Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the Queen's Birthday we honour many Australians for their services to the Australian community. I am delighted to stand here today to pay tribute to four people in my electorate who were acknowledged in the Queen's Birthday honours list for their service. Three people, Wendy Charleston of Wilmot, John Cameron 23 of St Helens and Mary Knowles of Rossarden were awarded an OAM, or a Medal of the Order of Australia, in the general division, and David Daintree of Colebrook was awarded an AM, made a member in the general division of the Order of Australia.

Wilmot is a beautiful little town—I am not sure whether members are aware of this—in the north-west of my electorate. It is very difficult to get to—there are long, winding roads—but it is a beautiful little town. The school has, I think, about 15 kids, going from grade 1 through to grade 6. It is a wonderful little community. Wendy Charleston has been awarded her medal for her service to heritage preservation and to the community of Wilmot. Wilmot is famous in Australian history as the site of the very first Coles store. Coles—the store, not the man—was actually born there. The first Coles general store was sited in the town of Wilmot. From there, it has grown to become an Australian icon. Sadly, a few years ago the Coles store there was burnt to the ground, which is a great shame, but you can bet your bottom dollar that Wendy Charleston would have been one of the people helping to preserve that store while it was around.

John Cameron, of St Helens, was awarded for his service to the community for a range of roles, including the RSL, Legacy, Break O'Day Council and a veterans support centre, so he is very well regarded. Mary Knowles is a councillor for the Northern Midlands Council. I know Mary. She helped host a wonderful exhibition in Avoca last year. Her list of achievements and associations is simply too long to read out. David Daintree, from Colebrook, was awarded an AM for his services to education through the University of Tasmania, the University of Sydney and a whole range of other academic achievements.

I really would like to pay tribute to these four great citizens of the electorate of Lyons. Their recognition in the Queen's Birthday honours list is very well deserved. They do a lot for the community. They do it not for the money but for their passion for their community, their love of community, and I wish them well.