had.
“I could not dribble to save myself,” Phillips, now 36, says.
“Neil came around and he didn’t live anywhere near me, and he gave me those two basketballs so I could practice dribbling with both hands.
“And I remember taking those basketballs and bouncing the heck out of them so I could get really good at dribbling so I could become a better ball handler.
“Very vividly, I remember thinking: ‘Wow, that guy saw something in me that I could be something special’.
“It would have taken me 12 months before I started getting a handle of it all.”
Phillips rattles off the names of dozens of coaches, teammates and of course family, who supported, encouraged and developed her raw athletic talent into a successful international basketball career spanning some 15 years.
She debuted for the Adelaide Lightning aged 17 in 2002, was selected in the Opals in 2005 and went on to play for teams in Poland, Israel and the United States
She retired from basketball in 2017 as a WNBL champion, two-time WNBA champion, two-time Olympian, Commonwealth Games gold medallist and FIBA World Champion.
By this time, women’s footy was on the rise and the Adelaide Football Club was granted a licence to join the new AFLW league, Phillips was signed as a rookie.
In five seasons, she has become a champion of the game, a two-time AFLW premiership winner, two-time AFLW grand final best on ground medallist, two-time league best and fairest, three-time All-Australian.
The mother-of-three has now been recognised with an OAM for her service to Australian rules football and to basketball.
“I feel very honoured, incredibly lucky with what I’ve been able to do in sport and the teams I’ve done it with and hopefully the chapter’s not over yet,” she says, hinting that she’ll continue playing AFLW for at least one more season.
”Sport has let me be who I am. That’s where my confidence was … I never felt out of place when I was playing sport.
“I was a kid who never really truly felt comfortable in my skin until I was out there competing and those two sports have meant everything to me.
“Sport also gave me the opportunity to meet my wife and if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have my kids and her. It’s been everything.
“I’ve been very, very fortunate.”
Phillips’s 2017 AFLW premiership-winning coach, Bec Goddard, has also received an OAM for service to Australian rules football and women in sport.
- By Liz Walsh
DETECTIVE GAIL McCLURE
Australian Policing Medal
Detective Superintendent Gail McClure initially had doubts about joining the Australian Federal Police, but on the advice of her Honours supervisor she took the plunge.
More than 20 years later she has travelled the world, being stationed in exotic locations and has been at the cutting edge of law enforcement including this week’s Operation Ironside which she described as the highlight of her career.
Speaking to The Advertiseron the morning of her first day off in weeks, Ms McClure said being awarded the Australian Policing Medal was a tribute to all the officers who worked for her and with her during her career.
“I have been incredibly lucky to have had all the experiences I’ve had and to work with such great people,” she said.
“It is humbling to receive this award, It still feels surreal.
“Some of the people I have looked up to the most and those who have mentored me have had the APM.
“It is absolutely a credit to all the people I have worked with, I feel like this is an award for all of us, not just the officers in South Australia but everyone I have worked with throughout my career.”
Ms McClure joined the force in 2019 after finishing a degree in police studies and criminology, but was dubious about applying to the AFP.
“I grew up in Geelong and finished by undergraduate degree but wasn’t sure what to do,” she said.
“I didn’t want to join Victoria Police because I didn’t want to work in uniform and my Honours supervisor suggested I should apply for AFP.
“At that point they hadn’t taken applications in a long time. I applied and thought what have I got to lose.”
After training in Canberra, Ms McClure was deployed to Perth for her first posting.
Her knowledge of the Indonesian language, which she chose to study at school in part because of the potential for a trip to Bali, made her an ideal candidate for an operation targeting the heroin trade from South East Asia.
From there her career went in leaps and bounds, taking her to Cyprus and on to London where she worked in UK authorities monitoring Australians travelling to Syria to participate in the conflict.
Her career has involved numerous roles including managing covert operations, anti-corruption and counter-terrorism investigations.
When the job of Superintendent in Adelaide came up, she said it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
“Adelaide is a beautiful city,” she said.
“My role here, because the office is smaller than in Melbourne or Sydney, means I get to lead investigations of all kind.
“You get to do a bit of everything.”
Of Operation Ironside, Ms McClure said she had been briefed on the operation three years ago and she had watched as it developed until resolution day on Tuesday.
“Ironside has been one of the highlights of my career,” she said.
“Over the course of three years we have been arresting people, seizing drugs and preventing violent assaults, but have been doing it in a way to disguise the source of the information.
“What we have been able to achieve will have a very significant impact on the criminal environment in South Australia and nationally.”
– By Mitch Mott
NICOLA SPURRIER
She has been the trusted public face in South Australia’s ferocious fight against Covid-19.
But now chief public health officer, Professor Nicola Spurrier, has been honoured in the Queen’s birthday honours for her “instrumental” pandemic leadership.
The mother of three, 54, says her public service medal – one of 31 issued nationally – given for “simply undertaking my role … is very humbling”.
“Without the support of the public health and wider SA Health teams, (SA Police) and other partners as well as the co-operation of the South Australian community, we would never be in the enviable position that we are now,” she says.
“I am truly honoured for this acknowledgment and I am committed to continuing to my work in the public sector to help protect South Australians throughout the pandemic and into the future.”
Government House officials say the Covid-19 “honour roll” includes 63 Australians recognised for their contribution in support of Australia’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prof Spurrier, a paediatrician, earned her medal for being “instrumental in leading the state’s response” as a “consistent advocate for the use of public health science to fight the virus”.
“(Her) knowledge and actions have helped to significantly reduce the spread of the virus, saving many South Australian lives, and reducing the burden on the state’s health service,” it reads.
Her citation praises her work “responding to the changing international, national and local situation” along with other officials including Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, SA Health chief executive Dr Chris McGowan, Premier Steven Marshall and Health Minister Stephen Wade.
Officials said she also “provided a strong representative presence” on the country’s emergency medical panel, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee,
“Through press conferences and media interviews she has established a reputation for honesty, transparency and directness that has engendered public trust,” her citation reads.
“She has met with countless community groups and councils to help educate them on the importance of public health measures in the response.
“She has also played a leading role in advising other clinicians around the state, including medical associations, general practitioners, pharmacists, paramedics and nurses, ensuring they have the latest information and advice to hand.”
- By Andrew Hough
SONYA RYAN
OAM for service to children as a cyber safety campaigner and advocate
Being recognised for her work keeping young people safe online is bittersweet for Sonya Ryan.
In 2007 her daughter Carly was murdered by an online predator and the Adelaide mother has dedicated almost every moment since to trying to prevent the same horror happening to other families.
Today she is recognised with an OAM for service to children as a cyber safety campaigner and advocate.
“It’s bittersweet of course because I’d much rather have my daughter here, but with circumstances out of my control I feel very grateful that I survived losing her and I can be here to do this work,” Ms Ryan said.
“It comes from a place of compassion and care for other young people and not wanting them to ever have to face what my daughter faced.”
In February 2007 Carly, 15, was murdered by Gary Francis Newman — a Victorian predator who had spent months posing online as a 20-year-old.
In 2010 Ms Ryan started the not-for-profit Carly Ryan Foundation to promote internet safety and seek tougher penalties for offenders.
She was named South Australian of the Year in 2013.
Over the years since her daughter’s death Ms Ryan has worked closely with state, federal and international police task forces and the Australian eSafety Commissioner and been involved in the creation of the Thread personal safety app and the Project Connect online education program.
She lobbied to pass Carly’s Law through the federal parliament in 2017 and the South Australian parliament in 2018, to crackdown on online predators planning to cause harm to, or engage in sexual activity with, a child.
In December, Ms Ryan travelled to the US – amid the risk of the COVID-19 pandemic – to help politicians introduce a version of Carly’s Law in Texas.
“There’s so much to do and I have limited time so I don’t often get to sit back and reflect on what we’ve achieved,” she said of receiving recognition in the Queen’s Birthday honours.
“Moving forward I would like to see increases in sentencing for crimes against children.
“I also want to change healthy relationships education. We need to be teaching kids about consent and coercion.”
– By Lauren Novak
FRANCES ADAMSON
Awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), for her service to public administration
Australia’s Governor-designate Frances Adamson has been awarded the highest national honour, a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), for her “eminent service to public administration”.
Ms Adamson on May 19 was announced as the state’s next Governor and in October will succeed Hieu Van Le, who has served as in the role since September, 2014.
The daughter of former state Liberal MP Jennifer Cashmore, Ms Adamson has been Foreign Affairs and Trade Department secretary since 2016, was Australia’s ambassador to China from 2011-15 and deputy high commissioner to London from 2005-08.
She was awarded the AC honour for “ eminent service to public administration, through the advancement of Australia’s diplomatic, trade and cultural interests, particularly with the People’s Republic of China and the Indo-Pacific region, to innovative foreign policy development and high-level program delivery, and as the 36th Governor appointed in South Australia”.
Ms Adamson also served as the chief of staff for Labor Defence and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith and as an international adviser to former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The AC recognises that, under her leadership, DFAT has undertaken the largest consular operation in its history, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“During this critical time, her support to her staff, including those posted overseas, has enabled them to provide continuing assistance to Australians abroad,” the citation says.
Accepting her appointment as Governor, Ms Adamson said she was greatly looking forward to returning home to serve the SA people after 36 years in Canberra and overseas.
She said she looked forward to being able to “contribute to the state’s international engagement through the promotion of trade, investment and people-to-people links”.
Ms Adamson’s other awards and recognition include the Sir James Wolfensohn Public Service Scholarship in 2015, along with an Adelaide University honorary doctorate.
– By Paul Starick
RAY SCOTT
Named a member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for his significant service to the road transport industry and the community
Known for his wise advice and generosity, Raymond Scott never walked down the main street of Mount Gambier without a chinwag with a fellow truckie or the mayor and there’s not a truck stop in Australia where he wasn’t greeted with a hello.
Almost a year after his death, aged 70, the trucking magnate has been named a member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for his significant service to the road transport industry and the community.
Describing their leader as a man who hated putting on a suit and tie, wife Jill Scott and children Libby Marcus, Prue Xanthopoulos and Ashley Scott were thrilled to see his legacy honoured yet sad they could not celebrate together.
Trucking was in Ray’s blood and he was at his happiest hitting the road in his Western Star with dog Effie.
He started out as a driver, went on to launch Ray Scott Groups of Companies and even during his seven year cancer battle he kept on trucking only halted in his final six months when could no longer climb into the cab.
If he could have found a way, Mrs Scott says there would have been no stopping him.
“He’d have his chemo, then come home, hop in a truck and drive to the Queensland stations, he never let it get him down,” Mrs Scott said.
“I don’t think there’s many roads in Australia he hasn’t driven on.”
There were few Mount Gambier community groups and charities Mr Scott was not involved in but the pinnacle was watching a win at the Borderline Speedway and his induction as the first Icon of the National Road Transport Hall of Fame.
“He didn’t do things for recognition, he just did them because he liked being involved in the community,” Mrs Xanthopoulos.
“He loved problem solving and helping people and that’s just who he was.”
– By Jessica Ball
IAN COX
AM for his dedication to helping the homeless and his volunteer work
Ian Cox joined the battle to save one of the most marginalised groups in the community in 1991, and is still fighting the good fight.
Mr Cox was for 16 years the CEO of The Hutt St Centre for homeless people, and one grateful volunteer nominated him for an AM in the Queen’s Birthday honours.
He says the battle has been worth it every time a homeless person provides feedback, either good or bad, when he arrives to work each day.
“I had an idea about the award when a volunteer I know called me and asked if I had ‘heard anything’,” Mr Cox said.
Other than his work with homeless people Ian has been a volunteer coach with the SANFL since 1995, but the honour came as a surprise.
“It has been a bit of a whirlwind since I found out, and is it a massive honour but I’m still shocked,’’ Mr Cox said.
“I never imagined someone like me would be up for this sort of award and I always just did it for the clients and so they got the best outcomes.
“I am humbled and I think it is a reflection on the work but also everyone in the homeless sector and the centre itself.
“They have lots of great programs and lots of great people.”
Mr Cox left The Hutt St Centre in 2019 to head the State Government’s Office for Homelessness Sector Integration.
The centre has fended off controversy in recent years. In 2019 the Adelaide City Council spent $40,000 on a review which found it had complied with all land use regulations, despite claims to the contrary.
Hutt St traders campaigned heavily against the centre, but police data showed their work did not attract additional crime to the street.
Although he stood aside during a recent tendering process, The Hutt St Centre will at the end of this month be stripped of $1.2m in funding by the State Government during an up-ending of how homeless support is allocated.
– By Miles Kemp
JOE STEVENS
Order of Australia Medal for services to athletics in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list
He’s the face behind one of the state’s largest charity events, and his achievements are being recognised at one of the highest levels.
Joe Stevens, race director of the City-Bay Fun Run since 2004, will receive an Order of Australia Medal for services to athletics in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
As well as being race director for the annual event that attracts tens of thousands, Mr Stevens is also a life member of Athletics Australia, president of the state division of the Commonwealth Games Association and former president of the South Australian Olympic Council.
He also officiated at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and both the 2006 and 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Previous awards for his commitment to athletics include Official of the Year for Athletics Australia in 2010, and the same award for the Athletics SA in 2003.
As well as being a member of the Athletics Australia Facilities and Equipment Commission since 2010, Mr Stevens also served on the Athletics SA committee from 2015 to 2017.
Speaking to The Advertiser in August last year when Covid-19 was threatening to quell Mr Stevens’ plans for the City-Bay race, he did all he could to ensure the event would go ahead.
“We’re an iconic flagship event for not just South Australia but the country,’’ he said.
The event had never been cancelled in all of its 47-year history.
The race was cancelled due to heath concerns, but Mr Stevens’ tenacious attitude to make the race work and his passion for athletics shone through.
– By Pat James
IAN BAILEY
OAM for helping people with disability through sport
Ian Bailey knew when his son David was born with spina bifida it would change his life, but what he didn’t realise was how it would create an amazing bond between them.
The 82-year-old has received an OAM after spending much of his adult life dedicating himself to helping people with disability through sport.
The chief executive of Clearview Bowling Club since 2002, Mr Bailey has volunteered to help countless people live a better life through disability lawn bowls programs.
Mr Bailey said he was inspired to take up the cause by his son, who died at age 55 in September, 2019.
“My only wish that my son David was here to share this award and recognition,” Mr Bailey, of Broadview, said.
“He’s the one who inspired me to support all those with a disability, whether it be physical or intellectual.
“For many years he paved the way in disability lawn bowls.”
Mr Bailey said he felt humbled to be among those who have been honoured with OAMs before him.
Along with his sport programs, he also spent 10 years as chairman at PARQUA Housing Cooperative working to build and provide homes for people with disability.
Most of all Mr Bailey cherished the years he spent bowling at Clearview with David.
“We had something in common and it gave us this bond,” he said.
“We were a real team, David and I.”
Mr Bailey’s work has previously been recognised with the Bowls SA Volunteer of the Year award in 2002, along with a string of other honours.
– By Patrick Keam
OUR SA DOCTORS
Appointed as Officers in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO)
Three eminent South Australian clinicians who are leaders in their fields and served their professions in numerous roles have been honoured by being appointed as Officers in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO).
Professor Peter Mark Bartold (known as Mark) was honoured for distinguished service to dentistry, periodontal research and education, and to professional dental organisations.
He was director of the Colgate Australian Clinical Dental Research Centre, 1992-2017, and is Emeritus Professor of the Adelaide Dental School.
He has helped establishing periodontal education programs in countries including Indonesia, India, China, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia.
Prof Bartold is editor of the Journal of the International Academy of Periodontology and also of the Australian Dental Journal, and is Adjunct Professor, Periodontology, University of Bern, Switzerland.
He was named 5th Most Influential Researcher in Periodontology Worldwide in the International League of Scholars Database, 2018.
Dr Patrick Toby Coates (known as Toby) is Director, Kidney and Islet Transplantation at the Central Northern Adelaide Renal and Transplantation Service, working at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
He was honoured for distinguished service to renal medicine, to professional medical organisations, and to tertiary education.
Dr Coates has served as president of the Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand, is co-chair of the COVID-19 National Transplantation and Donation Rapid Response Taskforce, and is the founder of Kidney, Transplant and Diabetes Research Australia.
Other roles include being on the National Indigenous Kidney Transplant Taskforce and being associate editor of Kidney International.
“I am honoured to be recognised like this — essentially you are doing your job but as other people nominate you, clearly there are people who think you are doing a good job,” he said.
Professor Donald Howie is the Foundation Professor, Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Adelaide since 1988 and co-director of the Centre for Orthopaedic and Trauma Research since 2011.
He was honoured for his distinguished service to medicine in the field of orthopaedics, and to professional medical organisations.
Prof Howie was head of the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, 1988-2020, and clinical director of the Orthopaedic and Trauma Service, 1992-2019.
A consultant orthopaedic surgeon since 1987, Prof Howie was co-founder of the Australian National Joint Replacement Registry and foundation president of the Australian Arthroplasty Society.
– By Brad Crouch
BRIAN GILBERTSON
Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia
Brian Gilbertson has led the South Australian Christmas Pageant for close to 20 years, but seeing the wonder on the faces of little children and big kids never gets old.
“The pageant is the true meaning of joy,” Mr Gilbertson said. “You see children in the faces of 90-year-olds … them returning to innocence.
“The pageant is an opportunity to reach a lot of people with a strong message … it celebrates the coming together of the goodness of people.”
A principal artist with the State Opera for two decades prior to becoming the pageant’s director and a Festivals Adelaide board member since 1998, Mr Gilbertson has been made a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for his significant services to festivals and events in South Australia, to opera, and to voice education.
His many achievements and accolades include being an international arts ambassador at the Sydney Olympics and being named Adelaide’s Citizen of the Year in 2010.
Admitting to being “stuck for words”, Mr Gilbertson, who has a star on the Festival Theatre’s Walk of Fame, said there was one that summed up his feelings.
“It’s gratitude, thankfulness for all the associations I have had with people, we have all achieved great things,” Mr Gilbertson said. “Lighting technicians, conductors, colleagues, volunteers … the chats backstage, you learn from all of them.
“You feel quite small because you realise, yes, you’ve played a part but so many people played a part in helping you get there – it’s very humbling.”
The people include Mr Gilbertson’s wife, Julie Sloan, and children, Harrison and Bridget.
“My family is my life, they are so important to me and have supported me,” Mr Gilbertson said, adding he had carried the lessons his parents taught him with him throughout his career.
“Mum told me ‘just do the job and don’t expect anything in return and you’ll be surprised’,” he said.
“This is a very high honour for a little fella from Albert Park – just keep doing what you’re doing and do it well, be at the coalface.”
– By Anna Vlach
Originally published as Queen’s Birthday honours for South Aussie greats
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