King’s Birthday 2024 Honours list: NT recipients honoured with Order of Australia medals
Territorians have been honoured for their service to the community this King’s Birthday. Read who made the list.
This King’s Birthday will be celebrated extra hard by a handful of Territorians who received one of the highest honours.
These Territorians have been recognised for their service to the community, from science to health engineering and emergency services.
Making the list among 737 Australians, Governor-General David Hurley said the honour bestowed upon them all was well deserved.
“Through today’s recognition we shine a light on their efforts, the impact they have and the difference they make. On behalf of all Australians, I thank recipients for their service and congratulate them on their recognition,” the Governor-General said.
See who made the NT’s list of recipients.
Member of the Order of Australia (AM)
Mr Steven Sydney Davis
Steven Sydney Davis was recognised for significant service to science, particularly through veterinary virology research.
He has been recognised for his valuable service with a Medal of the Order of Australia.
Mr Davis is currently a laboratory scientist mentor for Menzies School of Health Research’s global and tropical health division.
He also plays the same role for the Timor Leste Veterinary Virus Laboratory.
Mr Davis previously worked for the CSIRO as a lab technician at the Berrimah Virus Laboratory for 18 years.
Before that, he was a technical assistant for the CSIRO’s Long Pocket Laboratory from 1977-2000.
The late Mr Sydney George Kinsman
Five days before the two year anniversary of his passing, the late Sydney George Kinsman will be posthumously honoured by becoming a Member for the Order of Australia in the general division.
Living to just short of 101, Mr Kinsman was many things in his life: A WWII veteran who partook in the siege of Tobruk; an escapee from a prisoner of war camp; a float builder for the May Day parades in Alice Springs; a volunteer firefighter; and much more.
But to his family, and his daughter Tricia Bruce, he was “just a really good man, who loved and cared for his family, community, and his country.”
“He would be so humbled by this,” she said.
It’s a sentiment echoed by his eldest grandson Benjamin Bruce, who said it was a proud moment for the family seeing their grandad get the medal.
“For me personally, Grandpa’s attitude and approach to life will forever be an inspiration, so for his contributions to be recognised in this way is something quite special,” he said.
Originally from Adelaide, Mr Kinsman enlisted to military at 19 years of age, before moving to Alice Springs once WWII ended.
He ended up spending 75 years in Alice Springs until his passing and was involved in the town in a number of ways – from being a life member on the Alice Springs Show Society to a being a former committee member for Nathalie Gorey Pre-School.
Mr Kinsman was instrumental to Anzac Day in the town, and was a life member of the Returned Services League Australia.
The Sydney Kinsman Monument was erected in his honour by the Alice Springs Town Council in 2021, and in 2019 he was named Centralian Senior Citizen of the Year.
But to his grandson, knowing his grandfather is being honoured and how much it would have meant to Syd makes him smile.
“He never considered anything he did as beyond ordinary expectation, but acknowledgment that he was having a positive impact always bought him joy,” Mr Bruce said.
Justice Graham Hiley
After decades of service to the Territory’s law and justice bodies, the Honourable Justice Graham Eric Hiley RFD has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.
A Justice of the NT Supreme Court between 2013 and 2021, he was made acting justice in 2021.
His first Territory appointments came in the mid 1970s with solicitors Cridland and Bauer as well as a role as a founding member of the NT Bar Association in 1991 and as president of the NT Law Society from 1987.
He was made a Queen’s Counsel in the NT in 1987 and in Victoria and Queensland in 1993 and other roles include chair of the NT Council of Law Reporting from 2014-2020, chair, of the community living areas tribunal between 1990-1998; deputy chair, of the Lands Acquisition Tribunal from 1983-1995 chair of the Planning Appeals Committee between 1984-1994 and a member of the Legal Practitioners Complaints Committee from 1990.
Im 1989 he was recognised with a Reserve Force Decoration for his work with the Army Reserves which lasted from 1972-2014.
His work as a barrister covered most areas of the law and his time in the Northern Territory included torts such as industrial accidents, motor vehicle accidents, public liability and professional negligence.
He also undertook workers compensation claims, commercial and contractual disputes, insolvency, administrative law, Aboriginal land claims, planning, mining, land acquisition, criminal law and statutory interpretation. When he relocated to Brisbane in 1994, most of his work involved native title.
Justice Hiley has edited publications on workers compensation, native title and commercial arbitration. He has presented and published papers on topics including Aboriginal land rights, native title, Crown liability for unlawful conduct, fishing, pastoral leases, legal ethics and etiquette, and trial by jury.
Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
Sabaratnam Prathapan
Charles Darwin University Associate Professor of Engineering has been recognised for his contributions to tertiary education and his community with a Medal of the Order of Australia.
Mr Prathapan has dedicated a lifetime to the Territory’s education sector having lectured at the Darwin Community College in the 70s, headed up the construction and civil engineering divisions of the Darwin Institute of Technology in the 80s, held CDU TAFE’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor position in the 90s, and taught the next generation of engineers since 2005.
The passionate educator also held several positions at the Institute of TAFE, including a five-year stint as Deputy Director and the chair of both the promotions and professional experience program committees in 1989.
Mr Prathapan is also the former chair of the Institute’s Board of Studies, former deputy chair and member of the executive committee, and was a member of the staff development and courses committees.
Outside of his dedication to education, Mr Prathapan is also known for his passion for his community.
He was the NT Hindu Society president for 25 years and currently serves as the community group’s vice-president.
Mr Prathapan was also the Sri Lanka Australia Friendship Association president.
Currently, he is a member of the Darwin Rotary Club and a community member of the NT Judicial Commission.
Donna Maree Rousham
Donna Maree Rousham has previously been recognised for her service to Territorians living with disability, but this year she will add a Medal of the Order of Australia to her accolades.
Ms Rousham was recognised with the Fitzgerald Award for Social Change at the NT Human Rights Awards in 2019, and was also recognised as a Senior of Excellence in 2020.
In 2017, she received the Statewide Super and Local Government Association NT Heroes Award.
Ms Rousham has been a volunteer with Variety NT since 1993 and became a life member in 2019 – she also founded the charity’s Starfish Swim Group in 2007.
She has also worked with the Down Syndrome Association of the NT, having been a committee member from 1991-1996 and a volunteer hospital representative from 1991-1994.
Helen Christine Summers
Renowned NT optometrist Helen Christine Summers has been recognised for her service to the Top End community – and optometry – through a Medal of the Order of Australia.
As well as heading up her own optometry clinic since the 90s, Ms Summers has also worked as Guide Dogs SA/NT’s director and oversaw the organisation’s member service delivery committee from 2005-2019.
The breadth of Ms Summers’ community service extends to her time as the Australia Day Council NT’s Director and Vice Chair since 2021 and 2022 respectively and she also held Crime Stoppers NT’s Deputy Chair role for four years in the past decade.
She has previously been recognised as Telstra’s NT Business Woman of the Year in 2013 and received Telstra’s Business Owner Award in the same year.
Ms Summers was inducted into the Australian Businesswomen’s Network Hall of Fame in 2014, and received Queensland’s St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School Caroline Amy Award in 2018.
Anne Walker
For years Territory cancer patients were compelled to fly interstate for treatment due to the expensive nature of delivering services to a remote centre with a small population.
Fighting every inch of the way for expanded cancer services in the NT has been Anne Walker, whose efforts have been rewarded this year with a Medal of the Order of Australia.
The Allen Walker Cancer Centre, the Territory’s main cancer treatment centre, bears her late husband’s name and she has been its patron since 2010.
As well Mrs Walker has been a member of Royal Darwin Hospital’s quxiliary since the 1980s, a board member with the University of the Third Age since 2012, a member and competitor with Darwin Stingers masters swimming club since the 1990s, an Australian Red Cross volunteer for 25 years and a volunteer and fundraiser with the NT Cancer Council.
Interviewed by the NT News in April Anne, 86, was preparing to compete in the Australian masters swimming championships.
The Darwin Stingers were “like therapy to me when I lost my husband, the club were very encouraging, they’re a wonderful group of people and the coaches have been amazing”, she said.
“We all support one another here and we are all wonderful friends and we’ll be doing the journey together.”
Mrs Walker holds a number of freestyle, backstroke and medley age group records.
Lesley Woolf
Lesley Woolf, Mala’la Health Service Aboriginal Corporation’s manager of health and community services, may be past retirement but she shows no signs of slowing down – and nor does the pipeline of accolades.
After last year being nominated as the Northern Territory’s Senior Australian of the Year, Ms Woolf, a nurse, midwife and health administrator of five decades, can add Medal of the Order of Australia to her groaning mantelpiece.
“I like to think I’ve been a champion of nurses and supported nurses and been their cheerleader along the way,” Ms Woolf said.
Among her proudest achievements in the Territory, she said, was transitioning two health services to the Aboriginal community controlled health organisation (ACCHO) model.
ACCHOs made a tangible difference to the lives of Aboriginal Australians, she said.
“In the big machinery of any health department, decisions are made for the good of the territory/state, whereas we can concentrate on the community and have good input from them,” Ms Woolf said.
“I think that’s really important, that they can have a voice. The decision making is a joint effort.”
While Maningrida will be the last stop on her career’s journey, sailing into the sunset won’t happen anytime soon.
“It’s hard to think about retirement because there’s so much to do, and I find that exciting,” Ms Woolf said.
SERVICE MEDALS
Mr Geoffrey Kenna – Fire Service Medal
Serving in the Territory for 27 years as a volunteer firefighter, Geoffrey Kenna’s hard work is being honoured through an Australian Fire Service Medal.
Volunteering at the Alice Springs Rural Fire Service, Mr Kenna served as a volunteer captain at the brigade and also helped transform the Emily Hills Volunteer Bushfire Brigade from a basic facility into a fully functional brigade headquarters.
His work at Emily Hills saw him recruiting and training volunteers alongside securing the necessary resources for the brigade.
He would provide tanker driving lessons, conduct hydrant tests, and ensure the brigade’s readiness through rigorous training sessions.
Mr Kenna was also senior fire controller with Bushfires NT, serving throughout the Territory and interstate battling blazes – occasionally travelling to Victoria to assist with his expertise.
Now back in Swan Hill, Victoria, Mr Kenna is also helping at the Swan Hill Fire Brigade – where he originally started firefighting more than 40 years ago.
Deputy Commissioner Martin Dole - Australian Police Medal
With three decades of experience in the NT Police Force, deputy commissioner Martin Dole has been awarded an Australian Police Medal.
With an extensive 27-year career in the Territory, Mr Dole’s roles include stints in general duties and the detective branch as well as leadership positions such as detective superintendent and in crime command.
Currently serving as the deputy commissioner, he has the significant responsibility of overseeing and providing guidance to all police officers in the Northern Territory.
Notably, Mr Dole has implemented measures that ensure officers perform their duties effectively in remote areas, in the process enhancing community safety across the Territory.
According to his citation, he spread “knowledge and insight collected through his extensive operational experience undertaken while serving in some of the most remote parts of the country at locations including Alice Springs, Yuendumu, Ti Tree, Papunya and Yulara for more than a decade”.
Endorsed by Australian Federal Police commmissioner and former Territory top cop Reece Kershaw, the medal was awarded for DC Dele’s professionalism, integrity, and dedication to upholding the Territory police values.
“For almost three decades Deputy Commissioner Dole demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities, earning respect from colleagues and community members alike,” the citation said. “His strategic acumen and operational excellence have been instrumental in fostering collaborative relationships between the NTPFES and other agencies within the Territory and nationally.
“His commitment to protecting vulnerable communities and enhancing safety within the Northern Territory has been consistently recognised and commended.
“Deputy Commissioner Dole has made an outstanding contribution to law enforcement and public safety, and through his unwavering dedication and strong leadership he has made an enduring impact on policing in the Northern Territory and beyond.”
Garry Branson - Australian Fire Service Medal
Garry Branson has dedicated his life to firefighting, starting as a volunteer in South Australia in 1986 before becoming a career firefighter in the Northern Territory from 2002.
Throughout his illustrious career, he has served in various capacities, starting as a cadet and becoming a station officer.
Currently a station officer with the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service, Mr Branson’s commitment to service is exemplified by his participation in combating major bushfires in New South Wales in 1994 and 2001/2002, as well as volunteering during the Wangary bushfires in 2005.
His citation said Mr Branson had demonstrated bravery on the frontline and contributed significantly to training and development within the firefighting community. He served as a hazmat training instructor and played key roles in the management committees of firefighting organisations.
Additionally, Mr Branson has been instrumental in introducing innovative training methods, such as Compartment Fire Behaviour Training, to improve the skills of firefighters.
He has actively fostered relationships with other firefighting agencies to enhance regional safety measures. In recent years, Mr Branson has continued to share his expertise by conducting training courses and assisting in firefighting efforts during emergencies across the country.
The citation said wherever Mr Branson goes, he performs with distinction and consistently gains the utmost respect from peers, volunteers and auxiliaries. His unwavering commitment to excellence and safety underscores “his reputation as a consummate professional in the firefighting community”.
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