Kununurra volunteer Lincoln Heading honoured with King's Birthday medal
A Kununurra man who spent 34 years volunteering for emergency services has been recognised for his lifetime of community work with a King's Birthday medal.
Lincoln Heading, who was the Kununurra SES unit manager for 18 years before taking on the roles of acting district officer of Natural Hazards for the East Kimberley and then Marine Rescue East Kimberley commander has received an Emergency Services Medal for his work.
Mr Lincoln said he was, 'humbled by the whole thing.'
'Particularly being recognised by my peers, in that respect it's a different thing,' he said.
When Mr Heading first put his hand up to volunteer for the SES in the late 1980s its headquarters was under a gum tree. However, through his leadership the organisation evolved and now has a location unit alongside Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service.
Mr Heading was also heavily involved in the establishment of the marine rescue group in Wyndham in the mid-90s, overseeing the development of the headquarters, including the ablutions, kitchen area and exterior upgrades.
He was also part of the creation of the Emergency Services Levy, which funds the delivery of critical and life-saving fire and emergency services in the State.
Mr Heading said he, like many volunteers, was motivated by a sense of altruism and a desire to give back to the community.
'But over time, it becomes clear that you're actually setting up the true resilience of a community, their ability to bounce back. It's the way the emergency services can actually get together and be the foundation of that resilience. It doesn't matter whether it's a car accident or a fire or rescuing somebody off a cliff. It's all part of it,' he said.
After a decades in Kununurra, Mr Heading and his wife Felicity, returned to their native South Australia last year.
Now living in Mt Benson, Mr Heading said he missed Kununurra.
'Especially at this time of year, when there's a sub-Antarctic blast coming off the Great Southern Ocean,' he said.
'For the next three months I'll miss Kununurra and the weather deeply but then once it gets to 36C or 38C, I won't miss that heat.'
'I also missed not getting to ride on the new marine recue boat,' he said referring to the $1.1 million, 11m rigid-hull vessel launched in Wyndham in January.
However, getting a chance to ride in the new vessel, named King George, and catch up with his former colleagues may be a good excuse to return to the East Kimberley for a holiday.
'It will probably come to that,' he said.
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