David Mattiske, Bill Taylor and Lorrae Desmond honoured in Australia Day awards
A Southport veteran who took part in the Battle of Surigao Strait, a former naval commodore and a Logie award-winning actress are among the Gold Coasters awarded Australia Day honours. THESE ARE THEIR REMARKABLE STORIES
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Southport veteran who took part in the Battle of Surigao Strait, a former naval commodore and a Logie award-winning actress are among the Gold Coasters awarded honours on Australia Day. These are their stories.
DAVID MATTISKE
SOUTHPORT veteran, RSL stalwart and great grandfather David Mattiske has spent decades fighting to have the navy’s efforts in the Philippines during World War II properly recognised.
As a young lad, the 95-year-old witnessed the official end of the devastating conflict as one of just 30 Australians to see the Union Jack raised in Tokyo on September 2, 1945.
Drafted to serve on the HMAS Shropshire as an 18-year-old, Mr Mattiske spent three years with the navy and took part in the intense Battle of Surigao Strait (BoSS) in the Philippines.
It was the last time in history battleship-to-battleship action was recorded.
Since then, Mr Mattiske, who had the book Fire Across the Pacificpublished in 2000, has worked tirelessly to cement ties between Australia and the Philippines.
FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: JUST $5 A MONTH FOR THE FIRST THREE MONTHS
His work has resulted in him being awarded an Australia Day honour – OAM in the general division for service to veterans and their families, and to the community.
Like many recipients, Mr Mattiske played down his achievement.
“It’s a great honour. I’m not so sure it’s all that deserved, to be quite honest,” he said.
“I’ve just done my bit for the country the best I can during my life.
“I suppose I should say it is gratifying to know there’s been some recognition.
“Australia has never given proper recognition to the navy’s efforts in the Philippines.”
Mr Mattiske’s efforts have not only been recognised in his home country.
A quote from a speech by Mr Mattiske during his 2018 visit to the BoSS Museum in the Philippines is emblazoned on a remembrance wall in the BoSS Memorial, opened 2019.
It reads: “Let us pray: that we never have another world war.”
Mr Mattiske, a fixture at Gold Coast Anzac Day commemorations, has been a member of the Naval Historical Society of Australia since 2000 and is the founding president of the Gold Coast HMAS Canberra and HMAS Shropshire Association.
The RSL life member, now legally blind, is also co-ordinator of the Annual Commemoration of the Battle of Surigao Strait and patron of Gold Coast Navy Week Committee.
In 1995, Mr Mattiske was presented with The Philippine Liberation Medal by Ambassador Delia Domingo-Albert.
SUN TO COME OUT FOR AUSTRALIA DAY CELEBRATIONS
She later wrote in the foreword in Fire Across the Pacific: “I congratulate him (Mr Mattiske) for bringing into the consciousness of the Australian people an important bridge in Philippines-Australian relations; namely, that both our countries have fought side by side at various fronts for a shared common cause.”
Southport RSL Sub Branch deputy president Ken Orr, who nominated Mr Mattiske for the Order of Australia Medal, said his friend’s achievements were “nothing short of extraordinary” and “worthy of the highest recognition possible”.
Mr Mattiske, who was born in South Australia, said it had always been his ambition to shine a light on the role of the Shropshire in World World II.
BILL TAYLOR
A GOLD Coast Australia Day AM appointee and former naval commodore honoured for his outstanding work in public life says it’s his late wife who should receive the accolade.
Runaway Bay grandfather Bill Taylor, 82, has been appointed member in the general division of the Order of Australia for significant service to the people and parliament of Australia, and to public administration.
The former Groom MP and administrator said he felt honoured, but the appointment should instead have gone to his beloved wife of 52 years, Jan, who sadly died at age 75.
“She might have passed on but she’s still with me in spirit,” Mr Taylor said.
“In terms of this award, the honour doesn’t belong to me, in large part, it belongs to my wife. I lost her five years ago to cancer.
“But I’m proud and I was very happy to accept.”
Mr Taylor, now retired, enjoyed a naval career spanning 31 years before he won a by-election to become Liberal Member for Groom in 1988 – a position he held for a decade.
“I watch the news a lot, I watch the COVID media conferences and Question Time quite religiously. I used to refer to Question Time when I was there as the feeding of the animals,” he said.
GOLD COAST AUSTRALIA DAY GALLERY: 1990s TO TODAY
“I’m no longer a member of any party, but I’m quite interested about what goes on.
“What I see a lot more now is the personality politics.
“In Groom, my stance was that I believed in people politics, rather than machine politics.”
Among various other roles, Mr Taylor was also administrator for Australian Indian Ocean Territories between 1999-2003 and inaugural chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties between 1996-1998.
“As of today, I’m still the longest serving administrator in the Australian Indian Ocean Territories. I had the first 200 boats and 6-7000 boat people to deal with,” he said.
“After I was appointed to the IOT in 1999, some in the Canberra press gallery criticised it as ‘just another surf and sand experience for one of the boys’.
“However, within months my late wife and I found ourselves embroiled in one of the most highly sensitive, emotionally charged, administratively challenging, politically motivated four and a half years of my working life, with worrying international diplomatic ramifications.”
Mr Taylor said his most memorable role was perhaps when he worked in the Australian Embassy in Washington during the Vietnam War.
“I was the admin’ officer for our DDG (guided missile destroyer) program. We were building three guided missile ships in Michigan (United States), Brisbane, Hobart and Perth,” he said.
“I was looking after 6-700 trainees, all their pay and the financial side of their being in the country. I was a young lieutenant then.
“That was one of the most challenging postings I’ve ever had.”
Mr Taylor, who was born in Toowoomba, worked as a senior radio operator with Volunteer Marine Rescue for a decade, which included a stint on the Coast.
LORRAE DESMOND
SHE’S best known as a soapie star but Logie award-winning actress Lorrae Desmond rates singing for Aussie troops in Vietnam as among her proudest achievements.
The 91-year-old Gold Coast resident, famed for her role in long-running soap A Country Practice, has been awarded an AM in the Australia Day honours list for services to the performing arts.
The gong adds to the MBE the former cabaret artist received in 1970 at the height of the Vietnam War, in which she found fame entertaining troops in the style of Britain’s World War II songbird, Vera Lynn. Desmond also performed for troops in the Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, Kenya and Somalia.
She said one of her most cherished possessions was a plaque from the troops with the inscription: “To The Mother of All Vietnam Vets.”
“That is something I’m really proud of,” she told The Courier-Mail through long-time friend Gael Ballantyne.
“I don’t like wars but I love performing for soldiers ... to see their eyes change from sadness to a smile.
“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve it but I’m very honoured to be awarded an AM from the Australian Government.”
Desmond starred in A Country Practice from 1981-1992, winning the Silver Logie in 1984 for best supporting actress.
She won the Gold Logie in 1962 for the Lorrae Desmond Show, and also appeared in popular soaps and dramas including Home and Away, Homicide and Number 96. She was a longtime Australia Day ambassador, welcoming new Australians to the country.Desmond said she no longer sings but still loves TV, especially David Attenborough ‘because his message is important and because he’s a bit of alright’.
She plans to spend Australia Day with family and friends on the Gold Coast, where she moved to from Sydney about a year ago.
Originally published as David Mattiske, Bill Taylor and Lorrae Desmond honoured in Australia Day awards
‘She never left Main Beach’: Tribute to the queen of Tedder Ave
The city has lost a Main Beach matriarch who helped create the vision and reputation for the famous Gold Coast street.
Power outage hits central Gold Coasters
A major power outage has suddenly hit the central Gold Coast suburbs of Mermaid and Broadbeach. UPDATES