FULL AUSTRALIA DAY COVERAGE:
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These are the men and women awarded on Australia Day 2015 from the Ballarat region.
Here are their stories.
GARRY Snowden has made it his life’s mission to ensure the men and women who served Australia during times of war receive the recognition they deserve.
As he has gone quietly about his business, however, others have recognised his contribution to the nation.
Mr Snowden’s work has been acknowledged on the Australia Day 2015 honours list for his service to the conservation of historic sites of Australian military significance, with his appointment to the General Division of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
As someone who feels his own contribution pales in comparison to the soldiers who fought at Gallipoli 100 years ago, Mr Snowden said he was hesitant to accept the honour.
“I was first notified about four months ago that I was under consideration. Then, a month ago, I was advised the award would be made,” the 67-year-old Black Hill resident said.
“I originally declined because I didn’t think it was necessary, but I was asked to reconsider.
You do something because you’re passionate for something rather than for the personal recognition.”
Mr Snowden has lived most of his life in Ballarat and was a school teacher for 27 years .
He also served as a conservation volunteer for 17 years, serving as national safety manager with Conservation Volunteers Australia, was the inaugural group leader for the Gallipoli Anzac Day Dawn Services Program in Turkey and program manager for the Kokoda Track maintenance program in 2009. Mr Snowden has also helped identify unmarked graves of former soldiers.
“My passion probably started at Golden Point Primary School. William Dunstan, Ballarat’s only Victoria Cross recipient, went there. So one of my earlier projects was to restore a crumbling memorial to William Dunstan. We set it up in a memorial garden in the grounds of the school,” Mr Snowden said.
“I am passionate about recognising, commemorating and honouring young men who answered their country’s call.
“There were 62,000 young men who never came back from World War I, but who knows how many came back with physical and mental scars, and were victims themselves?
“My other interest was Kokoda. The Anzac legend was born at Gallipoli and strengthened on the Western Front but nowhere was it ever demonstrated more than in New Guinea. Especially the 39th Militia Battalion, which trained in Bacchus Marsh before being sent to face the Japanese.”
Mr Snowden will be at Gallipoli again on Anzac Day.
“I’ve been to Gallipoli 15 times and I’m still moved by the experience,” he said.
“Banjo Pattison wrote how, as a result of Gallipoli, ‘we are all Australians now’ – that before that, we were still a group of states but, at Gallipoli, we were all in it together.”
FOR more than half a century Carole Oliver has been helping ballet students achieve their dreams.
Thousands of students have passed through Mrs Oliver’s talented hands, going on to make an impression on Australia’s ballet industry. But few can say they have made such as an impression as Mrs Oliver herself.
On Monday, she will be awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for her service to the performing arts through dance education.
“I am surprised, honoured and feel humble in receiving this award,” she said.
“There are so many wonderful people who have received this award, it’s hard to believe I’m in with these people now. “It’s humbling.”
It has become uncommon for Mrs Oliver to even walk down the street without running into someone she has mentored over her 54 years as a teacher, but that’s what makes her so worthy of this year’s award.
Many of her former students are performing as senior artists with the Australian Ballet Company, Queensland Ballet and the Bavarian Ballet Company Munich, with many also having performed with the Sydney Dance Company, Singapore Dance Theatre and Portugal National Ballet.
Others have become teachers themselves and faculty teachers in Australian and international dance schools.
“My career has given me great pleasure to see the development of careers in many of the students, while allowing many thousands to simply enjoy and experience the sheer joy and magic of dance,” she said.
For the past 34 years Mrs Oliver has also been a ballet examiner appointed by the Cecchetti administrative council Australia.
But her biggest impact on the Ballarat community was her decision to open her studio, the Carole Oliver School of Ballet, in 1961.
“I’ve always loved dancing, I’ve always been so passionate,” Mrs Oliver said. “Even as a young child I wanted to be a teacher; I used to choreograph dances for my sister to perform.
(Today) My passion for teaching continues.”
HE BECAME a face St Patrick’s College students knew they could turn to for support for more than a decade.
The school’s former headmaster, Dr Peter Casey has been appointed a member in the general division of the Order of Australia (AM) for his services to secondary education as an administrator and teacher, to professional organisations and to the community of Ballarat.
Dr Casey will join more than 40,000 men and women honoured for their contributions to the nation over the past 40 years.
“I’m delighted to have been nominated for the award. I see it as recognition for a lot of very good people with whom I have worked within schools, Catholic education and the wider community,” he said.
The recognition honours Dr Casey’s 45 years of working in education, including 13 as the headmaster at St Patrick’s College.
Dr Casey, who retired in December, led the college through significant changes that many, including current headmaster John Crowley, a former student of Dr Casey’s, said have changed the college for the better.
“From the youngest student to the most senior Old Collegian, all would be aware of the great impact Dr Casey has had on the life of St Patrick’s College,” Mr Crowley said.
Dr Casey played a pivotal role in increasing enrolment numbers from 845 in 2002 to 1432 at the start of 2015. He also oversaw several major capital work projects, reintroduced boarding and introduced a specialised indigenous education program.
But Dr Casey said the ability to see students develop into fine young adults was by far the most rewarding aspect of his job.
FOR years, Paul Jenkins has been asked to reference applicants for the Australia Day honours list.
This year he was presented with his own honour, joining 414 recipients of the General Division of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
“This letter came in the mail and I thought here is another one to sign for someone.
“I was completely humbled to see it was for me,” he said.
Mr Jenkins was 13 years old when he first made an impact on the Ballarat community.
He had just finished school for the day and, after seeing smoke filling the sky, decided to ride with a group of friends to see where it was coming from.
What happened next changed his life.
“We belted the fire out with wet bags,” he said.
He went on to join the Country Fire Authority as a volunteer and worked his way up the ranks.
In 1975, he was appointed captain of the Sebastopol Fire Brigade.
“The most satisfying thing was helping people in distress,” he said.
But it was his time as a councillor in the former Borough of Sebastopol from 1985, and time as a member of Parliament for Ballarat West from 1992 that saw him become a recognised face within the community.
“I remember a guy came to me and he said ‘you probably won’t help me because I voted for Labor’ ... but I didn’t let myself get above anyone,” a humble Mr Jenkins said. “I tried to keep myself on the same level as everyone and I think that worked. It was interesting seeing the growth of the city, but I won’t put my hat on all the sticks. It was a team effort.”
Contracting Meniere’s disease meant he couldn’t carry on in Parliament, but it opened another door for Mr Jenkins, who helped establish Meniere’s Australia.
While retired, he hasn’t taken life easy. Mr Jenkins is a member of the Ballarat Cemetery Trust, Meniere’s Australia and a member of the Arch of Victory and Avenue of Honour Committee.
“They’re the things I enjoy doing,” he said.
Mr Jenkins was recognised for his service to the community of Ballarat through a range of roles, including being the member for Ballarat West and the Parliament of Victoria 1992-99, mayor of the Borough of Sebastopol 1989-1990 and councillor 1985-1993.
He has also been a member of the Ballarat Area Planning Committee, the state president of Meniere’s Support Group Victoria and a district commissioner for the Scout Association of Australia, Victoria branch.
Adding to the list he is a member and past president of the Rotary Club of South Ballarat and a former member of Victoria Urban Fire Brigades’ Association and former board member of the Country Fire Authority.
FEW know more about Ballarat’s Botanical Gardens than Joan Garner.
She has been a member of the Friends of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens since 1989, seeing more changes to the gardens over the years than many.
Many of those changes were a direct result of Mrs Garner’s help.
She has now been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia – the OAM – for her service to the community through conservation and preservation of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens.
Mrs Garner said it wasn’t until she got over the initial shock of knowing she would be receiving the award that she could fully appreciate it.
“I was thrilled,” she said. “What a lovely thing to happen to someone like me, who just loves doing what I do.”
Over her 25 years as a member, she was president in 1992-2002 and again in 2008-10.
She was also the Ballarat representative on the Association of Friends of Botanical Gardens Victoria and president from 2001-03 during the transition to the national body, the Association of Friends of Botanical Gardens Australia.
For as long as she can remember, the Ballarat Botanical Gardens have been a huge part of her life, something she felt was worth sharing with the rest of the world. Since joining the Friends of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, she has been integral in the development of the conservatory and the Robert Clarke Centre.
Something Mrs Garner has recently been able to add to her list of achievements is the update of the fernery which has been a project she has long fought for .
“Now it’s coming back with a new concept,” she said with pride.
CARISBROOK woman Alison Teese has been honoured with an OAM this Australia Day for her service to conservation and the environment in Victoria.
Ms Teese served for nine years as one of the directors on the Central Highlands Water board between 2001 and 2010.
Currently, she is chairman for the Bjarne K Dahl Trust for the Department of Environment and Primary Industries in Victoria, is involved in the Moolort Landcare Group – of which she was a founding convenor 25 years ago – and works on her mixed farm in Carisbrook.
“The environment has been a natural interest of mine from when I was a child. One thing led to another – I was very science-oriented at school and went on to study a bachelor of agricultural science,” Ms Teese said.
She has represented Victoria on two national bodies and helped the Ballarat region through the millennium drought period.
“My aspiration is for there to be recognition in Australia that the climate is changing, making it harder, especially for farmers, as it gets hotter and drier,” Ms Teese said. “Farming needs professional and technical skills. I want to assist the next generation look after the land and be recognised for looking after the land through a stewardship scheme.”
She said her award was a surprise, but she was happy that contributions to the environment and conservation were being recognised.
“I’d like to pay tribute to all the people I’ve worked with in different teams or panels over a 30-year period, especially Moolort Landcare, as they’re still looking ahead and positive about looking after their beautiful farmland,” she said.
“Nothing happens by yourself, but working in group and contributing ... you hope your presence has a positive influence.”
A FORMER vice chancellor of the University of Ballarat, Kerry Cox has been honoured with a medal of the Order of Australia for his distinguished service to tertiary education and university administration, particularly through leadership and governance roles, and to the community.
Professor Cox served as the vice-chancellor and president of University of Ballarat, now Federation University Australia, between 2001 and 2006, and was the deputy vice-chancellor between 1997 and 2000. Federation University Australia is a realisation of many of Professor Cox’s dreams for the institution.
Just before he left for Western Australia in 2006, he told The Courier all universities needed to be aware of and be active in solving social justice problems within their communities.
“We have pockets in our primary catchment areas where there are three generations of unemployed,” he said. “If we have a fourth generation of unemployment, then, in my view, the University of Ballarat will be a failure.”
Professor Cox moved to Western Australia and has served as the vice-chancellor and president of Perth’s Edith Cowan University.
He has also served on many boards, including Ballarat Clarendon College between 2008 and 2011.
He was pro-vice chancellor at Flinders University between 1993 and 1997, a member of the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee, an Edith Cowan University representative for Universities Australia, and has been a member of the National Environmental Education Council and the National Council on Education for Sustainability. Professor Cox has been a board member on Future Directions International, Graduate Careers Australia, Mindarie Senior College and Business /Higher Education Round Table.