Fraser Coast Australia Day Awards recognise local achievers

A passionate promoter of Maryborough events, a zoologist who has discovered 40 new marine species, and a centre providing support to the most disadvantaged in the community are among the recipients of Fraser Coast 2023 Australia Day Awards.

Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour said the annual Australia Day Awards were an opportunity to recognise outstanding local heroes and high achievers from all walks of life, including sporting, arts and culture, STEM, community groups and volunteers.

“It is an honour to be able to present the awards to such a diverse, talented, caring and hard working group of local people and organisations,” he said.

“The recipients have volunteered thousands of hours of their time to the Fraser Coast community over many years, which is one of the reasons our community is so vibrant and resilient.

“It is the community spirit shown by the Australia Day Award recipients and nominees that makes the Fraser Coast such a great place to live, work and play.”

The 2023 Fraser Coast Australia Day Award recipients are:

• Citizen of the Year - Ginger Maryland;
• Young Citizen of the Year - Ms Emmily Lingard;
• Sportsperson of the Year - Ms Annette Clifford;
• Young Sportsperson of the Year - Mr Jaden Hardy;
• Cultural Award of the Year – Mr and Mrs John and Sue Erbacher;
• Young Cultural Award of the Year – Mr Rhys Canham;
• STEM Award of the Year – Dr Vernon Harris;
• Young STEM Award of the Year – Mr Charlie Morris;
• Community Group or Organisation of the Year – Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre;
• Community Project or Event of the Year – Mobility Scooter/Wheelchair Convoy World Record Attempt;
• Volunteer of the Year – Mrs Jenny Elliott.

Citizen of the Year | Ginger Maryland

Ginger Maryland, for her passionate advocacy for the community, volunteering her time to promote Maryborough events, clubs, activities and op shops through her self-funded Shopfront Showcase project.

She has also been the Program Officer for the Maryborough Combined Probus Club for the last two years, and is actively involved in many community events and festivals, such as the Mary Poppins Festival, STEAMfesta, Wings & Wheels, Burrum Heads Coalfest and Relish.

Ginger has generated local, state and national media coverage for her CBD shopfront displays and for a Redheads event she proposed for Maryborough.

She has a strong work ethic and is a very caring and inspirational citizen who is continually coming up with creative ideas to promote her beloved Maryborough and the Fraser Coast.
 

Young Citizen of the Year | Ms Emmily Lingard

Ms Emmily Lingard, for excelling at school and in sport, while also working as mentor for young athletes and volunteering to support children with disabilities.

Emmily represented the Hervey Bay district in seven sports and was a Wide Bay representative in four sports, serving as captain of the athletics team and vice-captain of the netball team.

She is a patrolling member of Hervey Bay Surf Life Saving Club and mentors younger children at the surf club and swim club. She was under 17 surf club captain and was named the club’s 2021/22 Youth Competitor of the year.

Emmily also volunteered and worked as a support worker for children with disabilities, and was instrumental in the ‘Big Sister’ program at her school, assisting younger students.

She was the Fraser Coast Anglican College school captain and a college prefect last year and is soon to start her university studies in the field of nursing/midwifery.
 

Sportsperson of the Year | Ms Annette Clifford

Annette Clifford, for her role with the Fraser Coast 8 Ball Association coaching young, enthusiastic pool players, representing Queensland and competing in many local, state and national tournaments.

Annette helps with a weekly juniors’ program and has also facilitated a ‘ladies’ night’ at the pool hall, working hard to create a safe space for all.

Annette is generous with her knowledge and time, and shares all aspects of the sport she loves with new and emerging players.

Young Sportsperson of the Year | Mr Jaden Hardy

Mr Jaden Hardy, for excelling in his chosen sport of scooter riding, and for his advice and support for others learning the sport.

Jaden has had significant representative success and is currently ranked first in Queensland Under 16 and placed first in Australasia Under 16.

He competed in the Junior World Titles in Arizona in the USA, where he placed 5th, a massive accomplishment considering there is no longer an indoor skate park locally.

Jaden has progressed enormously with his riding and loves to help local riders repair their scooters and learn how to do new tricks. With his positive attitude, consistency and dedication to his sport, Jaden has built up a significant fan base in Hervey Bay.

Cultural Award of the Year | Mr and Mrs John and Sue Erbacher

Mr and Mrs John and Sue Erbacher, for their five decades of work researching, documenting and preserving the local history of Hervey Bay and K’gari (Fraser Island).

They have jointly written over 40 books on the history of the area as well as environmental books describing how different ecosystems operate and the lives of birds, insects and marine life.

Sue and John also donate a significant amount of time volunteering at the Salvation Army and are involved in numerous activities to raise funds to help the less fortunate.

Young Cultural Award of the Year | Mr Rhys Canham

Mr Rhys Canham, for his performances, guidance and leadership in many aspects of local theatre both on and off the stage.

Rhys has played both leading and ensemble roles in various productions by Macabre Theatre and Flame Studios, including the 2022 original production of Rose Glasses, which he directed and helped write the script.

Rhys was a member of the troupe that performed at Fraser Shores Retirement Village Variety Shows and Condy Park Kindergarten’s Teddy Bears Picnic.

He assists with everything from warmups to promotional photography and videography, through to set and prop production. Rhys also gives back as a Youth Tutor for both Junior and Senior drama classes.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Award of the Year | Dr Vernon Harris

Dr Vernon Harris, for his work in zoology in universities in the United Kingdom, Africa and Australia and in particular for discovering 40 new species of copepods, a marine species previously unknown to science that he collected from New Zealand, Japan and Australia.

Conducting his research from a private laboratory set up in the bedroom of his Hervey Bay retirement villa, Dr Harris uses a microscope to examine, illustrate and record species of the little-known creatures that measure between 1 to 2 millimetres in length.

Considered the world’s leading expert on copepods, Dr Harris has made his discoveries since he retired from his university academic career almost three decades ago.

Dr Harris continues to contribute to global understanding of the tiny, translucent marine invertebrates, preparing manuscripts for publication in international academic journals and sending specimens to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington.

Dr Harris also established the Lucy Harris Bursary for the University of Sunshine Coast’s Fraser Coast campus through a $10,000 donation in honour of his late wife Lucy and her long, distinguished international career as a nurse.

This is an example of his extraordinary generosity of spirit, enthusiasm for learning and willingness to encourage a new generation of learners.
 

Young STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Award of the Year | Mr Charlie Morris

Mr Charlie Morris, for showing innovation through the introduction and development of the Hervey Bay State High School’s Farmbot, an automated farm that plants seeds, waters and eliminate weeds using a cartesian plane robotic arm.  

Charlie saw the project through from start to finish, and did system fault finding and addressed sensoring issues during testing.

Other projects Charlie has been involved include experimenting with different levels of chemicals to produce an increase in thrust for multi stage rockets and the Bin Bot, an automated rubbish bin which travels autonomously around the school collecting rubbish off students.

Charlie has a passion for STEM and using it to solve real world problems, while he also assists his STEM teacher to create curriculum projects for junior students.

Community Group or Organisation of the Year | The Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre

The Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre, for providing programs and support to the most disadvantaged and isolated people in the community.

Over the past year, the centre has developed a greater understanding of the ongoing and emerging community needs through a strong focus on partnerships with children, family and youth; legal and tenancy advice; aged and disability care; multicultural services and social innovation services.

The centre has over 350 volunteers and donates 15,000 volunteer hours a year offering support such as transport for the elderly, playgroups for young families, youth mentoring, and English classes for multicultural groups.

The centre’s Comfort Kitchen has delivered more than 3800 meals while they have also provided hundreds of care packages and toiletry packs to assist the homeless.

The centre supports a culture of innovation in the community through their pitch nights. The pitch nights are run twice a year to support community members who have a great idea to solve a community challenge.

A value for money review with Neighbourhood Centres Queensland revealed every $1 given to the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre turns into a $14 impact.
 

Community Project or Event of the Year | Mobility Scooter/Wheelchair Convoy – World Record Attempt

The Mobility Scooter/Wheelchair Convoy, for being a unique and inclusive event that promotes the safe use of mobility scooters, while also providing a social opportunity for people with mobility issues. 

The convoy is organised by the Hervey Bay Safe Scooter Committee, which is made up of representatives from many aspects of the community concerned with mobility scooter safety.

The convoy broke the Australian record in 2021 and gained local, state and national media coverage as they attempted to break the World Record for the number of mobility scooters in convoy last year.

While the convoy narrowly fell short of breaking the record, the day was still a great success with participants decorating themselves and their vehicles, Rotary providing breakfast, more than 50 volunteers helping to marshal the course and register participants, live bands playing and hundreds of spectators lining the course.

The Safe Scooter Committee have vowed to attempt to break the world record again this year.

Volunteer of the Year | Mrs Jenny Elliott

Mrs Jenny Elliott, for her decades of volunteering service with a range of local organisations and events.

Jenny has been a secretary of the Gallipoli to Armistice Committee since 2014 and has been president of the Maryborough Military Airport Museum Association since it formed in 2016.

She took leading coordinator roles in the Fraser Coast Technology Challenge, initiated the development of an event to bring the steampunk concept to Maryborough as Timless Mary and then Steamfesta.

Jenny has helped organized street parties, volunteered with sports organisations and lodged more than 20 successful grant applications. She was active in the Central State School and Maryborough High P & Cs, becoming President of both.

Jenny is an outstanding community worker and volunteer who has contributed countless hours to help make the Fraser Coast a great place to live, work and play.