MAJOR LANCE JOHNSON

OAM

MAJOR Lance Johnson is living proof the only person who defines your life journey is you.

The Territory-bred 48-year-old is serving in Iraq, which is a long way from his childhood Howard Springs home, primary school and Taminmin College mates.

A reservist after 27 years in the regular Army, he is on deployment, in large part for his work with defence veterans, in Taji about 25km north of Baghdad.

He is receiving an Order of Australia Medal for his service to public administration in the Northern Territory, including the Department of Veterans Affairs. But that work forms part of a lifetime of commitment to defence service.

“To me working with the veterans in the Territory was like repaying the Territory,” Major Johnson said from Taji.

“People don’t understand how we operate, how we speak, the way we live. So to be able to speak to veterans and have a military background who also grew up in the rural area, I was able to relate to them which helped the lost veterans reconnect with the proper services.

“My job was made easier by the support of the RSLs and Department of Veterans Affairs, Norforce and all the services who assisted me get around the Northern part of Australia to do this.”

His work from 2015 has had the number of veterans accessing services to cope with post-service life triple.

Major Johnson’s first overseas deployment came in 1993 as a corporal in Somalia where a civil war and famine had ravaged the country.

He has since served in Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Iraq, at times, at the height of conflict.

“On a tour of Iraq there was an indirect fire incident on a gymnasium and there were casualties everywhere including Australians so I’ve seen the shrapnel and gunshot wounds,” he said.

“As a combat medic you do your job without thinking about it and then later reassess what happened and how you handled it — it is what we train for.”

DAVID DE SILVA

AM

THE seed for AM recipient David De Silva’s three decade legal career in Darwin was sown on a trip to the city with his wife Wendy in 1982.

Unemployed and with not much else to do, they watched the trial of Lindy Chamberlain, charged with the murder of her baby daughter Azaria.

“We didn’t know at that stage what our future would be, but that’s when I knew I wanted to be a lawyer and I wanted to be a lawyer in Darwin,” he said.

The couple relocated from Darwin to the Top End and soon after Mr De Silva joined the first of many community groups when he was invited to sit on the tribunal of the local soccer league.

It was the beginning of decades of service to the community.

From there, he switched codes and was instrumental in the establishment of the AFL in the NT. He has had a long involvement with St Mary’s Football Club, where he is a life member and has volunteered with the Darwin Community Legal Service since the volunteer program’s inception in 1990.

More recently, he was appointed chairman of the Darwin Entertainment Centre in 2013.

He nominated the completion of the new Darwin International Tennis Centre just a week ago as his greatest community achievement.

Mr De Silva said the tennis centre would foster sporting talent and help Darwin forge stronger business ties with Asia.

Juggling the operation of his law firm, De Silva Hebron, with his commitments to various boards and community groups was difficult at times, and Mr De Silva said having an “understanding wife” was critical.

Mr De Silva said everybody could contribute in some way to the community.

“If you can give back, you should; that’s something I firmly believe in,” he said.

“There are so many way you can add to the fabric of our local culture.

“Everyone can do something, some people just don’t know what it is they’ve got to give.”

ANDREA MASON

OAM

EVERY day Andrea Mason sets off to work with a simple but challenging personal belief — continue to do each day better than what I was doing yesterday.

And for this philosophy Ms Mason, 51, has now been recognised with an Order of Australia Medal.

The chief executive officer of has been recognised for service to the Indigenous community of the Northern Territory, specifically the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council, where she has been in charge since 2009.

Ms Mason said the OAM is an added benefit in ensuring the voices of Aboriginal people are heard.

“Being named the Telstra Business Woman of the Year in 2016 and then the Northern Territory Australian of the Year by the Australia Day Council in 2017 already gave me some leverage when sitting opposite the decision makers and influence,” she said. “The OAM adds to that.”

And so does her membership of the Australian Government Indigenous Advisory Council.

“The NPY Women’s Council has come a long way from when I first started in 2009 and while we have made some substantial changes there is still much, much, more to do,” she said. The core purpose of NPY Women’s Council is to work with the women and their families of the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara region in Central Australia to increase their capacity to lead safe and healthy lives with improved life choices.

They deliver messages on health and nutrition and dealing with substance abuse.

They also offer advocacy services on justice. Not an easy task given the area is the remotest in the country and crosses two state borders.

At a personal level Ms Mason feels the recognition carries on the work of her father Ben, a Ngaanyatjarra man, who was made a Member of the British Empire in 1978.

“I see in part I am continuing on the work and the legacy he started,” she said.

Ms Mason has also represented Australia in netball as a member of the national under-21 team in 1986.

DARYL MANZIE

AM

RETIRED radio host Daryl Manzie is a man of many words, but he was rendered speechless when he found out he had been appointed a member in the general division of the Order of Australia today.

“It was such a surprise — I just wasn’t expecting it all,” he said.

The former Member for Sanderson and Territory FM radio personality received the AM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for significant service to the people and Parliament of the Northern Territory, and to the community through leadership in advisory roles.

“I’ve always been interested in the community I live in and making it a difference where I could,” Mr Manzie said.

“I’ve never been one to sit back and complain about what should be done — I’d rather roll up my sleaves and do it.

“But at the end of the day I don’t think I could have done 90 per cent of what I’ve accomplished in my career without my wife Maureen. We’re definitely a team.”

Mr Manzie, 72, held senior roles in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1983 — 2001, including cabinet member portfolios for the Attorney-General, education, health, transport, trade and business and resource development.

He was also a radio presenter at Territory FM from 2001-2017.

Mr Manzie has been the chairman of the Darwin International Airport Community Consultation Board since 2014 and chairman of the NT Duke of Edinburgh International Award since 2017.

“I really enjoy the work I’m doing now with the Duke of Edinburgh award,” he said.

“It may sound a bit posh, but it’s helping empower over 600 kids around the Territory to achieve their goals and recognise their talent.

“We’re not on this planet for very long after all, so it’s important to make it better for the generations after us.”

Mr Manzie was also the chairman of the NT Australia Day Council from 2013-2017, chairman of the NT Defence Reserve Support Committee from 2005-2011.

Mr Manzie has been a patron of the NT Variety Club since 1991, Motor Vehicle Enthusiasts Club since 2001, Northline Speedway since 1983, Darwin Military Museum since 2014 and NT Soccer Federation from 1996-2006.

JAI SINGH

AM

JAI Singh may have been born overseas in India, but he calls Darwin home.

He is being awarded with an Order of Australia for his service to education, particularly in the field of physics, as an academic and researcher, and to professional scientific organisations.

The physics professor has been teaching and researching in the Top End since 1986.

His focus is on solar cells and material science.

While there aren’t any physics subjects at Charles Darwin University, Prof Singh teaches in the areas of materials engineering, renewable energy and mathematics for engineers at the School of Engineering and Information Technology.

He is also a supervisor for three PhD candidates and expects another three will join by the end of the year.

With his focus on solar cells and material science Prof Singh has been able to help advance solar energy.

He has researched how components of materials could be used to improve solar technology.

“I have helped develop solar cells and how efficiency can be improved,” he said.

During his time as a professor he has written five books and more than 200 journal articles.

Prof Singh is considered a leader in his field and is often called on to review articles and participate in conferences.

He has also been the driving force in international physics conferences being held in Darwin.

“I did a lot of work organising international conferences on physics and that really put Darwin on the international map, people started coming here to give talks,” he said.

Prof Singh gained his qualifications in India, and has worked around the world including Germany, Singapore and the US.

JUDITH ANICTOMATOS

OAM

JUDITH Anictomatos has been finding a voice for women for her whole life.

In ventures that will today see Ms Anictomatos receive Queen’s Birthday honours for Service to women in the Northern Territory, she has been a lifelong servant to Top End community members within the Country Women’s Association, for who she has been and will continue to be in an executive in, and the Royal Darwin show.

But to Ms Anictomatos, helping out the community is simply what she loves most.

“The organisations I belong to are my life.”

Her passion and drive comes from wanting to help people do what they want to.

“Back in the day there were all these things that weren’t available for women,” she said.

“I like to help people achieve what I didn’t have when I was growing up.”

Over her 37 year journey, she was a key player in helping the CWA find a new home during uncertain time.

“We used to have accommodation in Packard Pl, and as the years went on the laws changed — we decided to close the hostel and bought a purpose property in bishop St for women and children,” she said.

“I was an instigator in selling the land and finding the new Head Quarters.”

More recently, a history book to be launched in the coming week details the women who helped shape the Northern Territory, and it stands as her pride and joy.

“My biggest achievement is having the history book of the CWA in NT because it involves all of the Territory and I’m quite proud of that,” she said. “It’s a wonderful coffee table book, it’s a little bit bigger than ben hur but there is a lot of years in there.”

Ms Anictomatos credits her own upbringing in a large family as a reason for her generous nature, and said helping people and sharing time with them is something she has always done.

“I’m involved in neighbourhood watch and safety house and quite a few things like that as well,” she said.

“As long as I’m standing and able, I’ll be doing something.”

GOFF LETTS

AM

THE man known as the “Father of Northern Territory Self Government” because of the work he did to establish self-rule in the Territory says he is proud, but surprised to honoured in the Queen’s Birthday award list.

Goff Letts, now 90 and living in Victoria, was neither a premier nor a chief minister.

He was the Member for Victoria River and Majority Leader of the Northern Territory before the Territory achieved self-Government in 1978.

He led the renamed Legislative Assembly at the time of Cyclone Tracy and he is credited with the formation of the Country Liberal Party.

Today he receives an AM in the General Division of the Order of Australia for significant service to politics and government in the Northern Territory, and to conservation and the environment.

Goff said he thought receiving a British Empire medal in 1978 was a life highlight, but he readily admits his latest honour caps a life full of many great moments.

“My 30 plus years in the Territory was a wonderful chapter in my life and I still feel I am a Territorian … albeit living somewhere else,” Goff said. “My family connections are still strong in Darwin.

“When I arrived in the Territory in the 50s it was like a piece of history was being written every day. This award adds to my history.”

Goff came to the Territory from rural Victoria as a stock inspector in 1957 and stayed and started a family until 1986 when he headed back to Victoria to be closer to his ageing parents.

Apart from his time in politics as the Member for Victoria River (1971-1977) Goff was the chair and director of the NT Conservation Commission, (1979-1984); member and former chair of the CSIRO Advisory Council (1978-1984); chairman of the NT Wildlife Council (1964-1970); and the first NT Chief Inspector of Wildlife, (1963).

On his return to Victoria Goff continued his high profile public life working with the Loddon and Donald Shire councils; the Marnoo Landcare Group; the inaugural chair of the Northern Mallee Pipeline Project; chair of the Victorian Association of Rural Water Authorities; and board member of the North Central Catchment Management Authority.

DR KERRY EUPENE

AM

WHEN Dr Kerry Eupene started practising in the NT, he was the youngest dentist in the Territory. Now, a month shy of 70, Dr Eupene is the oldest practising dentist in the Northern Territory.

“I came to Darwin in 1970, very soon after graduation,” he said.

“It was a fairly remote area to come to in those days.

“I’d seen a chap from the NT who showed pictures of dentists with little bags of instruments getting on to planes and buses and caravans and roaming around the Territory — so, I thought, ‘that appeals to me’.

“The Territory was made for me.”

When he first started working in the NT, Dr Eupene said rural and remote areas had very little — which presented a unique set of challenges for healthcare workers.

“We had nothing,” he said.

“We’d have a kitchen chair, generally, and we’d arrive and we’d pick out a strong-looking lady and put her in the corner. She became the head rest for the patients.

“The flies would be crawling up your arms, and you’d be kicking off the dogs.”

“You didn’t have anyone to consult or talk to.

“It was always a challenge.”

After years of travelling, Dr Eupene purchased Smith St Dental with his partners in 1976.

Today, it’s Darwin’s oldest practice. In recognition of a lifetime of service, Dr Eupene has been named in the Queen’s Birthday 2018 Honours.

“I was overwhelmed a bit — I really don’t know how it happened,” he said.

“I always considered it a privilege to be dentist,” he said.

“I do enjoy the work. It’s a tough job some times, but I do enjoy it.

“You can take a person from severe pain to comfort within 30 minutes — you’ve got to think, that’s worthwhile if you can do that.”

DAVID LINES

AFSM

LIKE many Queen’s Birthday Award winners, firefighter David Lines was shocked to be recognised for the job he loves doing.

Recipient of the Australian Fire Service Medal, Mr Lines has served in a number of roles with the Northern Territory Fire Rescue Service and said it was the people alongside him who made the job worthwhile.

“Working with the people I work with, doing the job I do, fireys are appreciated everywhere we go — it makes it an easy job to love,” he said.

His resume has seen him fly to Mumbai with the service to represent Australia at an International Search and Rescue conference, and his role in an NT hazmat review helped to improve the safety and security of NT Firefighters.

Working with the union, he has provided a voice for fighters, for a large part of his 20 years with the service, but now, Mr Lines trains up the new recruits, indicating has ability to communicate effectively with all those within the organisation.

“Since 2012 I’ve been training recruits — they provide motivation to us, you take an old firefighter and put him among some new and excited people and it reminds you of why you love the job,” he said.

“Getting them through, seeing them become firefighters and go on shift (is the best part of training).”

Seeing the younger fighters graduate reminds him of his own fondest memory: “The day I went on shift — stepping away from being a recruit and actually knowing that I’m going to do the job,” he said.

“Me and the other recruit got left behind by the crew because we were too slow, there was no sympathy when they came back either.”

Mr Lines loves his job with the firefighters, and will continue to do it for as long as he can.

“I’ll do whatever capacity I can until it’s time for me to retire or they’ll kick me out — which ever comes first.”

MICHAEL O’DONNELL

CONSPICUOUS SERVICE CROSS

IN LATE May last year Chief Petty Officer Michael O’Donnell was still easing into his sea legs after returning to work from shore leave when the situation on board HMAS Maryborough turned critical.

“We were at sea somewhere north of Darwin and it was late it the evening I was actually out on the upper bridge deck enjoying the night, I’d only been back at sea for three days,” he said.

“I heard the alarms go off on the bridge so I came back inside, found the situation had gotten fairly dire, with fire alarms, heat alarms and machinery alarms going off left right and centre.

“So we did have a large engine room fire which on a ship at sea is a fairly difficult situation to manage, especially when you’re in navigationally restricted areas, so it was a very intense situation.”

Eventually the fire was brought under control using the ship’s carbon dioxide suppression system.

As the ship’s Damage Control Officer, it was O’Donnell’s responsibility to take charge of extinguishing the blaze, and it was his actions on that night that will today see him recognised for “outstanding devotion to duty”.

While he described the recognition as “extremely humbling”, O’Donnell said he said the successful containment of the fire was a team effort.

“I was very lucky that I had an extremely experienced ship’s crew to work with that supported me throughout, very well trained, they were where they needed to be when I needed them to be there, I couldn’t put any higher praise on their performance on that night, it definitely was not related just to one person,” he said.

“At the end of the day I think I did my job but to be recognised in this way is very humbling and very much appreciated.”

KATHY GUTHADJAKA

AM

KATHY Guthadjaka has been awarded an AM for significant service to the Indigenous community through contributions to education and cultural preservation in East Arnhem Land.

The distinguished campaigner’s service includes:

SENIOR Research Fellow, Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University, current.

EDUCATOR Shepherdson College Galiwin’ku, 48 years.

GAWA Christian School - Elcho Island

HOMELAND Visiting Teacher, since 1990s.

FORMER Assistant Teacher and Language/Cultural Consultant.

HELPED establish the community and the school.

Her other awards and recognition includes:

RECIPIENT, Northern Territory Female Elder on Country Award, NT NAIDOC Committee, 2015 and;

SENIOR Australian of the Year, Northern Territory, 2018.

PROFESSOR SUSAN BADDELEY

AO

WHEN the late Associate Professor Susan Baddeley passed away two years ago she left behind a legacy that continues today.

Professor Baddeley, married to Dr Stephen Baddeley, has been recognised with an Officer (AO) in the General Division for her distinguished service to child health as an academic and researcher, to neonatal paediatric medicine, and to the Indigenous community of the Northern Territory.

Husband Stephen said he and his four children are proud of the recognition given posthumously in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

OTHER NT RECIPIENTS:

Dr Timothy Roger HENDERSON (AM), Alice Springs — For significant service to medicine in the field of ophthalmology, and to indigenous eye health in the Northern Territory.

MR Panayiotis Hadji KYRIACOU (OAM), Darwin — For service to the Cypriot community of Darwin.

Mrs Gayangwa Dimingkyangwa LALARA (OAM), Angurugu — For service to the indigenous community of the Northern Territory.

Ms Nadia LINDOP (OAM) NT — For service to the indigenous community of the Northern Territory.

Mrs Kiim Marie PARNELL (OAM) NT — For service to the community of the Northern Territory.

Mrs Romola Marie SEBASTIANPILLAI, Wagaman (OAM) — For service to the community of Darwin through charitable and other organisations.

Ms Elizabeth Joy MASSEY, Angurugu — For service to the indigenous community of the Northern Territory.

Ms Jayanthi SRINIVAS, NT — For service to the Indian community of the Northern Territory.

Warrant Officer Class Two Lucas Brian TELLEY, NT —For meritorious devotion to duty as the acting Regimental Sergeant Major of the 1st Combat Service Support Battalion. Warrant Officer Telley’s efforts have been instrumental in the progressive improvement of soldier skills within the 1st Brigade. His co-ordination of significant community engagement activities within the Darwin region positively enhanced Army’s reputation. His performance as a Regimental Sergeant Major has been an exemplar of a Battalion’s senior soldier.

If we have inadvertently left any Territory recipients off the list, please call us on (08) 8944 9724 or email news@ntnews.com.au