David Thomas has been named as a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia.

The Lake Wendouree resident has been at the forefront of artistic expression in this country, with this award a fitting tribute to a man who changed the way art is viewed in this country.

Mr Thomas was born and raised in Ballarat, attending Pleasant Street Primary School and Ballarat Grammar before embarking on a career which has seen him traverse the country, often as the director of some of the biggest and most important galleries in this nation.

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His achievements include the 'Keeper of Pictorial Collections' at the National Library of Australia (1963-65) and various art gallery director roles which he held in Newcastle, the Art Gallery of South Australia, Carrick Hill Museum and Sculpture Park in Springfield, South Australia, and Bendigo Art Gallery over a 30-year period from 1965-1995.

In the later years, he has returned to Ballarat to reconnect with the city that first gave him the opportunities he has enjoyed in life.

Incredibly he has authored a number of publication including most recently in 2020 with a third edition release of Criss Canning: The Pursuit of Beauty, detailing the works of Ascot-based artist Criss Canning, who has also been honoured in the Australia Day honours with an OAM.

Mr Thomas has also been a founding member of the International Cultural Corporation of Australia, a founding member of the Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation, president of the Art Galleries Association of Australia and chair and founding member of the Regional Galleries Association of New South Wales.

He also served as a founding member and acting director of the Australia Council's Visual Arts Board.

Mr Thomas is known as having shaped arts policy in Australia in transforming public art collections and it was his suggestions that is credited as turning the city of Adelaide into a visual and performing arts mecca.

He is also remembered for bringing some of the biggest exhibitions to this country including: The Chinese Exhibition (1977), Pompeii AD79 (1980) and The Royal-opened Century of Gifts (1981) and received a personal loan from Queen Elizabeth II for the 'Leonardo da Vinci Anatomical Drawings (1982) sent directly to Adelaide from Windsor Castle, these items had never previously be shown to the public, even in the United Kingdom.

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