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King's Birthday honours: meet this year's exceptional Hunter recipients
Carol Duncan jokes that she's probably one of the "handiest connectors" in Newcastle. When you spend more than three decades working in the media, serving as a Labor councillor or sitting on numerous art and culture committees, you gain an insight into what makes a city tick. And by whom the decisions are made. "After my unicorn career, you sort of know everybody and it means if there's something you want to know or want help with or you need a connection, the chances are, I probably know who you need to talk to," Ms Duncan said. "I really love that. That is what helps build community and actually have it form an embrace around the nearly 200,000 of us." Ms Duncan's service to the Newcastle community will be recognised on Monday when she receives a medal of the Order of Australia in the general division. "It's amazing," she said. "I am speechless for someone who is never short of words." Despite being such a proud advocate for Newcastle, Ms Duncan grew up in Sydney and broke into the music industry working for record label Sony, where her job involved pushing releases from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Midnight Oil, and Michael Jackson to radio stations and TV networks. That led to her first radio gig in Hobart, before she was lured back to NSW with a job at the newly launched NXFM in Newcastle, which had previously been AM station 2NX. Ms Duncan spent seven years in commercial radio at NXFM and NEWFM before finding her true calling at 1233 ABC from 2001 to 2014, where she fell in love with the "intimacy of communication with people." In 2007, Ms Duncan was part of 1233 ABC's Walkley Award-winning coverage of the Pasha Bulker storm and its aftermath. "When people are brave enough to share stories with you, whether it's radio [or another medium], media is still such a powerful way of sharing stories that can help other people feel like they have a place, that they're not alone, that they're not the only ones going through an awful thing," she said. "Being able to find your tribe, no matter what that is, is so important because it keeps people afloat." Away from the microphone, the Hamilton resident continued to serve the community. In 2012 she founded the Lost Newcastle history page on Facebook, which she initially thought would only be used by fellow "history nerds." Just last week, Lost Newcastle attracted its 80,000th follower. She's also continually advocated her passions for music and the arts in Newcastle. Ms Duncan is the chair of the Public Art Reference Group and Community and Culture Advisory committees and is about to join the Newcastle Fringe Festival board. She was also a founding member of the Newcastle Live Music Taskforce to help preserve the city's late-night economy. Not surprisingly, Ms Duncan's passion for community led to her successfully running for Labor as a Ward two councillor in 2017. She served two terms before losing a Labor preselection last year to Paige Johnson. "Local government is probably the most rewarding, worst-paid job ever," she said. "It was something I took really seriously. "When people are affected by an issue, whether it's a piece of footpath outside their house or a big decision and you're part of a team making that decision for the next decade for the city, it's a big responsibility. "In any of those things, you know you're never going to please everyone, but you just try to do the best that you can." Since 2023, Ms Duncan has continued to channel her passion for communication into her role as the public engagement lead for the Hunter Medical Research Institute. WHEN it comes to the Hunter's history, Mike Scanlon's pen has written many of its pages. The former Newcastle Sun and Newcastle Herald journalist, weekly history columnist and published author is more than just a writer. He's a historian, a custodian and has made it his life's work to salvage stories from the region's past. "It was almost by accident," Mr Scanlon said. "I realised there were all these stories, it started off with a column and it's been going since about 2000, so almost 25 years finding all these odd, unusual and quirky stories around the place. "Weird things happen in Newcastle that probably don't happen in a lot of other places." Mr Scanlon's contributions to the media and community history have been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the King's Birthday Honours. His journalism career started as something of a holiday job. It was the mid-1960s, and Mr Scanlon had toyed with the idea of becoming a diplomat or an architect until a cadetship at the Sun came along. "It really wasn't meant to be a 60-year job, it sort of just grew with me," he said. Despite being housed in the same building and under the same ownership, the Herald and the Sun competed fiercely for the afternoon trade when the blokes from BHP got off shift. There were three or four editions a day, the Herald had made a name for itself as a more "serious" broadsheet. "We were a bit more flash," Mr Scanlon said. "I remember that there was, I think, a floating rig that blew up in the harbour, and they said, 'Go out and interview everybody and leave nothing for the Herald, even interview the victims' dogs'," he said. "The next day, from memory, we did such a good job we dedicated the whole edition to it, I think the Herald just ran a small piece on page one because we'd covered it." When the Sun collapsed in the 1980s, Mr Scanlon was one of about 16 employees drafted to the Herald. Mr Scanlon covered courts, general news, local councils, wrote the Topics column, became assistant to the deputy editor, had a stint as night chief-of-staff and at one point was editor of the Newcastle Post. In 2006, he was honoured with a lifetime achievement award in recognition of his four decades in the game. "I liked the pace of it, the excitement, it was very frenetic really," Mr Scanlon said. "I got into history by accident, actually, I wanted to do a story about the wholesale abduction of sailors in the sailing ship days. "It was an extraordinary story. Nobody wanted to work on the sailing ships, which were hard work, when they could work on the steamers going up and down the coast for more money and better conditions, so they were just abducted from the streets. I've been following it for years." That's just one of many tales Mr Scanlon can tell; the rest are in his books The Hidden Hunter and Past Port. For him, preserving the Hunter's history before it disappears is more than a pastime; it's a duty. "They're great stories," Mr Scanlon said. "I feel really humbled and honoured, and it's a great privilege to help people and to roll out these stories about their past lives, war stories. "Everyone's got a great story if you listen long enough and hard enough, and that's what I'm trying to bring to the fore." Mr Scanlon said he felt privileged to be nominated for an OAM. "I'm just at a loss for words. I'd like to thank whoever nominated me; it's one of those things you don't expect, and it's very nice," he said. About 20 years on from retirement, he shows no signs of slowing down. "I think I'm just driven, I like to discover something new and interesting, go to unknown territory and write it up," he said. "They call me a self-starter. I just went out and found stories, in many cases, where people didn't think there was one. "Hopefully, my readers will come along and enjoy it as well." John Drinan described his Order of Australia (AM) award as unexpected from his Mid North Coast home at Bonny Hills. "You do what you do in life, and you don't need acknowledgment for that work because so many others have done far more," he said. But his list of achievements written in his citation for this year's King's Birthday Honours says otherwise, showing his tireless work for his community, agricultural industries and the environment for decades. A former long-term resident of Singleton, Dr Drinan and his wife, Anne, moved to Bonny Hills in 2017 to retire, well, at least retire from farming. The couple had some close friends who were already living in the district and they thought it would be a lovely place to live. Since that time he has immersed himself in the life of the community. Rotary, Landcare, and Bonny Hills Progress Association, he has been heavily involved in these groups. "Anne and I love the community here, so it is easy to become involved in these groups, especially the Progress Association, whose members are committed and highly capable," he said. His next project, now that he has stepped away from executive roles in the various community groups, is writing a book about the flora of the region, which he describes as magnificent in spring and summer. He would also like to emulate the long life of his much-admired mother, Flo Drinan, who died aged 102. "At 82, I would love to live as long as my mother, who was a much-loved member of the Singleton community," he said. The Drinan family has strong connections to the Singleton district, and John and Anne lived on their property "Wahgunyah" at Glendon Brook for 30 years. Dr Drinan grew up in Singleton, and he would spend time during his childhood visiting and working on "Wahgunyah", the property his father Bernie and his sister Margaret Boyce jointly shared as a "lifetime stewardship. It was time spent helping his aunt Mrs Boyce that shaped his future career. He went onto enjoy a successful career as an agricultural researcher and educator including being the principal of Tocal College, Paterson from 1981-87. Prior to taking on the role of principal at Tocal College, he was the head of the Department of Animal Production, Hawkesbury Agricultural College of Advanced Education, 1975-1981. He held various senior positions in agricultural research and advisory bodies, including chairing the Rural Research and Development Corporations, 1996-1997 and a member of the Dairy Industry Adjustment Authority (2000-2006) and Chief Executive, (2006-2008). He was a member of the Australian Animal Health Laboratory Advisory Committee, 2000-2005. He worked as an academic at Newcastle University and is particularly proud of his involvement in establishing allied health degrees such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy at UON. As he has done at Bonny Hills Dr Drinan's life in Singleton was one that involved a strong commitment to Rotary, Landcare, and the church (St Patrick's Catholic Church, Singleton Parish). While as a Rotarian in Singleton, he was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship, Rotary Club of Singleton on Hunter, Rotary International, 2004 and the Paul Harris Fellowship, Rotary District 9670, Rotary International, 2008. He was also very active in establishing environmental groups while he lived in Singleton. He was a Foundation Member, Singleton Shire Healthy Environment Group, 2009-2016 and a community representative, Environmental Strategy and Action Plan, Singleton Council, 2015-2017. He was a member of the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue, 2011-2017. Since his move to Bonny Hills, he worked for several years writing a book on the impacts of mining on the Hunter Valley. He launched his book The Sacrificial Valley Coal's legacy to the Hunter at the late Wendy Bowman's home, 'Rosedale', Camberwell near Singleton in November 2022. At the launch, Rosedale's beautiful garden on the banks of Glennies Creek was filled with community members, people whose homes and properties had long ago been acquired by the mines, representatives from environmental groups, Dr Drinan's family and friends and former colleagues. At that time, he said, "I drove up the Valley to Scone yesterday and felt physically sick at the destruction that has been wrought to this once beautiful place." "For that, I don't blame the mining companies or their workers. I am not anti-coal mining, as I know what coal has done economically, but now it must stop. "The world has changed, and so must the valley." His opinion of the Valley and the need for change remains steadfast, and he will continue to engage where he can in ensuring the environment, no matter where he lives, is protected and cherished. THERE are worse places to work. Shaleigh Lennox started out as a Nipper and has been a dedicated member of the Cooks Hill Surf Lifesaving Club since 1992. She's patrolled beaches, put in more than 1188 hours in support operations and as a duty officer since 2009, worked on the frontline in floods and shown others the ropes to keep the coastline safe. Now, she's been awarded an Emergency Services Medal for her efforts, recognising more than 30 years of service to the Hunter community. "I joined as a Nipper," Ms Lennox said. "My family lived quite close to the coast, so I think my parents signed me up because having an understanding of the surf and being safe in the surf and living so close is important." Her love of the beach saw her become director of lifesaving for the Hunter branch in 2007, where she established the duty officer role and brought in new policies that helped shape rescue and patrol operations. Ms Lennox has held several frontline roles including patrol captain, zone supervisor and duty officer. "Surf lifesaving is extending further out from the flags," she said. "The role that I do looks at those areas outside of the flags, and if there are people swimming in dangerous areas, we organise jet skis or whatever we can to cover those areas. "There hasn't been any loss of life between the flags, and I think that says a lot about keeping that area of the coast safe." Outside the flags, Ms Lennox played a critical role in evacuations during the Hunter's hazardous 2007 June floods and through every major flood incident within the region since. "Before we did this routinely, responding to floods, we didn't really have the gear, it was dark, we'd have to get the equipment to the area because all the roads were flooded and everything," she said. "There was a lot of unknown, but there was just a sense of everybody being in it together, pitching in and helping out." It's the camaraderie that has kept Ms Lennox going, along with seeing young Nippers come through the ranks like she did and the knowledge that her work helps keep the community safe. "I would trust all of those guys with my family, so I think that's a great indication of the knowledge and the skills that they've got," she said. "People can get into trouble so quickly in the surf, and being there to help them out or give them some education, even on the beach, helping out and being such a huge part of the community, I really enjoy that." Ms Lennox said receiving an Emergency Services Medal was "totally unexpected". "I'm really honoured to get it," she said. "There are so many deserving people out there, so to be recognised, I'm humbled as well." Stephen Raymond first joined emergency services 35 years ago out of necessity but chose to stay out of love. The Marine Rescue NSW (MRNSW) Hunter and Central Coast zone duty operations manager was awarded an emergency services medal as part of the King's Birthday honours on Monday, June 9. "It's very humbling and much appreciated to get recognised for this award," he said. Living in the middle of a heavily forested area in Braidwood in the NSW Southern Tablelands, Mr Raymond joined the Rural Fire Service (RFS) to protect his community. "I got started in 1989, and it was self-preservation, really," he said. "I moved up through the RFS and became a captain of a brigade, then went into a paid position in 1998." After 27 years with the RFS, he decided to move to the newly created Marine Rescue NSW nine years ago. "There were three organisations brought together under one banner, there was a lot of culture to be built, new policies and standard operating procedures," he said. In his role at Marine Rescue he coordinates emergency calls from Triple Zero, tasks rescue units out on the waters and overseas equipment and training of staff and volunteers. From Gosford up to Port Stephens, Mr Raymond oversees seven units of volunteers and staff. "We save lives on the water, and people are having the worst day of their lives, and we go in there, and bring them home safely," he said. "There is nothing more rewarding than being able to do that." Most days out on Hunter waters were not smooth sailing, however. "We are sending people out on rough seas and dangerous situations but you've also got to be able to make sure they're safe and get back safe as well," he said. "We have to manage different weather conditions and incidents evolving in dangerous conditions," Nearly every day on the coast involves a rescue, with his team bringing 2800 back to safety last year. "We had one in Lake Macquarie where we had nine people in a scuba diving boat, the boat was sinking," he said. "We got the call early, and we sent two boats and our jet skis out - it could have ended a lot differently." From his days with the RFS, he still remembers the intense bushfire that ripped through Catherine Hill Bay in 2013 and flames that came into Dudley and the back of Newcastle. "What I remember most during those big fires were people being very generous with donations," he said. "One lady in her late 80s walked a couple of miles to our fire control centre to bring us water and cut up oranges." The best part of his job was the people, he said. "I'm working with volunteers, with passionate people that want to be here and doing this for no financial reward," he said. "I owe it all to the great people that I've worked with over the last 35 years who have made it possible for me to work in the industry." It was 1997 when Sister Carmel Moore reached a critical juncture in her life as a Sister of St Joseph. She had already spent more than three decades as a school teacher, high school principal and hospital chaplain, to name a few roles, but there was something else she felt called to do. That was founding the Living Waters Meditation Centre at The Junction, a place where participants take time out to connect with their true selves. "I think that's my life's main work," Sister Carmel, who has received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the Catholic Church in Australia, said. "I had a need within myself to find silence and inner peace. "It was something I craved, even from when I was young. Entering the convent did a lot for that, but I also wanted to share it. I experienced a call to do it. " About 800 people have participated in the centre's weekly meditations over the past 29 years. And the waters are still flowing, with between 40 to 50 participants presently attending the centre's bi-monthly retreat mornings. There are also offshoot groups that meet weekly across the Maitland-Newcastle diocese that share the centre's Benedictine Charism. Sr Carmel said she was initially surprised at the centre's success, but, upon reflection, it's easy to understand - the unrelenting distractions and pressures of modern life were driving a corresponding need for spiritual solace and meaning. "There are many people who come along because the world's just too fast for them; their lifestyle is too heavy for them. They are seeking life's deepest meaning and their truest self," she said. Now 90, Sr Carmel handed over the centre's administrative reins about 12 years ago, but is still actively involved in its activities. "I fill in for people if they can't come, but I don't want it to be all about me, because if I can't come someday, I don't want it to end," she said. The centre's philosophy is closely related to another of Sr Carmel's roles as a member of the Sisters of St Joseph's inter-congregational eco-spirituality committee. "We aim to spread the sense of God in creation, which involves caring for the earth, our common home," she said. "When I'm swimming at Merewether baths, I see a lot of people just gazing at the sunrise or the beauty of the clouds and the ocean. That is all helping to bring them into the contemplation of the beauty around them." Sr Carmel admits she initially wasn't too keen on accepting a King's Birthday award, but she accepts that it also recognises the Sisters of St Joseph and all of those who have supported her. "I'm embarrassed by all of this, really," she said. "There are a lot of people who have done a lot more than I've done, and there are so many people who silently go about doing great things without any recognition." She noted religious life was very different from when she entered the Sisters of Joseph at Lochinvar 72 years ago. "We have gone from being a very disciplined and minutely organised group to being free to be the people that we were meant to be," she said. "There is a beautiful sense of community among our sisters. It's not a rigid community, it's a friendly and supportive community that allows us to use our own gifts." Outside of his family and friends, Fishing Point's Doug Saxon had three major passions in life: education, local history and music. Whether it was ensuring he knew the name of every child in the various primary schools where he served as principal, or writing the 22 local history books he had published, or coordinating the various Newcastle and Hunter Jazz Club festival lineups, Mr Saxon launched into everything with passion. On Monday, Mr Saxon's service to education, local history and music is being recognised in the King's Birthday honours list with a Medal of the Order of Australia in the general division. Sadly, Mr Saxon died in July last year after a bout of influenza A. He was 78. "He would have been so pleased," Mr Saxon's wife, Judith, said of the OAM. "He spent a lot of time doing it, but he really enjoyed it. "He had a passion for local history and keeping the music going, and the things he was really sure about in education. He loved being a principal." Mr Saxon grew up in Hamilton and attended the local public school. He would later publish the book Hamilton: Memories of Life and School in the 1950s in 2010. While at Newcastle Boys High, he met Judith, who was a Newcastle Girls High student, at a school dance. After initially working as an accountant, Mr Saxon moved into teaching and took up his first post at western Sydney's Villawood East Public in 1968. Within 10 years, he became a principal at Yanco in the Riverina. Mr Saxon returned to the Hunter in 1983 as Bonnells Bay Public School principal (1983-87) and led Cessnock East PS (1987-1992) and Jewells PS (1992-2006) before retiring in 2006. It was while he was living in Yanco in 1980 that Mr Saxon's love of local history was first ignited. He used to take students to the nearby village of Morundah on excursions to visit its historic school building. "They did a dig, talked to the local people and made a great big study of it, and a publication was put together," Judith said. "That was the first of all the local histories he did over the years." Mr Saxon continued to write local history books, focusing predominantly on the Hunter region, telling the stories of the schools he taught at and the development of Lake Macquarie suburbs Awaba and Morisset. He also published a book in 2017, Michael Scott: An Artistic Life, on the founder of the Blake Prize for religious art. His last books, Eraring's History - Farming, Monkeys and Electricity and Dora Creek Memories 1870-2020 were published in 2020. "After each publication he did, I'd say, 'That's the last one, isn't it?'" Judith said. "But he always did another one. He just loved it." While Mr Saxon didn't play an instrument himself, he always held a rich love of music. While a principal, he promoted musicals strongly and encouraged his three children and four grandchildren to follow their passion for music. He was a member of the Newcastle and Hunter Jazz Club and was the organisation's festival band coordinator for 14 years, right up until his death a month out from last year's event. On July 27, the Newcastle and Hunter Jazz Club is hosting the Doug Saxon Memorial Concert at Wangi Wangi District Workers Club in his honour. When Catherine Johnson started work in cancer care in 1990, it was a different world. "It was very difficult, treatment was very limited, and it wasn't always successful," Ms Johnson said. "We've seen huge transformations in the care patients receive now. That's been driven through clinical trials and research." A clinical nurse consultant in medical oncology at the Calvary Mater Newcastle, Ms Johnson has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. "I've worked in clinical trials for 20-odd years at the Mater," she said. Her work is a mission of the heart. "I've been working in healthcare for a very long time. It's important to me," she said. "It's been a very rewarding career." She aimed to follow the example of her parents by "serving the community". "It's a joy to give back," she said. She's held senior roles on numerous committees in the cancer nursing field. Among her achievements, she helped develop the Cancer Nurses Society of Australia in 1998-99 and later served as its treasurer and deputy chairperson. As an editorial board member with the Australian Journal of Cancer Nursing from 2011-20, she helped share knowledge in the field. Ms Johnson is secretary/treasurer of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care. "I've worked internationally and done projects in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa in breast cancer screening. "In Latin America, I have led projects across five countries, training nurses in cervical cancer screening and prevention and breast cancer screening. "I trained nurses who worked with women to prevent and detect early cancers in low and middle-income countries. " She said this work was "really rewarding". Her work on clinical trials for Mater patients in Newcastle was a labour of love. When patients respond to treatments, it's a "lovely feeling". "It's great for them," she said. While working in cancer care could be emotional, she said "we are working to improve the outcomes". "There are moments where it's very sad, difficult and challenging, but there are also rewarding moments. "I work with great teams and wonderful nurses all around the world." The international nurses she worked with "do so much with so little". "That is humbling and makes me appreciate everything we have here," she said. It gave her perspective. "It makes what we do on a day-to-day basis easy, even though we sometimes think we're resource-constrained and working in difficult circumstances. "We live such a privileged and fortunate life in Australia." She added that cancer often gives people "the chance to have a new perspective on life, even though it's difficult". Asked about the prospects of a future cancer cure, she said "we see people living with cancer for a long time and living well". "It's now a chronic disease to a large degree, rather than something that is a life sentence." She was humbled to receive the King's Birthday honour, knowing that "somebody would nominate me and recognise the work I do". It was perhaps a relic of his rugby league days that Mark Holton has never had much fear of having a crack at something. A career of running onto the field with the intent of out-gunning the other guy will do that to you. In that sense, he says he has lived by a fairly simple philosophy of having a go at everything. If you bite off more than you can chew, you just have to chew harder. Mr Holton would probably not admit it - rather, he would tell you that he was merely in the right place at the right time - but there is the distinct sense that it is that same philosophy that led him off the field and into the boardrooms of a litany of charities and sporting organisations that have defined his past three decades of community service. Mr Holton's list of accomplishments is long, but a few names are on there that are close to his heart. He got involved with the children's health charity Ronald McDonald House, for example, not long after retiring from his sporting career as a rugby league player and referee (he calls it his time "running around"). He was called in to help set up the charity's accounting system and, not long after, was asked if he would consider becoming a volunteer treasurer. That was 30 years ago, and still, he has no plans to call full-time. "I just see myself as someone who puts their hand up to help when they are asked," Mr Holton said. "I went down to Ronald McDonald House to help them with a bit of software, thinking 'here's another client', but when I saw what it was doing, I thought I couldn't charge this organisation. And I want to help it." Mr Holton is one of several Hunter identities to be conferred with Order of Australia honours over the June long weekend. Mr Holton will be inducted for his services to the community for his involvement in community and regional sports, business, and charity. The most recent of his achievements was establishing, among other sporting leaders, the Regional Academies of Sport, effectively merging the Hunter and Central Coast academies to help young athletes outside the city get access to high-quality training and development opportunities. Mr Holton has been the chair of the organisation since 2022. "There are so many great kids here, and their parents have to go to extraordinary lengths to get them to sporting practice sessions, training and development, which often aren't on the coast," he said. "Putting something together that would allow them to get that development without having to leave home really just appealed." The old fable goes that when asked how they had created a stunning and intricate sculpture of an elephant from a lump of formless stone, the sculptor said they had not. They just chipped away all the pieces of stone that were not part of the elephant. There is the sense that, in some ways, Stockton potter Les Peterkin has approached his life as a teacher and an artist in the same way; not by grand sweeping strokes, but by gradual and lovingly diligent degrees. Take ceramics, for example. Mr Peterkin did not have any particular vision of becoming a potter, but he took an evening class when he was a teacher in Sydney to satisfy an interest and soon found it spoke to him. Not long after, he started teaching the class. When he met his partner, they started a business. He began selling his art while he was working as a teacher. Thirty years later, he retired to Stockton, where, on the King's Birthday long weekend, he was in line for induction to the Order of Australia for his services to the arts. From the formless medium, the picture takes shape. Mr Peterkin's work evokes the sea. His art is full of vibrant sea life, water blues and natural curves. It's folky and colourful, and in each work, there is the sense that it has been laboured over. Still, the artist believes that there is nothing innate in the arts. No one is born with it, but it belongs to everyone. The elephant is there; it's just a matter of chipping away at it. "It's all learnable," Mr Peterkin, who has amassed a considerable following online where he posts videos of his work and process, said. "It's just that if you want to do something, you go ahead and get on with it." "They say that if you're once a teacher, you're always a teacher, and I suppose that is one of the reasons why I learned how to make videos." "I have done a lot in my life, and I've worked hard, but I never expected to get any accolades. If they turn up, it's all the better." Mr Peterkin said he was humbled by the King's Birthday honour and was looking forward to celebrating with friends on Monday. COMING from a family of educators, Lehetta Lane-Porter has always been passionate about providing opportunities to Indigenous youth. "Within my family dynamics, from my mother to my three sisters, we are all educators," she said. The 40-year-old Gamilaraay Yuwaalaraay woman has been recognised for her work and awarded a Public Service Medal in the King's Birthday honours. Ms Lane-Porter has been instrumental in supporting First Nations students to succeed in school, complete year 12 and move on to employment and training. She has worked as head of boarding at Aboriginal Hostels Limited's (AHL) Kirinari Newcastle hostel for the past eight years. "I was actually a student within Aboriginal Hostels Limited, where I left my home and lived in Dubbo for many years in a boarding setting, so I often reflect on my own time there," she said. "The passion I walked in the door eight years ago, I still strongly have that today." She helps connect students to cultural, sporting and social events to build their confidence, self-identity and community connections. In her role, she also encourages students' annual participation in the Boots for Bright Futures campaign, working with Australian National Rugby League clubs to paint footy boots for auction to raise money for the fight against youth suicide. "I've got kids from far northwest NSW, western NSW, and the northwest of NSW. Being even exposed to NRL players, within itself, is an excitement. It's not something they get to see every day in their home community," she said. "Being able to share the journey with them while they play the Indigenous round is something special." Ms Lane-Porter said she was honoured and humbled to receive a Public Service Medal. "It's actually quite a surprise. I'm still inquisitive. I don't know who made the nomination, but I'd love to know who it is," she said. "I feel very honoured to be receiving it and have those three little slash initials after my name." Her mother, known as Aunty Beth, received one last year. "Both her and I now get to share that glory together," she said. Ms Lane-Porter said she enjoyed guiding the next generation of indigenous leaders and would continue to do so. "They come to my boarding setting to be provided with better opportunities educationally, but also culturally," she said. "I will continue to do what I do and hopefully change many more lives of the Indigenous youth that come across my path." From his career as a police officer to his commitment to volunteering, Gordon Gorton has dedicated his life to serving the community. Now, his service has been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for service to the community through a range of service organisations. The Rutherford resident was a police officer for 35 years who was stationed across the Hunter and at Lithgow, and retired ranked chief inspector at Maitland Police Station. Mr Gorton said the honour is a very appreciated shock. "To me it means that some of the work I've done with the community over the years has been recognised," he said. "You just poke along and do what you're doing and you don't look for accolades, but when you do get an accolade like this you say 'wow, I might have done a bit'." Whether stationed in Maitland, Cessnock, Lithgow, Scone or Maclean, Mr Gorton has always become involved with local clubs like Apex, and organised many community projects like skate parks and blue light discos, and coached sporting teams. "You got respect that was the main thing, two-way respect. The community respected you and vice versa," he said. "People knew who you were, you weren't just the copper down the road, they knew who you were and your values." In 2002 he was awarded the NSW Police Diligent and Ethical Service Medal. After retiring, Mr Gorton still felt a strong calling to help the community and volunteered in a number of roles including as an official hospital visitor to mental health patients with NSW Health. He also served as a juvenile justice conference convenor with the NSW Department of Communities and Juvenile Justice. "I've always had an interest in mental health and there was an opportunity there to work as an advocate for patients in various mental health institutions, both adult and adolescents in the Hunter Valley area," he said. A former Cessnock Goannas Rugby League Football Club president, Mr Gorton is still very much a Goanna at heart despite moving to Maitland a few years ago, and is a director on the board of Cessnock Leagues Club. "Rugby league has always been an interest of mine, and also what I found too from my point of view as a policeman when you go to a particular community, you've got to get involved with that community," he said. Irene Hemsworth dedicated her life to supporting others, and she has had her service to Maitland recognised in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours list. Mrs Hemsworth had been volunteering since she was just 12-years-old, and at the time of her death in September 2024 was still active on 12 committees, at 84-years-old. She has been honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the general division for service to the community of Maitland. It's recognition that's long overdue, according to her daughter Raylene Teague. "We're so proud of her in all honesty, I think it's been long overdue with the amount of work she's put into the community," she said. "I know she would have liked to have been here to get it but it is what it is. "She'd be chuffed." Mrs Hemsworth has volunteered at a range of Maitland sporting clubs, church groups, scripture at schools, the RSL, op shops and school P&C associations. "She started volunteering when she was about 12 at Sunday school, and then just never stopped," Ms Teague said. "It was always if we wanted to be involved with something whether it was swimming or netball, or soccer or dancing, whatever it was mum would also throw her support behind that because she knew organisations were only as strong as the volunteers that it had." Mrs Hemsworth has held roles at Maitland Netball Association, Maitland RSL Netball Club (co-founder and former president), Maitland Park Sport Recreation Board, Maitland Sports Council and was a learn to swim instructor. She also was president of RSL Youth Club for almost 40 years, and was a member of the Maitland RSL sub-branch women's auxiliary. One of her greatest passions was being a scripture teacher, where she taught at local schools from 1973 to 2024. Ms Teague said her mum's strong Christian values drove her to volunteer. "It (volunteering) was always from a Christian belief of serving others, so the scripture was important to her," she said. "Principals of schools came up to me at her funeral and said mum didn't push Christianity, she was just the epitome of Jesus and loving everybody, it was all just about how to love one another and maybe that drove her volunteering." Ms Teague said her mum's own life experiences often determined the groups she joined, whether it was a cancer support committee after being diagnosed with breast cancer, or becoming a learn to swim instructor when her daughter needed to learn to swim. "We had a brother who passed away at eight-months-old and going through that as a young mother that she was, and the support she received, the was always looking at how to repay people and her motto was always 'if you can, I think you should'," Ms Teague said. This isn't Mrs Hemsworth's first award, having been named Maitland Citizen of the Year in 1989, and a Freeman of the City in 2014. Brian Jack has been active in the community for more than 50 years, and while his biggest thrill has been his career as an auctioneer, he has always been passionate about helping young people. Now, his decades of service have been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for service to the community of Maitland. The Aberglasslyn resident said while he has never been in it for the accolades, it's nice to be appreciated. "I never went looking for accolades, and the only kudos that I received was from myself that if I'd helped somebody to turn them into a better person, I felt good," Mr Jack said. Mr Jack has held roles at a number of Maitland clubs and organisations, including being the inaugural president at the Rotary Club of Maitland Sunrise, and the longest-serving president of the Maitland High School Ex Students Association. He has held roles on the junior selection panel of Newcastle Knights Rugby League, where he helped young people achieve their best. Whether through Rotary, rugby league or work, Mr Jack has always found ways to help young people. At the Rotary Club of Maitland Sunrise, one of his portfolios was youth service. "I always liked youth service because I always say the youth are our future of tomorrow, and we've got to get them there," he said. One of his proudest career moments was judging state auctioneering at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, and judging the national competition in 2019, the same year he retired. "I've got a lot of pleasure out of doing a lot of things and I've helped quite a few young auctioneers come through, I've trained a few and to see them go on and become the men in the industry they have really, really makes me happy," he said. In his career Mr Jack started as an employee at Lindsay and Comerford from 1969 to 1972, then was an auctioneer with Carr Bros from 1972 to 1985 before becoming a partner at Jones and Berry from 1985 to 2019. Considered to be a quiet achiever, Dave Sams is being honoured with one of the greatest accolades. The Anna Bay man has been awarded an Order of Australia medal (OAM) in the King's Birthday Honours for his service to the community of Port Stephens. Mr Sams originally thought the phone call to say he had been nominated for an OAM was a scam call. "I never expected to get a call like that," he said. With a passion for the community and volunteering, Mr Sams said he couldn't have achieved the recognition on his own. "I've volunteered alongside a lot of good people and I wouldn't have been able to achieve whatever I have without those people I volunteered with," he said. In his thirties, Mr Sams created his own job, in hopes of helping other unemployed people and the community. Mr Sams founded the not-for-profit Salamander Bay Recyling Centre in 1994, formerly Not Everybody Works Employment Centre and today still works at the centre. "I'm there until I retire," he said. The recycling centre which has now become more commercialised, once received boxes full of recycled treasures. "Stuff would come in the door and it was going out as quick as it was coming in," Mr Sams said. Mr Sams has been an instrumental part of the Port Stephens Suicide Prevention Network, where he spends time volunteering. He joined the network after his son, Robert, took his life. "Your kids bury you, you don't bury your kids," Mr Sams said. The heartbreaking loss of his son steered Mr Sams in a new direction - to help others who have lost ones to suicide. "I'm involved with putting Lifeline signs out at bus stops and I've tried to put as many signs out across Port Stephens as possible," he said. He helped create Solace Place, opened at Boat Harbour in 2014, for those seeking a quiet place for reflection. "It's a good place to go and sit and reflect," Mr Sams said. Mr Sams also founded Port Stephens Survivors of Suicide (SOS), which deals with issues after suicide. "It had a real ripple effect on my family," he said. "I would talk to people who had lost loved ones and it was an opportunity for them to talk about the person," he said. Mr Sams was also there from the beginning of the Salamander Bay Men's Shed and said he wanted to create an environment where men could socialise and interact. "Talking and getting things off your chest is so important," he said. Another passion of Mr Sams is the environment and he is a former member of both the Anna Bay and Boat Harbour Parks and Gardens Group and Soldiers Point Tidy Towns Committee. He is also a current Landcare volunteer and can often be found at Robinson Reserve planting trees. Everything Mr Sams does around the community is for the kids and he said he would like to see more volunteers in Port Stephens. Carol Duncan jokes that she's probably one of the "handiest connectors" in Newcastle. When you spend more than three decades working in the media, serving as a Labor councillor or sitting on numerous art and culture committees, you gain an insight into what makes a city tick. And by whom the decisions are made. "After my unicorn career, you sort of know everybody and it means if there's something you want to know or want help with or you need a connection, the chances are, I probably know who you need to talk to," Ms Duncan said. "I really love that. That is what helps build community and actually have it form an embrace around the nearly 200,000 of us." Ms Duncan's service to the Newcastle community will be recognised on Monday when she receives a medal of the Order of Australia in the general division. "It's amazing," she said. "I am speechless for someone who is never short of words." Despite being such a proud advocate for Newcastle, Ms Duncan grew up in Sydney and broke into the music industry working for record label Sony, where her job involved pushing releases from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Midnight Oil, and Michael Jackson to radio stations and TV networks. That led to her first radio gig in Hobart, before she was lured back to NSW with a job at the newly launched NXFM in Newcastle, which had previously been AM station 2NX. Ms Duncan spent seven years in commercial radio at NXFM and NEWFM before finding her true calling at 1233 ABC from 2001 to 2014, where she fell in love with the "intimacy of communication with people." In 2007, Ms Duncan was part of 1233 ABC's Walkley Award-winning coverage of the Pasha Bulker storm and its aftermath. "When people are brave enough to share stories with you, whether it's radio [or another medium], media is still such a powerful way of sharing stories that can help other people feel like they have a place, that they're not alone, that they're not the only ones going through an awful thing," she said. "Being able to find your tribe, no matter what that is, is so important because it keeps people afloat." Away from the microphone, the Hamilton resident continued to serve the community. In 2012 she founded the Lost Newcastle history page on Facebook, which she initially thought would only be used by fellow "history nerds." Just last week, Lost Newcastle attracted its 80,000th follower. She's also continually advocated her passions for music and the arts in Newcastle. Ms Duncan is the chair of the Public Art Reference Group and Community and Culture Advisory committees and is about to join the Newcastle Fringe Festival board. She was also a founding member of the Newcastle Live Music Taskforce to help preserve the city's late-night economy. Not surprisingly, Ms Duncan's passion for community led to her successfully running for Labor as a Ward two councillor in 2017. She served two terms before losing a Labor preselection last year to Paige Johnson. "Local government is probably the most rewarding, worst-paid job ever," she said. "It was something I took really seriously. "When people are affected by an issue, whether it's a piece of footpath outside their house or a big decision and you're part of a team making that decision for the next decade for the city, it's a big responsibility. "In any of those things, you know you're never going to please everyone, but you just try to do the best that you can." Since 2023, Ms Duncan has continued to channel her passion for communication into her role as the public engagement lead for the Hunter Medical Research Institute. WHEN it comes to the Hunter's history, Mike Scanlon's pen has written many of its pages. The former Newcastle Sun and Newcastle Herald journalist, weekly history columnist and published author is more than just a writer. He's a historian, a custodian and has made it his life's work to salvage stories from the region's past. "It was almost by accident," Mr Scanlon said. "I realised there were all these stories, it started off with a column and it's been going since about 2000, so almost 25 years finding all these odd, unusual and quirky stories around the place. "Weird things happen in Newcastle that probably don't happen in a lot of other places." Mr Scanlon's contributions to the media and community history have been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the King's Birthday Honours. His journalism career started as something of a holiday job. It was the mid-1960s, and Mr Scanlon had toyed with the idea of becoming a diplomat or an architect until a cadetship at the Sun came along. "It really wasn't meant to be a 60-year job, it sort of just grew with me," he said. Despite being housed in the same building and under the same ownership, the Herald and the Sun competed fiercely for the afternoon trade when the blokes from BHP got off shift. There were three or four editions a day, the Herald had made a name for itself as a more "serious" broadsheet. "We were a bit more flash," Mr Scanlon said. "I remember that there was, I think, a floating rig that blew up in the harbour, and they said, 'Go out and interview everybody and leave nothing for the Herald, even interview the victims' dogs'," he said. "The next day, from memory, we did such a good job we dedicated the whole edition to it, I think the Herald just ran a small piece on page one because we'd covered it." When the Sun collapsed in the 1980s, Mr Scanlon was one of about 16 employees drafted to the Herald. Mr Scanlon covered courts, general news, local councils, wrote the Topics column, became assistant to the deputy editor, had a stint as night chief-of-staff and at one point was editor of the Newcastle Post. In 2006, he was honoured with a lifetime achievement award in recognition of his four decades in the game. "I liked the pace of it, the excitement, it was very frenetic really," Mr Scanlon said. "I got into history by accident, actually, I wanted to do a story about the wholesale abduction of sailors in the sailing ship days. "It was an extraordinary story. Nobody wanted to work on the sailing ships, which were hard work, when they could work on the steamers going up and down the coast for more money and better conditions, so they were just abducted from the streets. I've been following it for years." That's just one of many tales Mr Scanlon can tell; the rest are in his books The Hidden Hunter and Past Port. For him, preserving the Hunter's history before it disappears is more than a pastime; it's a duty. "They're great stories," Mr Scanlon said. "I feel really humbled and honoured, and it's a great privilege to help people and to roll out these stories about their past lives, war stories. "Everyone's got a great story if you listen long enough and hard enough, and that's what I'm trying to bring to the fore." Mr Scanlon said he felt privileged to be nominated for an OAM. "I'm just at a loss for words. I'd like to thank whoever nominated me; it's one of those things you don't expect, and it's very nice," he said. About 20 years on from retirement, he shows no signs of slowing down. "I think I'm just driven, I like to discover something new and interesting, go to unknown territory and write it up," he said. "They call me a self-starter. I just went out and found stories, in many cases, where people didn't think there was one. "Hopefully, my readers will come along and enjoy it as well." John Drinan described his Order of Australia (AM) award as unexpected from his Mid North Coast home at Bonny Hills. "You do what you do in life, and you don't need acknowledgment for that work because so many others have done far more," he said. But his list of achievements written in his citation for this year's King's Birthday Honours says otherwise, showing his tireless work for his community, agricultural industries and the environment for decades. A former long-term resident of Singleton, Dr Drinan and his wife, Anne, moved to Bonny Hills in 2017 to retire, well, at least retire from farming. The couple had some close friends who were already living in the district and they thought it would be a lovely place to live. Since that time he has immersed himself in the life of the community. Rotary, Landcare, and Bonny Hills Progress Association, he has been heavily involved in these groups. "Anne and I love the community here, so it is easy to become involved in these groups, especially the Progress Association, whose members are committed and highly capable," he said. His next project, now that he has stepped away from executive roles in the various community groups, is writing a book about the flora of the region, which he describes as magnificent in spring and summer. He would also like to emulate the long life of his much-admired mother, Flo Drinan, who died aged 102. "At 82, I would love to live as long as my mother, who was a much-loved member of the Singleton community," he said. The Drinan family has strong connections to the Singleton district, and John and Anne lived on their property "Wahgunyah" at Glendon Brook for 30 years. Dr Drinan grew up in Singleton, and he would spend time during his childhood visiting and working on "Wahgunyah", the property his father Bernie and his sister Margaret Boyce jointly shared as a "lifetime stewardship. It was time spent helping his aunt Mrs Boyce that shaped his future career. He went onto enjoy a successful career as an agricultural researcher and educator including being the principal of Tocal College, Paterson from 1981-87. Prior to taking on the role of principal at Tocal College, he was the head of the Department of Animal Production, Hawkesbury Agricultural College of Advanced Education, 1975-1981. He held various senior positions in agricultural research and advisory bodies, including chairing the Rural Research and Development Corporations, 1996-1997 and a member of the Dairy Industry Adjustment Authority (2000-2006) and Chief Executive, (2006-2008). He was a member of the Australian Animal Health Laboratory Advisory Committee, 2000-2005. He worked as an academic at Newcastle University and is particularly proud of his involvement in establishing allied health degrees such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy at UON. As he has done at Bonny Hills Dr Drinan's life in Singleton was one that involved a strong commitment to Rotary, Landcare, and the church (St Patrick's Catholic Church, Singleton Parish). While as a Rotarian in Singleton, he was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship, Rotary Club of Singleton on Hunter, Rotary International, 2004 and the Paul Harris Fellowship, Rotary District 9670, Rotary International, 2008. He was also very active in establishing environmental groups while he lived in Singleton. He was a Foundation Member, Singleton Shire Healthy Environment Group, 2009-2016 and a community representative, Environmental Strategy and Action Plan, Singleton Council, 2015-2017. He was a member of the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue, 2011-2017. Since his move to Bonny Hills, he worked for several years writing a book on the impacts of mining on the Hunter Valley. He launched his book The Sacrificial Valley Coal's legacy to the Hunter at the late Wendy Bowman's home, 'Rosedale', Camberwell near Singleton in November 2022. At the launch, Rosedale's beautiful garden on the banks of Glennies Creek was filled with community members, people whose homes and properties had long ago been acquired by the mines, representatives from environmental groups, Dr Drinan's family and friends and former colleagues. At that time, he said, "I drove up the Valley to Scone yesterday and felt physically sick at the destruction that has been wrought to this once beautiful place." "For that, I don't blame the mining companies or their workers. I am not anti-coal mining, as I know what coal has done economically, but now it must stop. "The world has changed, and so must the valley." His opinion of the Valley and the need for change remains steadfast, and he will continue to engage where he can in ensuring the environment, no matter where he lives, is protected and cherished. THERE are worse places to work. Shaleigh Lennox started out as a Nipper and has been a dedicated member of the Cooks Hill Surf Lifesaving Club since 1992. She's patrolled beaches, put in more than 1188 hours in support operations and as a duty officer since 2009, worked on the frontline in floods and shown others the ropes to keep the coastline safe. Now, she's been awarded an Emergency Services Medal for her efforts, recognising more than 30 years of service to the Hunter community. "I joined as a Nipper," Ms Lennox said. "My family lived quite close to the coast, so I think my parents signed me up because having an understanding of the surf and being safe in the surf and living so close is important." Her love of the beach saw her become director of lifesaving for the Hunter branch in 2007, where she established the duty officer role and brought in new policies that helped shape rescue and patrol operations. Ms Lennox has held several frontline roles including patrol captain, zone supervisor and duty officer. "Surf lifesaving is extending further out from the flags," she said. "The role that I do looks at those areas outside of the flags, and if there are people swimming in dangerous areas, we organise jet skis or whatever we can to cover those areas. "There hasn't been any loss of life between the flags, and I think that says a lot about keeping that area of the coast safe." Outside the flags, Ms Lennox played a critical role in evacuations during the Hunter's hazardous 2007 June floods and through every major flood incident within the region since. "Before we did this routinely, responding to floods, we didn't really have the gear, it was dark, we'd have to get the equipment to the area because all the roads were flooded and everything," she said. "There was a lot of unknown, but there was just a sense of everybody being in it together, pitching in and helping out." It's the camaraderie that has kept Ms Lennox going, along with seeing young Nippers come through the ranks like she did and the knowledge that her work helps keep the community safe. "I would trust all of those guys with my family, so I think that's a great indication of the knowledge and the skills that they've got," she said. "People can get into trouble so quickly in the surf, and being there to help them out or give them some education, even on the beach, helping out and being such a huge part of the community, I really enjoy that." Ms Lennox said receiving an Emergency Services Medal was "totally unexpected". "I'm really honoured to get it," she said. "There are so many deserving people out there, so to be recognised, I'm humbled as well." Stephen Raymond first joined emergency services 35 years ago out of necessity but chose to stay out of love. The Marine Rescue NSW (MRNSW) Hunter and Central Coast zone duty operations manager was awarded an emergency services medal as part of the King's Birthday honours on Monday, June 9. "It's very humbling and much appreciated to get recognised for this award," he said. Living in the middle of a heavily forested area in Braidwood in the NSW Southern Tablelands, Mr Raymond joined the Rural Fire Service (RFS) to protect his community. "I got started in 1989, and it was self-preservation, really," he said. "I moved up through the RFS and became a captain of a brigade, then went into a paid position in 1998." After 27 years with the RFS, he decided to move to the newly created Marine Rescue NSW nine years ago. "There were three organisations brought together under one banner, there was a lot of culture to be built, new policies and standard operating procedures," he said. In his role at Marine Rescue he coordinates emergency calls from Triple Zero, tasks rescue units out on the waters and overseas equipment and training of staff and volunteers. From Gosford up to Port Stephens, Mr Raymond oversees seven units of volunteers and staff. "We save lives on the water, and people are having the worst day of their lives, and we go in there, and bring them home safely," he said. "There is nothing more rewarding than being able to do that." Most days out on Hunter waters were not smooth sailing, however. "We are sending people out on rough seas and dangerous situations but you've also got to be able to make sure they're safe and get back safe as well," he said. "We have to manage different weather conditions and incidents evolving in dangerous conditions," Nearly every day on the coast involves a rescue, with his team bringing 2800 back to safety last year. "We had one in Lake Macquarie where we had nine people in a scuba diving boat, the boat was sinking," he said. "We got the call early, and we sent two boats and our jet skis out - it could have ended a lot differently." From his days with the RFS, he still remembers the intense bushfire that ripped through Catherine Hill Bay in 2013 and flames that came into Dudley and the back of Newcastle. "What I remember most during those big fires were people being very generous with donations," he said. "One lady in her late 80s walked a couple of miles to our fire control centre to bring us water and cut up oranges." The best part of his job was the people, he said. "I'm working with volunteers, with passionate people that want to be here and doing this for no financial reward," he said. "I owe it all to the great people that I've worked with over the last 35 years who have made it possible for me to work in the industry." It was 1997 when Sister Carmel Moore reached a critical juncture in her life as a Sister of St Joseph. She had already spent more than three decades as a school teacher, high school principal and hospital chaplain, to name a few roles, but there was something else she felt called to do. That was founding the Living Waters Meditation Centre at The Junction, a place where participants take time out to connect with their true selves. "I think that's my life's main work," Sister Carmel, who has received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the Catholic Church in Australia, said. "I had a need within myself to find silence and inner peace. "It was something I craved, even from when I was young. Entering the convent did a lot for that, but I also wanted to share it. I experienced a call to do it. " About 800 people have participated in the centre's weekly meditations over the past 29 years. And the waters are still flowing, with between 40 to 50 participants presently attending the centre's bi-monthly retreat mornings. There are also offshoot groups that meet weekly across the Maitland-Newcastle diocese that share the centre's Benedictine Charism. Sr Carmel said she was initially surprised at the centre's success, but, upon reflection, it's easy to understand - the unrelenting distractions and pressures of modern life were driving a corresponding need for spiritual solace and meaning. "There are many people who come along because the world's just too fast for them; their lifestyle is too heavy for them. They are seeking life's deepest meaning and their truest self," she said. Now 90, Sr Carmel handed over the centre's administrative reins about 12 years ago, but is still actively involved in its activities. "I fill in for people if they can't come, but I don't want it to be all about me, because if I can't come someday, I don't want it to end," she said. The centre's philosophy is closely related to another of Sr Carmel's roles as a member of the Sisters of St Joseph's inter-congregational eco-spirituality committee. "We aim to spread the sense of God in creation, which involves caring for the earth, our common home," she said. "When I'm swimming at Merewether baths, I see a lot of people just gazing at the sunrise or the beauty of the clouds and the ocean. That is all helping to bring them into the contemplation of the beauty around them." Sr Carmel admits she initially wasn't too keen on accepting a King's Birthday award, but she accepts that it also recognises the Sisters of St Joseph and all of those who have supported her. "I'm embarrassed by all of this, really," she said. "There are a lot of people who have done a lot more than I've done, and there are so many people who silently go about doing great things without any recognition." She noted religious life was very different from when she entered the Sisters of Joseph at Lochinvar 72 years ago. "We have gone from being a very disciplined and minutely organised group to being free to be the people that we were meant to be," she said. "There is a beautiful sense of community among our sisters. It's not a rigid community, it's a friendly and supportive community that allows us to use our own gifts." Outside of his family and friends, Fishing Point's Doug Saxon had three major passions in life: education, local history and music. Whether it was ensuring he knew the name of every child in the various primary schools where he served as principal, or writing the 22 local history books he had published, or coordinating the various Newcastle and Hunter Jazz Club festival lineups, Mr Saxon launched into everything with passion. On Monday, Mr Saxon's service to education, local history and music is being recognised in the King's Birthday honours list with a Medal of the Order of Australia in the general division. Sadly, Mr Saxon died in July last year after a bout of influenza A. He was 78. "He would have been so pleased," Mr Saxon's wife, Judith, said of the OAM. "He spent a lot of time doing it, but he really enjoyed it. "He had a passion for local history and keeping the music going, and the things he was really sure about in education. He loved being a principal." Mr Saxon grew up in Hamilton and attended the local public school. He would later publish the book Hamilton: Memories of Life and School in the 1950s in 2010. While at Newcastle Boys High, he met Judith, who was a Newcastle Girls High student, at a school dance. After initially working as an accountant, Mr Saxon moved into teaching and took up his first post at western Sydney's Villawood East Public in 1968. Within 10 years, he became a principal at Yanco in the Riverina. Mr Saxon returned to the Hunter in 1983 as Bonnells Bay Public School principal (1983-87) and led Cessnock East PS (1987-1992) and Jewells PS (1992-2006) before retiring in 2006. It was while he was living in Yanco in 1980 that Mr Saxon's love of local history was first ignited. He used to take students to the nearby village of Morundah on excursions to visit its historic school building. "They did a dig, talked to the local people and made a great big study of it, and a publication was put together," Judith said. "That was the first of all the local histories he did over the years." Mr Saxon continued to write local history books, focusing predominantly on the Hunter region, telling the stories of the schools he taught at and the development of Lake Macquarie suburbs Awaba and Morisset. He also published a book in 2017, Michael Scott: An Artistic Life, on the founder of the Blake Prize for religious art. His last books, Eraring's History - Farming, Monkeys and Electricity and Dora Creek Memories 1870-2020 were published in 2020. "After each publication he did, I'd say, 'That's the last one, isn't it?'" Judith said. "But he always did another one. He just loved it." While Mr Saxon didn't play an instrument himself, he always held a rich love of music. While a principal, he promoted musicals strongly and encouraged his three children and four grandchildren to follow their passion for music. He was a member of the Newcastle and Hunter Jazz Club and was the organisation's festival band coordinator for 14 years, right up until his death a month out from last year's event. On July 27, the Newcastle and Hunter Jazz Club is hosting the Doug Saxon Memorial Concert at Wangi Wangi District Workers Club in his honour. When Catherine Johnson started work in cancer care in 1990, it was a different world. "It was very difficult, treatment was very limited, and it wasn't always successful," Ms Johnson said. "We've seen huge transformations in the care patients receive now. That's been driven through clinical trials and research." A clinical nurse consultant in medical oncology at the Calvary Mater Newcastle, Ms Johnson has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. "I've worked in clinical trials for 20-odd years at the Mater," she said. Her work is a mission of the heart. "I've been working in healthcare for a very long time. It's important to me," she said. "It's been a very rewarding career." She aimed to follow the example of her parents by "serving the community". "It's a joy to give back," she said. She's held senior roles on numerous committees in the cancer nursing field. Among her achievements, she helped develop the Cancer Nurses Society of Australia in 1998-99 and later served as its treasurer and deputy chairperson. As an editorial board member with the Australian Journal of Cancer Nursing from 2011-20, she helped share knowledge in the field. Ms Johnson is secretary/treasurer of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care. "I've worked internationally and done projects in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa in breast cancer screening. "In Latin America, I have led projects across five countries, training nurses in cervical cancer screening and prevention and breast cancer screening. "I trained nurses who worked with women to prevent and detect early cancers in low and middle-income countries. " She said this work was "really rewarding". Her work on clinical trials for Mater patients in Newcastle was a labour of love. When patients respond to treatments, it's a "lovely feeling". "It's great for them," she said. While working in cancer care could be emotional, she said "we are working to improve the outcomes". "There are moments where it's very sad, difficult and challenging, but there are also rewarding moments. "I work with great teams and wonderful nurses all around the world." The international nurses she worked with "do so much with so little". "That is humbling and makes me appreciate everything we have here," she said. It gave her perspective. "It makes what we do on a day-to-day basis easy, even though we sometimes think we're resource-constrained and working in difficult circumstances. "We live such a privileged and fortunate life in Australia." She added that cancer often gives people "the chance to have a new perspective on life, even though it's difficult". Asked about the prospects of a future cancer cure, she said "we see people living with cancer for a long time and living well". "It's now a chronic disease to a large degree, rather than something that is a life sentence." She was humbled to receive the King's Birthday honour, knowing that "somebody would nominate me and recognise the work I do". It was perhaps a relic of his rugby league days that Mark Holton has never had much fear of having a crack at something. A career of running onto the field with the intent of out-gunning the other guy will do that to you. In that sense, he says he has lived by a fairly simple philosophy of having a go at everything. If you bite off more than you can chew, you just have to chew harder. Mr Holton would probably not admit it - rather, he would tell you that he was merely in the right place at the right time - but there is the distinct sense that it is that same philosophy that led him off the field and into the boardrooms of a litany of charities and sporting organisations that have defined his past three decades of community service. Mr Holton's list of accomplishments is long, but a few names are on there that are close to his heart. He got involved with the children's health charity Ronald McDonald House, for example, not long after retiring from his sporting career as a rugby league player and referee (he calls it his time "running around"). He was called in to help set up the charity's accounting system and, not long after, was asked if he would consider becoming a volunteer treasurer. That was 30 years ago, and still, he has no plans to call full-time. "I just see myself as someone who puts their hand up to help when they are asked," Mr Holton said. "I went down to Ronald McDonald House to help them with a bit of software, thinking 'here's another client', but when I saw what it was doing, I thought I couldn't charge this organisation. And I want to help it." Mr Holton is one of several Hunter identities to be conferred with Order of Australia honours over the June long weekend. Mr Holton will be inducted for his services to the community for his involvement in community and regional sports, business, and charity. The most recent of his achievements was establishing, among other sporting leaders, the Regional Academies of Sport, effectively merging the Hunter and Central Coast academies to help young athletes outside the city get access to high-quality training and development opportunities. Mr Holton has been the chair of the organisation since 2022. "There are so many great kids here, and their parents have to go to extraordinary lengths to get them to sporting practice sessions, training and development, which often aren't on the coast," he said. "Putting something together that would allow them to get that development without having to leave home really just appealed." The old fable goes that when asked how they had created a stunning and intricate sculpture of an elephant from a lump of formless stone, the sculptor said they had not. They just chipped away all the pieces of stone that were not part of the elephant. There is the sense that, in some ways, Stockton potter Les Peterkin has approached his life as a teacher and an artist in the same way; not by grand sweeping strokes, but by gradual and lovingly diligent degrees. Take ceramics, for example. Mr Peterkin did not have any particular vision of becoming a potter, but he took an evening class when he was a teacher in Sydney to satisfy an interest and soon found it spoke to him. Not long after, he started teaching the class. When he met his partner, they started a business. He began selling his art while he was working as a teacher. Thirty years later, he retired to Stockton, where, on the King's Birthday long weekend, he was in line for induction to the Order of Australia for his services to the arts. From the formless medium, the picture takes shape. Mr Peterkin's work evokes the sea. His art is full of vibrant sea life, water blues and natural curves. It's folky and colourful, and in each work, there is the sense that it has been laboured over. Still, the artist believes that there is nothing innate in the arts. No one is born with it, but it belongs to everyone. The elephant is there; it's just a matter of chipping away at it. "It's all learnable," Mr Peterkin, who has amassed a considerable following online where he posts videos of his work and process, said. "It's just that if you want to do something, you go ahead and get on with it." "They say that if you're once a teacher, you're always a teacher, and I suppose that is one of the reasons why I learned how to make videos." "I have done a lot in my life, and I've worked hard, but I never expected to get any accolades. If they turn up, it's all the better." Mr Peterkin said he was humbled by the King's Birthday honour and was looking forward to celebrating with friends on Monday. COMING from a family of educators, Lehetta Lane-Porter has always been passionate about providing opportunities to Indigenous youth. "Within my family dynamics, from my mother to my three sisters, we are all educators," she said. The 40-year-old Gamilaraay Yuwaalaraay woman has been recognised for her work and awarded a Public Service Medal in the King's Birthday honours. Ms Lane-Porter has been instrumental in supporting First Nations students to succeed in school, complete year 12 and move on to employment and training. She has worked as head of boarding at Aboriginal Hostels Limited's (AHL) Kirinari Newcastle hostel for the past eight years. "I was actually a student within Aboriginal Hostels Limited, where I left my home and lived in Dubbo for many years in a boarding setting, so I often reflect on my own time there," she said. "The passion I walked in the door eight years ago, I still strongly have that today." She helps connect students to cultural, sporting and social events to build their confidence, self-identity and community connections. In her role, she also encourages students' annual participation in the Boots for Bright Futures campaign, working with Australian National Rugby League clubs to paint footy boots for auction to raise money for the fight against youth suicide. "I've got kids from far northwest NSW, western NSW, and the northwest of NSW. Being even exposed to NRL players, within itself, is an excitement. It's not something they get to see every day in their home community," she said. "Being able to share the journey with them while they play the Indigenous round is something special." Ms Lane-Porter said she was honoured and humbled to receive a Public Service Medal. "It's actually quite a surprise. I'm still inquisitive. I don't know who made the nomination, but I'd love to know who it is," she said. "I feel very honoured to be receiving it and have those three little slash initials after my name." Her mother, known as Aunty Beth, received one last year. "Both her and I now get to share that glory together," she said. Ms Lane-Porter said she enjoyed guiding the next generation of indigenous leaders and would continue to do so. "They come to my boarding setting to be provided with better opportunities educationally, but also culturally," she said. "I will continue to do what I do and hopefully change many more lives of the Indigenous youth that come across my path." From his career as a police officer to his commitment to volunteering, Gordon Gorton has dedicated his life to serving the community. Now, his service has been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for service to the community through a range of service organisations. The Rutherford resident was a police officer for 35 years who was stationed across the Hunter and at Lithgow, and retired ranked chief inspector at Maitland Police Station. Mr Gorton said the honour is a very appreciated shock. "To me it means that some of the work I've done with the community over the years has been recognised," he said. "You just poke along and do what you're doing and you don't look for accolades, but when you do get an accolade like this you say 'wow, I might have done a bit'." Whether stationed in Maitland, Cessnock, Lithgow, Scone or Maclean, Mr Gorton has always become involved with local clubs like Apex, and organised many community projects like skate parks and blue light discos, and coached sporting teams. "You got respect that was the main thing, two-way respect. The community respected you and vice versa," he said. "People knew who you were, you weren't just the copper down the road, they knew who you were and your values." In 2002 he was awarded the NSW Police Diligent and Ethical Service Medal. After retiring, Mr Gorton still felt a strong calling to help the community and volunteered in a number of roles including as an official hospital visitor to mental health patients with NSW Health. He also served as a juvenile justice conference convenor with the NSW Department of Communities and Juvenile Justice. "I've always had an interest in mental health and there was an opportunity there to work as an advocate for patients in various mental health institutions, both adult and adolescents in the Hunter Valley area," he said. A former Cessnock Goannas Rugby League Football Club president, Mr Gorton is still very much a Goanna at heart despite moving to Maitland a few years ago, and is a director on the board of Cessnock Leagues Club. "Rugby league has always been an interest of mine, and also what I found too from my point of view as a policeman when you go to a particular community, you've got to get involved with that community," he said. Irene Hemsworth dedicated her life to supporting others, and she has had her service to Maitland recognised in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours list. Mrs Hemsworth had been volunteering since she was just 12-years-old, and at the time of her death in September 2024 was still active on 12 committees, at 84-years-old. She has been honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the general division for service to the community of Maitland. It's recognition that's long overdue, according to her daughter Raylene Teague. "We're so proud of her in all honesty, I think it's been long overdue with the amount of work she's put into the community," she said. "I know she would have liked to have been here to get it but it is what it is. "She'd be chuffed." Mrs Hemsworth has volunteered at a range of Maitland sporting clubs, church groups, scripture at schools, the RSL, op shops and school P&C associations. "She started volunteering when she was about 12 at Sunday school, and then just never stopped," Ms Teague said. "It was always if we wanted to be involved with something whether it was swimming or netball, or soccer or dancing, whatever it was mum would also throw her support behind that because she knew organisations were only as strong as the volunteers that it had." Mrs Hemsworth has held roles at Maitland Netball Association, Maitland RSL Netball Club (co-founder and former president), Maitland Park Sport Recreation Board, Maitland Sports Council and was a learn to swim instructor. She also was president of RSL Youth Club for almost 40 years, and was a member of the Maitland RSL sub-branch women's auxiliary. One of her greatest passions was being a scripture teacher, where she taught at local schools from 1973 to 2024. Ms Teague said her mum's strong Christian values drove her to volunteer. "It (volunteering) was always from a Christian belief of serving others, so the scripture was important to her," she said. "Principals of schools came up to me at her funeral and said mum didn't push Christianity, she was just the epitome of Jesus and loving everybody, it was all just about how to love one another and maybe that drove her volunteering." Ms Teague said her mum's own life experiences often determined the groups she joined, whether it was a cancer support committee after being diagnosed with breast cancer, or becoming a learn to swim instructor when her daughter needed to learn to swim. "We had a brother who passed away at eight-months-old and going through that as a young mother that she was, and the support she received, the was always looking at how to repay people and her motto was always 'if you can, I think you should'," Ms Teague said. This isn't Mrs Hemsworth's first award, having been named Maitland Citizen of the Year in 1989, and a Freeman of the City in 2014. Brian Jack has been active in the community for more than 50 years, and while his biggest thrill has been his career as an auctioneer, he has always been passionate about helping young people. Now, his decades of service have been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for service to the community of Maitland. The Aberglasslyn resident said while he has never been in it for the accolades, it's nice to be appreciated. "I never went looking for accolades, and the only kudos that I received was from myself that if I'd helped somebody to turn them into a better person, I felt good," Mr Jack said. Mr Jack has held roles at a number of Maitland clubs and organisations, including being the inaugural president at the Rotary Club of Maitland Sunrise, and the longest-serving president of the Maitland High School Ex Students Association. He has held roles on the junior selection panel of Newcastle Knights Rugby League, where he helped young people achieve their best. Whether through Rotary, rugby league or work, Mr Jack has always found ways to help young people. At the Rotary Club of Maitland Sunrise, one of his portfolios was youth service. "I always liked youth service because I always say the youth are our future of tomorrow, and we've got to get them there," he said. One of his proudest career moments was judging state auctioneering at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, and judging the national competition in 2019, the same year he retired. "I've got a lot of pleasure out of doing a lot of things and I've helped quite a few young auctioneers come through, I've trained a few and to see them go on and become the men in the industry they have really, really makes me happy," he said. In his career Mr Jack started as an employee at Lindsay and Comerford from 1969 to 1972, then was an auctioneer with Carr Bros from 1972 to 1985 before becoming a partner at Jones and Berry from 1985 to 2019. Considered to be a quiet achiever, Dave Sams is being honoured with one of the greatest accolades. The Anna Bay man has been awarded an Order of Australia medal (OAM) in the King's Birthday Honours for his service to the community of Port Stephens. Mr Sams originally thought the phone call to say he had been nominated for an OAM was a scam call. "I never expected to get a call like that," he said. With a passion for the community and volunteering, Mr Sams said he couldn't have achieved the recognition on his own. "I've volunteered alongside a lot of good people and I wouldn't have been able to achieve whatever I have without those people I volunteered with," he said. In his thirties, Mr Sams created his own job, in hopes of helping other unemployed people and the community. Mr Sams founded the not-for-profit Salamander Bay Recyling Centre in 1994, formerly Not Everybody Works Employment Centre and today still works at the centre. "I'm there until I retire," he said. The recycling centre which has now become more commercialised, once received boxes full of recycled treasures. "Stuff would come in the door and it was going out as quick as it was coming in," Mr Sams said. Mr Sams has been an instrumental part of the Port Stephens Suicide Prevention Network, where he spends time volunteering. He joined the network after his son, Robert, took his life. "Your kids bury you, you don't bury your kids," Mr Sams said. The heartbreaking loss of his son steered Mr Sams in a new direction - to help others who have lost ones to suicide. "I'm involved with putting Lifeline signs out at bus stops and I've tried to put as many signs out across Port Stephens as possible," he said. He helped create Solace Place, opened at Boat Harbour in 2014, for those seeking a quiet place for reflection. "It's a good place to go and sit and reflect," Mr Sams said. Mr Sams also founded Port Stephens Survivors of Suicide (SOS), which deals with issues after suicide. "It had a real ripple effect on my family," he said. "I would talk to people who had lost loved ones and it was an opportunity for them to talk about the person," he said. Mr Sams was also there from the beginning of the Salamander Bay Men's Shed and said he wanted to create an environment where men could socialise and interact. "Talking and getting things off your chest is so important," he said. Another passion of Mr Sams is the environment and he is a former member of both the Anna Bay and Boat Harbour Parks and Gardens Group and Soldiers Point Tidy Towns Committee. He is also a current Landcare volunteer and can often be found at Robinson Reserve planting trees. Everything Mr Sams does around the community is for the kids and he said he would like to see more volunteers in Port Stephens. Carol Duncan jokes that she's probably one of the "handiest connectors" in Newcastle. When you spend more than three decades working in the media, serving as a Labor councillor or sitting on numerous art and culture committees, you gain an insight into what makes a city tick. And by whom the decisions are made. "After my unicorn career, you sort of know everybody and it means if there's something you want to know or want help with or you need a connection, the chances are, I probably know who you need to talk to," Ms Duncan said. "I really love that. That is what helps build community and actually have it form an embrace around the nearly 200,000 of us." Ms Duncan's service to the Newcastle community will be recognised on Monday when she receives a medal of the Order of Australia in the general division. "It's amazing," she said. "I am speechless for someone who is never short of words." Despite being such a proud advocate for Newcastle, Ms Duncan grew up in Sydney and broke into the music industry working for record label Sony, where her job involved pushing releases from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Midnight Oil, and Michael Jackson to radio stations and TV networks. That led to her first radio gig in Hobart, before she was lured back to NSW with a job at the newly launched NXFM in Newcastle, which had previously been AM station 2NX. Ms Duncan spent seven years in commercial radio at NXFM and NEWFM before finding her true calling at 1233 ABC from 2001 to 2014, where she fell in love with the "intimacy of communication with people." In 2007, Ms Duncan was part of 1233 ABC's Walkley Award-winning coverage of the Pasha Bulker storm and its aftermath. "When people are brave enough to share stories with you, whether it's radio [or another medium], media is still such a powerful way of sharing stories that can help other people feel like they have a place, that they're not alone, that they're not the only ones going through an awful thing," she said. "Being able to find your tribe, no matter what that is, is so important because it keeps people afloat." Away from the microphone, the Hamilton resident continued to serve the community. In 2012 she founded the Lost Newcastle history page on Facebook, which she initially thought would only be used by fellow "history nerds." Just last week, Lost Newcastle attracted its 80,000th follower. She's also continually advocated her passions for music and the arts in Newcastle. Ms Duncan is the chair of the Public Art Reference Group and Community and Culture Advisory committees and is about to join the Newcastle Fringe Festival board. She was also a founding member of the Newcastle Live Music Taskforce to help preserve the city's late-night economy. Not surprisingly, Ms Duncan's passion for community led to her successfully running for Labor as a Ward two councillor in 2017. She served two terms before losing a Labor preselection last year to Paige Johnson. "Local government is probably the most rewarding, worst-paid job ever," she said. "It was something I took really seriously. "When people are affected by an issue, whether it's a piece of footpath outside their house or a big decision and you're part of a team making that decision for the next decade for the city, it's a big responsibility. "In any of those things, you know you're never going to please everyone, but you just try to do the best that you can." Since 2023, Ms Duncan has continued to channel her passion for communication into her role as the public engagement lead for the Hunter Medical Research Institute. WHEN it comes to the Hunter's history, Mike Scanlon's pen has written many of its pages. The former Newcastle Sun and Newcastle Herald journalist, weekly history columnist and published author is more than just a writer. He's a historian, a custodian and has made it his life's work to salvage stories from the region's past. "It was almost by accident," Mr Scanlon said. "I realised there were all these stories, it started off with a column and it's been going since about 2000, so almost 25 years finding all these odd, unusual and quirky stories around the place. "Weird things happen in Newcastle that probably don't happen in a lot of other places." Mr Scanlon's contributions to the media and community history have been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the King's Birthday Honours. His journalism career started as something of a holiday job. It was the mid-1960s, and Mr Scanlon had toyed with the idea of becoming a diplomat or an architect until a cadetship at the Sun came along. "It really wasn't meant to be a 60-year job, it sort of just grew with me," he said. Despite being housed in the same building and under the same ownership, the Herald and the Sun competed fiercely for the afternoon trade when the blokes from BHP got off shift. There were three or four editions a day, the Herald had made a name for itself as a more "serious" broadsheet. "We were a bit more flash," Mr Scanlon said. "I remember that there was, I think, a floating rig that blew up in the harbour, and they said, 'Go out and interview everybody and leave nothing for the Herald, even interview the victims' dogs'," he said. "The next day, from memory, we did such a good job we dedicated the whole edition to it, I think the Herald just ran a small piece on page one because we'd covered it." When the Sun collapsed in the 1980s, Mr Scanlon was one of about 16 employees drafted to the Herald. Mr Scanlon covered courts, general news, local councils, wrote the Topics column, became assistant to the deputy editor, had a stint as night chief-of-staff and at one point was editor of the Newcastle Post. In 2006, he was honoured with a lifetime achievement award in recognition of his four decades in the game. "I liked the pace of it, the excitement, it was very frenetic really," Mr Scanlon said. "I got into history by accident, actually, I wanted to do a story about the wholesale abduction of sailors in the sailing ship days. "It was an extraordinary story. Nobody wanted to work on the sailing ships, which were hard work, when they could work on the steamers going up and down the coast for more money and better conditions, so they were just abducted from the streets. I've been following it for years." That's just one of many tales Mr Scanlon can tell; the rest are in his books The Hidden Hunter and Past Port. For him, preserving the Hunter's history before it disappears is more than a pastime; it's a duty. "They're great stories," Mr Scanlon said. "I feel really humbled and honoured, and it's a great privilege to help people and to roll out these stories about their past lives, war stories. "Everyone's got a great story if you listen long enough and hard enough, and that's what I'm trying to bring to the fore." Mr Scanlon said he felt privileged to be nominated for an OAM. "I'm just at a loss for words. I'd like to thank whoever nominated me; it's one of those things you don't expect, and it's very nice," he said. About 20 years on from retirement, he shows no signs of slowing down. "I think I'm just driven, I like to discover something new and interesting, go to unknown territory and write it up," he said. "They call me a self-starter. I just went out and found stories, in many cases, where people didn't think there was one. "Hopefully, my readers will come along and enjoy it as well." John Drinan described his Order of Australia (AM) award as unexpected from his Mid North Coast home at Bonny Hills. "You do what you do in life, and you don't need acknowledgment for that work because so many others have done far more," he said. But his list of achievements written in his citation for this year's King's Birthday Honours says otherwise, showing his tireless work for his community, agricultural industries and the environment for decades. A former long-term resident of Singleton, Dr Drinan and his wife, Anne, moved to Bonny Hills in 2017 to retire, well, at least retire from farming. The couple had some close friends who were already living in the district and they thought it would be a lovely place to live. Since that time he has immersed himself in the life of the community. Rotary, Landcare, and Bonny Hills Progress Association, he has been heavily involved in these groups. "Anne and I love the community here, so it is easy to become involved in these groups, especially the Progress Association, whose members are committed and highly capable," he said. His next project, now that he has stepped away from executive roles in the various community groups, is writing a book about the flora of the region, which he describes as magnificent in spring and summer. He would also like to emulate the long life of his much-admired mother, Flo Drinan, who died aged 102. "At 82, I would love to live as long as my mother, who was a much-loved member of the Singleton community," he said. The Drinan family has strong connections to the Singleton district, and John and Anne lived on their property "Wahgunyah" at Glendon Brook for 30 years. Dr Drinan grew up in Singleton, and he would spend time during his childhood visiting and working on "Wahgunyah", the property his father Bernie and his sister Margaret Boyce jointly shared as a "lifetime stewardship. It was time spent helping his aunt Mrs Boyce that shaped his future career. He went onto enjoy a successful career as an agricultural researcher and educator including being the principal of Tocal College, Paterson from 1981-87. Prior to taking on the role of principal at Tocal College, he was the head of the Department of Animal Production, Hawkesbury Agricultural College of Advanced Education, 1975-1981. He held various senior positions in agricultural research and advisory bodies, including chairing the Rural Research and Development Corporations, 1996-1997 and a member of the Dairy Industry Adjustment Authority (2000-2006) and Chief Executive, (2006-2008). He was a member of the Australian Animal Health Laboratory Advisory Committee, 2000-2005. He worked as an academic at Newcastle University and is particularly proud of his involvement in establishing allied health degrees such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy at UON. As he has done at Bonny Hills Dr Drinan's life in Singleton was one that involved a strong commitment to Rotary, Landcare, and the church (St Patrick's Catholic Church, Singleton Parish). While as a Rotarian in Singleton, he was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship, Rotary Club of Singleton on Hunter, Rotary International, 2004 and the Paul Harris Fellowship, Rotary District 9670, Rotary International, 2008. He was also very active in establishing environmental groups while he lived in Singleton. He was a Foundation Member, Singleton Shire Healthy Environment Group, 2009-2016 and a community representative, Environmental Strategy and Action Plan, Singleton Council, 2015-2017. He was a member of the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue, 2011-2017. Since his move to Bonny Hills, he worked for several years writing a book on the impacts of mining on the Hunter Valley. He launched his book The Sacrificial Valley Coal's legacy to the Hunter at the late Wendy Bowman's home, 'Rosedale', Camberwell near Singleton in November 2022. At the launch, Rosedale's beautiful garden on the banks of Glennies Creek was filled with community members, people whose homes and properties had long ago been acquired by the mines, representatives from environmental groups, Dr Drinan's family and friends and former colleagues. At that time, he said, "I drove up the Valley to Scone yesterday and felt physically sick at the destruction that has been wrought to this once beautiful place." "For that, I don't blame the mining companies or their workers. I am not anti-coal mining, as I know what coal has done economically, but now it must stop. "The world has changed, and so must the valley." His opinion of the Valley and the need for change remains steadfast, and he will continue to engage where he can in ensuring the environment, no matter where he lives, is protected and cherished. THERE are worse places to work. Shaleigh Lennox started out as a Nipper and has been a dedicated member of the Cooks Hill Surf Lifesaving Club since 1992. She's patrolled beaches, put in more than 1188 hours in support operations and as a duty officer since 2009, worked on the frontline in floods and shown others the ropes to keep the coastline safe. Now, she's been awarded an Emergency Services Medal for her efforts, recognising more than 30 years of service to the Hunter community. "I joined as a Nipper," Ms Lennox said. "My family lived quite close to the coast, so I think my parents signed me up because having an understanding of the surf and being safe in the surf and living so close is important." Her love of the beach saw her become director of lifesaving for the Hunter branch in 2007, where she established the duty officer role and brought in new policies that helped shape rescue and patrol operations. Ms Lennox has held several frontline roles including patrol captain, zone supervisor and duty officer. "Surf lifesaving is extending further out from the flags," she said. "The role that I do looks at those areas outside of the flags, and if there are people swimming in dangerous areas, we organise jet skis or whatever we can to cover those areas. "There hasn't been any loss of life between the flags, and I think that says a lot about keeping that area of the coast safe." Outside the flags, Ms Lennox played a critical role in evacuations during the Hunter's hazardous 2007 June floods and through every major flood incident within the region since. "Before we did this routinely, responding to floods, we didn't really have the gear, it was dark, we'd have to get the equipment to the area because all the roads were flooded and everything," she said. "There was a lot of unknown, but there was just a sense of everybody being in it together, pitching in and helping out." It's the camaraderie that has kept Ms Lennox going, along with seeing young Nippers come through the ranks like she did and the knowledge that her work helps keep the community safe. "I would trust all of those guys with my family, so I think that's a great indication of the knowledge and the skills that they've got," she said. "People can get into trouble so quickly in the surf, and being there to help them out or give them some education, even on the beach, helping out and being such a huge part of the community, I really enjoy that." Ms Lennox said receiving an Emergency Services Medal was "totally unexpected". "I'm really honoured to get it," she said. "There are so many deserving people out there, so to be recognised, I'm humbled as well." Stephen Raymond first joined emergency services 35 years ago out of necessity but chose to stay out of love. The Marine Rescue NSW (MRNSW) Hunter and Central Coast zone duty operations manager was awarded an emergency services medal as part of the King's Birthday honours on Monday, June 9. "It's very humbling and much appreciated to get recognised for this award," he said. Living in the middle of a heavily forested area in Braidwood in the NSW Southern Tablelands, Mr Raymond joined the Rural Fire Service (RFS) to protect his community. "I got started in 1989, and it was self-preservation, really," he said. "I moved up through the RFS and became a captain of a brigade, then went into a paid position in 1998." After 27 years with the RFS, he decided to move to the newly created Marine Rescue NSW nine years ago. "There were three organisations brought together under one banner, there was a lot of culture to be built, new policies and standard operating procedures," he said. In his role at Marine Rescue he coordinates emergency calls from Triple Zero, tasks rescue units out on the waters and overseas equipment and training of staff and volunteers. From Gosford up to Port Stephens, Mr Raymond oversees seven units of volunteers and staff. "We save lives on the water, and people are having the worst day of their lives, and we go in there, and bring them home safely," he said. "There is nothing more rewarding than being able to do that." Most days out on Hunter waters were not smooth sailing, however. "We are sending people out on rough seas and dangerous situations but you've also got to be able to make sure they're safe and get back safe as well," he said. "We have to manage different weather conditions and incidents evolving in dangerous conditions," Nearly every day on the coast involves a rescue, with his team bringing 2800 back to safety last year. "We had one in Lake Macquarie where we had nine people in a scuba diving boat, the boat was sinking," he said. "We got the call early, and we sent two boats and our jet skis out - it could have ended a lot differently." From his days with the RFS, he still remembers the intense bushfire that ripped through Catherine Hill Bay in 2013 and flames that came into Dudley and the back of Newcastle. "What I remember most during those big fires were people being very generous with donations," he said. "One lady in her late 80s walked a couple of miles to our fire control centre to bring us water and cut up oranges." The best part of his job was the people, he said. "I'm working with volunteers, with passionate people that want to be here and doing this for no financial reward," he said. "I owe it all to the great people that I've worked with over the last 35 years who have made it possible for me to work in the industry." It was 1997 when Sister Carmel Moore reached a critical juncture in her life as a Sister of St Joseph. She had already spent more than three decades as a school teacher, high school principal and hospital chaplain, to name a few roles, but there was something else she felt called to do. That was founding the Living Waters Meditation Centre at The Junction, a place where participants take time out to connect with their true selves. "I think that's my life's main work," Sister Carmel, who has received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the Catholic Church in Australia, said. "I had a need within myself to find silence and inner peace. "It was something I craved, even from when I was young. Entering the convent did a lot for that, but I also wanted to share it. I experienced a call to do it. " About 800 people have participated in the centre's weekly meditations over the past 29 years. And the waters are still flowing, with between 40 to 50 participants presently attending the centre's bi-monthly retreat mornings. There are also offshoot groups that meet weekly across the Maitland-Newcastle diocese that share the centre's Benedictine Charism. Sr Carmel said she was initially surprised at the centre's success, but, upon reflection, it's easy to understand - the unrelenting distractions and pressures of modern life were driving a corresponding need for spiritual solace and meaning. "There are many people who come along because the world's just too fast for them; their lifestyle is too heavy for them. They are seeking life's deepest meaning and their truest self," she said. Now 90, Sr Carmel handed over the centre's administrative reins about 12 years ago, but is still actively involved in its activities. "I fill in for people if they can't come, but I don't want it to be all about me, because if I can't come someday, I don't want it to end," she said. The centre's philosophy is closely related to another of Sr Carmel's roles as a member of the Sisters of St Joseph's inter-congregational eco-spirituality committee. "We aim to spread the sense of God in creation, which involves caring for the earth, our common home," she said. "When I'm swimming at Merewether baths, I see a lot of people just gazing at the sunrise or the beauty of the clouds and the ocean. That is all helping to bring them into the contemplation of the beauty around them." Sr Carmel admits she initially wasn't too keen on accepting a King's Birthday award, but she accepts that it also recognises the Sisters of St Joseph and all of those who have supported her. "I'm embarrassed by all of this, really," she said. "There are a lot of people who have done a lot more than I've done, and there are so many people who silently go about doing great things without any recognition." She noted religious life was very different from when she entered the Sisters of Joseph at Lochinvar 72 years ago. "We have gone from being a very disciplined and minutely organised group to being free to be the people that we were meant to be," she said. "There is a beautiful sense of community among our sisters. It's not a rigid community, it's a friendly and supportive community that allows us to use our own gifts." Outside of his family and friends, Fishing Point's Doug Saxon had three major passions in life: education, local history and music. Whether it was ensuring he knew the name of every child in the various primary schools where he served as principal, or writing the 22 local history books he had published, or coordinating the various Newcastle and Hunter Jazz Club festival lineups, Mr Saxon launched into everything with passion. On Monday, Mr Saxon's service to education, local history and music is being recognised in the King's Birthday honours list with a Medal of the Order of Australia in the general division. Sadly, Mr Saxon died in July last year after a bout of influenza A. He was 78. "He would have been so pleased," Mr Saxon's wife, Judith, said of the OAM. "He spent a lot of time doing it, but he really enjoyed it. "He had a passion for local history and keeping the music going, and the things he was really sure about in education. He loved being a principal." Mr Saxon grew up in Hamilton and attended the local public school. He would later publish the book Hamilton: Memories of Life and School in the 1950s in 2010. While at Newcastle Boys High, he met Judith, who was a Newcastle Girls High student, at a school dance. After initially working as an accountant, Mr Saxon moved into teaching and took up his first post at western Sydney's Villawood East Public in 1968. Within 10 years, he became a principal at Yanco in the Riverina. Mr Saxon returned to the Hunter in 1983 as Bonnells Bay Public School principal (1983-87) and led Cessnock East PS (1987-1992) and Jewells PS (1992-2006) before retiring in 2006. It was while he was living in Yanco in 1980 that Mr Saxon's love of local history was first ignited. He used to take students to the nearby village of Morundah on excursions to visit its historic school building. "They did a dig, talked to the local people and made a great big study of it, and a publication was put together," Judith said. "That was the first of all the local histories he did over the years." Mr Saxon continued to write local history books, focusing predominantly on the Hunter region, telling the stories of the schools he taught at and the development of Lake Macquarie suburbs Awaba and Morisset. He also published a book in 2017, Michael Scott: An Artistic Life, on the founder of the Blake Prize for religious art. His last books, Eraring's History - Farming, Monkeys and Electricity and Dora Creek Memories 1870-2020 were published in 2020. "After each publication he did, I'd say, 'That's the last one, isn't it?'" Judith said. "But he always did another one. He just loved it." While Mr Saxon didn't play an instrument himself, he always held a rich love of music. While a principal, he promoted musicals strongly and encouraged his three children and four grandchildren to follow their passion for music. He was a member of the Newcastle and Hunter Jazz Club and was the organisation's festival band coordinator for 14 years, right up until his death a month out from last year's event. On July 27, the Newcastle and Hunter Jazz Club is hosting the Doug Saxon Memorial Concert at Wangi Wangi District Workers Club in his honour. When Catherine Johnson started work in cancer care in 1990, it was a different world. "It was very difficult, treatment was very limited, and it wasn't always successful," Ms Johnson said. "We've seen huge transformations in the care patients receive now. That's been driven through clinical trials and research." A clinical nurse consultant in medical oncology at the Calvary Mater Newcastle, Ms Johnson has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. "I've worked in clinical trials for 20-odd years at the Mater," she said. Her work is a mission of the heart. "I've been working in healthcare for a very long time. It's important to me," she said. "It's been a very rewarding career." She aimed to follow the example of her parents by "serving the community". "It's a joy to give back," she said. She's held senior roles on numerous committees in the cancer nursing field. Among her achievements, she helped develop the Cancer Nurses Society of Australia in 1998-99 and later served as its treasurer and deputy chairperson. As an editorial board member with the Australian Journal of Cancer Nursing from 2011-20, she helped share knowledge in the field. Ms Johnson is secretary/treasurer of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care. "I've worked internationally and done projects in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa in breast cancer screening. "In Latin America, I have led projects across five countries, training nurses in cervical cancer screening and prevention and breast cancer screening. "I trained nurses who worked with women to prevent and detect early cancers in low and middle-income countries. " She said this work was "really rewarding". Her work on clinical trials for Mater patients in Newcastle was a labour of love. When patients respond to treatments, it's a "lovely feeling". "It's great for them," she said. While working in cancer care could be emotional, she said "we are working to improve the outcomes". "There are moments where it's very sad, difficult and challenging, but there are also rewarding moments. "I work with great teams and wonderful nurses all around the world." The international nurses she worked with "do so much with so little". "That is humbling and makes me appreciate everything we have here," she said. It gave her perspective. "It makes what we do on a day-to-day basis easy, even though we sometimes think we're resource-constrained and working in difficult circumstances. "We live such a privileged and fortunate life in Australia." She added that cancer often gives people "the chance to have a new perspective on life, even though it's difficult". Asked about the prospects of a future cancer cure, she said "we see people living with cancer for a long time and living well". "It's now a chronic disease to a large degree, rather than something that is a life sentence." She was humbled to receive the King's Birthday honour, knowing that "somebody would nominate me and recognise the work I do". It was perhaps a relic of his rugby league days that Mark Holton has never had much fear of having a crack at something. A career of running onto the field with the intent of out-gunning the other guy will do that to you. In that sense, he says he has lived by a fairly simple philosophy of having a go at everything. If you bite off more than you can chew, you just have to chew harder. Mr Holton would probably not admit it - rather, he would tell you that he was merely in the right place at the right time - but there is the distinct sense that it is that same philosophy that led him off the field and into the boardrooms of a litany of charities and sporting organisations that have defined his past three decades of community service. Mr Holton's list of accomplishments is long, but a few names are on there that are close to his heart. He got involved with the children's health charity Ronald McDonald House, for example, not long after retiring from his sporting career as a rugby league player and referee (he calls it his time "running around"). He was called in to help set up the charity's accounting system and, not long after, was asked if he would consider becoming a volunteer treasurer. That was 30 years ago, and still, he has no plans to call full-time. "I just see myself as someone who puts their hand up to help when they are asked," Mr Holton said. "I went down to Ronald McDonald House to help them with a bit of software, thinking 'here's another client', but when I saw what it was doing, I thought I couldn't charge this organisation. And I want to help it." Mr Holton is one of several Hunter identities to be conferred with Order of Australia honours over the June long weekend. Mr Holton will be inducted for his services to the community for his involvement in community and regional sports, business, and charity. The most recent of his achievements was establishing, among other sporting leaders, the Regional Academies of Sport, effectively merging the Hunter and Central Coast academies to help young athletes outside the city get access to high-quality training and development opportunities. Mr Holton has been the chair of the organisation since 2022. "There are so many great kids here, and their parents have to go to extraordinary lengths to get them to sporting practice sessions, training and development, which often aren't on the coast," he said. "Putting something together that would allow them to get that development without having to leave home really just appealed." The old fable goes that when asked how they had created a stunning and intricate sculpture of an elephant from a lump of formless stone, the sculptor said they had not. They just chipped away all the pieces of stone that were not part of the elephant. There is the sense that, in some ways, Stockton potter Les Peterkin has approached his life as a teacher and an artist in the same way; not by grand sweeping strokes, but by gradual and lovingly diligent degrees. Take ceramics, for example. Mr Peterkin did not have any particular vision of becoming a potter, but he took an evening class when he was a teacher in Sydney to satisfy an interest and soon found it spoke to him. Not long after, he started teaching the class. When he met his partner, they started a business. He began selling his art while he was working as a teacher. Thirty years later, he retired to Stockton, where, on the King's Birthday long weekend, he was in line for induction to the Order of Australia for his services to the arts. From the formless medium, the picture takes shape. Mr Peterkin's work evokes the sea. His art is full of vibrant sea life, water blues and natural curves. It's folky and colourful, and in each work, there is the sense that it has been laboured over. Still, the artist believes that there is nothing innate in the arts. No one is born with it, but it belongs to everyone. The elephant is there; it's just a matter of chipping away at it. "It's all learnable," Mr Peterkin, who has amassed a considerable following online where he posts videos of his work and process, said. "It's just that if you want to do something, you go ahead and get on with it." "They say that if you're once a teacher, you're always a teacher, and I suppose that is one of the reasons why I learned how to make videos." "I have done a lot in my life, and I've worked hard, but I never expected to get any accolades. If they turn up, it's all the better." Mr Peterkin said he was humbled by the King's Birthday honour and was looking forward to celebrating with friends on Monday. COMING from a family of educators, Lehetta Lane-Porter has always been passionate about providing opportunities to Indigenous youth. "Within my family dynamics, from my mother to my three sisters, we are all educators," she said. The 40-year-old Gamilaraay Yuwaalaraay woman has been recognised for her work and awarded a Public Service Medal in the King's Birthday honours. Ms Lane-Porter has been instrumental in supporting First Nations students to succeed in school, complete year 12 and move on to employment and training. She has worked as head of boarding at Aboriginal Hostels Limited's (AHL) Kirinari Newcastle hostel for the past eight years. "I was actually a student within Aboriginal Hostels Limited, where I left my home and lived in Dubbo for many years in a boarding setting, so I often reflect on my own time there," she said. "The passion I walked in the door eight years ago, I still strongly have that today." She helps connect students to cultural, sporting and social events to build their confidence, self-identity and community connections. In her role, she also encourages students' annual participation in the Boots for Bright Futures campaign, working with Australian National Rugby League clubs to paint footy boots for auction to raise money for the fight against youth suicide. "I've got kids from far northwest NSW, western NSW, and the northwest of NSW. Being even exposed to NRL players, within itself, is an excitement. It's not something they get to see every day in their home community," she said. "Being able to share the journey with them while they play the Indigenous round is something special." Ms Lane-Porter said she was honoured and humbled to receive a Public Service Medal. "It's actually quite a surprise. I'm still inquisitive. I don't know who made the nomination, but I'd love to know who it is," she said. "I feel very honoured to be receiving it and have those three little slash initials after my name." Her mother, known as Aunty Beth, received one last year. "Both her and I now get to share that glory together," she said. Ms Lane-Porter said she enjoyed guiding the next generation of indigenous leaders and would continue to do so. "They come to my boarding setting to be provided with better opportunities educationally, but also culturally," she said. "I will continue to do what I do and hopefully change many more lives of the Indigenous youth that come across my path." From his career as a police officer to his commitment to volunteering, Gordon Gorton has dedicated his life to serving the community. Now, his service has been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for service to the community through a range of service organisations. The Rutherford resident was a police officer for 35 years who was stationed across the Hunter and at Lithgow, and retired ranked chief inspector at Maitland Police Station. Mr Gorton said the honour is a very appreciated shock. "To me it means that some of the work I've done with the community over the years has been recognised," he said. "You just poke along and do what you're doing and you don't look for accolades, but when you do get an accolade like this you say 'wow, I might have done a bit'." Whether stationed in Maitland, Cessnock, Lithgow, Scone or Maclean, Mr Gorton has always become involved with local clubs like Apex, and organised many community projects like skate parks and blue light discos, and coached sporting teams. "You got respect that was the main thing, two-way respect. The community respected you and vice versa," he said. "People knew who you were, you weren't just the copper down the road, they knew who you were and your values." In 2002 he was awarded the NSW Police Diligent and Ethical Service Medal. After retiring, Mr Gorton still felt a strong calling to help the community and volunteered in a number of roles including as an official hospital visitor to mental health patients with NSW Health. He also served as a juvenile justice conference convenor with the NSW Department of Communities and Juvenile Justice. "I've always had an interest in mental health and there was an opportunity there to work as an advocate for patients in various mental health institutions, both adult and adolescents in the Hunter Valley area," he said. A former Cessnock Goannas Rugby League Football Club president, Mr Gorton is still very much a Goanna at heart despite moving to Maitland a few years ago, and is a director on the board of Cessnock Leagues Club. "Rugby league has always been an interest of mine, and also what I found too from my point of view as a policeman when you go to a particular community, you've got to get involved with that community," he said. Irene Hemsworth dedicated her life to supporting others, and she has had her service to Maitland recognised in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours list. Mrs Hemsworth had been volunteering since she was just 12-years-old, and at the time of her death in September 2024 was still active on 12 committees, at 84-years-old. She has been honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the general division for service to the community of Maitland. It's recognition that's long overdue, according to her daughter Raylene Teague. "We're so proud of her in all honesty, I think it's been long overdue with the amount of work she's put into the community," she said. "I know she would have liked to have been here to get it but it is what it is. "She'd be chuffed." Mrs Hemsworth has volunteered at a range of Maitland sporting clubs, church groups, scripture at schools, the RSL, op shops and school P&C associations. "She started volunteering when she was about 12 at Sunday school, and then just never stopped," Ms Teague said. "It was always if we wanted to be involved with something whether it was swimming or netball, or soccer or dancing, whatever it was mum would also throw her support behind that because she knew organisations were only as strong as the volunteers that it had." Mrs Hemsworth has held roles at Maitland Netball Association, Maitland RSL Netball Club (co-founder and former president), Maitland Park Sport Recreation Board, Maitland Sports Council and was a learn to swim instructor. She also was president of RSL Youth Club for almost 40 years, and was a member of the Maitland RSL sub-branch women's auxiliary. One of her greatest passions was being a scripture teacher, where she taught at local schools from 1973 to 2024. Ms Teague said her mum's strong Christian values drove her to volunteer. "It (volunteering) was always from a Christian belief of serving others, so the scripture was important to her," she said. "Principals of schools came up to me at her funeral and said mum didn't push Christianity, she was just the epitome of Jesus and loving everybody, it was all just about how to love one another and maybe that drove her volunteering." Ms Teague said her mum's own life experiences often determined the groups she joined, whether it was a cancer support committee after being diagnosed with breast cancer, or becoming a learn to swim instructor when her daughter needed to learn to swim. "We had a brother who passed away at eight-months-old and going through that as a young mother that she was, and the support she received, the was always looking at how to repay people and her motto was always 'if you can, I think you should'," Ms Teague said. This isn't Mrs Hemsworth's first award, having been named Maitland Citizen of the Year in 1989, and a Freeman of the City in 2014. Brian Jack has been active in the community for more than 50 years, and while his biggest thrill has been his career as an auctioneer, he has always been passionate about helping young people. Now, his decades of service have been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for service to the community of Maitland. The Aberglasslyn resident said while he has never been in it for the accolades, it's nice to be appreciated. "I never went looking for accolades, and the only kudos that I received was from myself that if I'd helped somebody to turn them into a better person, I felt good," Mr Jack said. Mr Jack has held roles at a number of Maitland clubs and organisations, including being the inaugural president at the Rotary Club of Maitland Sunrise, and the longest-serving president of the Maitland High School Ex Students Association. He has held roles on the junior selection panel of Newcastle Knights Rugby League, where he helped young people achieve their best. Whether through Rotary, rugby league or work, Mr Jack has always found ways to help young people. At the Rotary Club of Maitland Sunrise, one of his portfolios was youth service. "I always liked youth service because I always say the youth are our future of tomorrow, and we've got to get them there," he said. One of his proudest career moments was judging state auctioneering at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, and judging the national competition in 2019, the same year he retired. "I've got a lot of pleasure out of doing a lot of things and I've helped quite a few young auctioneers come through, I've trained a few and to see them go on and become the men in the industry they have really, really makes me happy," he said. In his career Mr Jack started as an employee at Lindsay and Comerford from 1969 to 1972, then was an auctioneer with Carr Bros from 1972 to 1985 before becoming a partner at Jones and Berry from 1985 to 2019. Considered to be a quiet achiever, Dave Sams is being honoured with one of the greatest accolades. The Anna Bay man has been awarded an Order of Australia medal (OAM) in the King's Birthday Honours for his service to the community of Port Stephens. Mr Sams originally thought the phone call to say he had been nominated for an OAM was a scam call. "I never expected to get a call like that," he said. With a passion for the community and volunteering, Mr Sams said he couldn't have achieved the recognition on his own. "I've volunteered alongside a lot of good people and I wouldn't have been able to achieve whatever I have without those people I volunteered with," he said. In his thirties, Mr Sams created his own job, in hopes of helping other unemployed people and the community. Mr Sams founded the not-for-profit Salamander Bay Recyling Centre in 1994, formerly Not Everybody Works Employment Centre and today still works at the centre. "I'm there until I retire," he said. The recycling centre which has now become more commercialised, once received boxes full of recycled treasures. "Stuff would come in the door and it was going out as quick as it was coming in," Mr Sams said. Mr Sams has been an instrumental part of the Port Stephens Suicide Prevention Network, where he spends time volunteering. He joined the network after his son, Robert, took his life. "Your kids bury you, you don't bury your kids," Mr Sams said. The heartbreaking loss of his son steered Mr Sams in a new direction - to help others who have lost ones to suicide. "I'm involved with putting Lifeline signs out at bus stops and I've tried to put as many signs out across Port Stephens as possible," he said. He helped create Solace Place, opened at Boat Harbour in 2014, for those seeking a quiet place for reflection. "It's a good place to go and sit and reflect," Mr Sams said. Mr Sams also founded Port Stephens Survivors of Suicide (SOS), which deals with issues after suicide. "It had a real ripple effect on my family," he said. "I would talk to people who had lost loved ones and it was an opportunity for them to talk about the person," he said. Mr Sams was also there from the beginning of the Salamander Bay Men's Shed and said he wanted to create an environment where men could socialise and interact. "Talking and getting things off your chest is so important," he said. Another passion of Mr Sams is the environment and he is a former member of both the Anna Bay and Boat Harbour Parks and Gardens Group and Soldiers Point Tidy Towns Committee. He is also a current Landcare volunteer and can often be found at Robinson Reserve planting trees. Everything Mr Sams does around the community is for the kids and he said he would like to see more volunteers in Port Stephens. Carol Duncan jokes that she's probably one of the "handiest connectors" in Newcastle. When you spend more than three decades working in the media, serving as a Labor councillor or sitting on numerous art and culture committees, you gain an insight into what makes a city tick. And by whom the decisions are made. "After my unicorn career, you sort of know everybody and it means if there's something you want to know or want help with or you need a connection, the chances are, I probably know who you need to talk to," Ms Duncan said. "I really love that. That is what helps build community and actually have it form an embrace around the nearly 200,000 of us." Ms Duncan's service to the Newcastle community will be recognised on Monday when she receives a medal of the Order of Australia in the general division. "It's amazing," she said. "I am speechless for someone who is never short of words." Despite being such a proud advocate for Newcastle, Ms Duncan grew up in Sydney and broke into the music industry working for record label Sony, where her job involved pushing releases from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Midnight Oil, and Michael Jackson to radio stations and TV networks. That led to her first radio gig in Hobart, before she was lured back to NSW with a job at the newly launched NXFM in Newcastle, which had previously been AM station 2NX. Ms Duncan spent seven years in commercial radio at NXFM and NEWFM before finding her true calling at 1233 ABC from 2001 to 2014, where she fell in love with the "intimacy of communication with people." In 2007, Ms Duncan was part of 1233 ABC's Walkley Award-winning coverage of the Pasha Bulker storm and its aftermath. "When people are brave enough to share stories with you, whether it's radio [or another medium], media is still such a powerful way of sharing stories that can help other people feel like they have a place, that they're not alone, that they're not the only ones going through an awful thing," she said. "Being able to find your tribe, no matter what that is, is so important because it keeps people afloat." Away from the microphone, the Hamilton resident continued to serve the community. In 2012 she founded the Lost Newcastle history page on Facebook, which she initially thought would only be used by fellow "history nerds." Just last week, Lost Newcastle attracted its 80,000th follower. She's also continually advocated her passions for music and the arts in Newcastle. Ms Duncan is the chair of the Public Art Reference Group and Community and Culture Advisory committees and is about to join the Newcastle Fringe Festival board. She was also a founding member of the Newcastle Live Music Taskforce to help preserve the city's late-night economy. Not surprisingly, Ms Duncan's passion for community led to her successfully running for Labor as a Ward two councillor in 2017. She served two terms before losing a Labor preselection last year to Paige Johnson. "Local government is probably the most rewarding, worst-paid job ever," she said. "It was something I took really seriously. "When people are affected by an issue, whether it's a piece of footpath outside their house or a big decision and you're part of a team making that decision for the next decade for the city, it's a big responsibility. "In any of those things, you know you're never going to please everyone, but you just try to do the best that you can." Since 2023, Ms Duncan has continued to channel her passion for communication into her role as the public engagement lead for the Hunter Medical Research Institute. WHEN it comes to the Hunter's history, Mike Scanlon's pen has written many of its pages. The former Newcastle Sun and Newcastle Herald journalist, weekly history columnist and published author is more than just a writer. He's a historian, a custodian and has made it his life's work to salvage stories from the region's past. "It was almost by accident," Mr Scanlon said. "I realised there were all these stories, it started off with a column and it's been going since about 2000, so almost 25 years finding all these odd, unusual and quirky stories around the place. "Weird things happen in Newcastle that probably don't happen in a lot of other places." Mr Scanlon's contributions to the media and community history have been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the King's Birthday Honours. His journalism career started as something of a holiday job. It was the mid-1960s, and Mr Scanlon had toyed with the idea of becoming a diplomat or an architect until a cadetship at the Sun came along. "It really wasn't meant to be a 60-year job, it sort of just grew with me," he said. Despite being housed in the same building and under the same ownership, the Herald and the Sun competed fiercely for the afternoon trade when the blokes from BHP got off shift. There were three or four editions a day, the Herald had made a name for itself as a more "serious" broadsheet. "We were a bit more flash," Mr Scanlon said. "I remember that there was, I think, a floating rig that blew up in the harbour, and they said, 'Go out and interview everybody and leave nothing for the Herald, even interview the victims' dogs'," he said. "The next day, from memory, we did such a good job we dedicated the whole edition to it, I think the Herald just ran a small piece on page one because we'd covered it." When the Sun collapsed in the 1980s, Mr Scanlon was one of about 16 employees drafted to the Herald. Mr Scanlon covered courts, general news, local councils, wrote the Topics column, became assistant to the deputy editor, had a stint as night chief-of-staff and at one point was editor of the Newcastle Post. In 2006, he was honoured with a lifetime achievement award in recognition of his four decades in the game. "I liked the pace of it, the excitement, it was very frenetic really," Mr Scanlon said. "I got into history by accident, actually, I wanted to do a story about the wholesale abduction of sailors in the sailing ship days. "It was an extraordinary story. Nobody wanted to work on the sailing ships, which were hard work, when they could work on the steamers going up and down the coast for more money and better conditions, so they were just abducted from the streets. I've been following it for years." That's just one of many tales Mr Scanlon can tell; the rest are in his books The Hidden Hunter and Past Port. For him, preserving the Hunter's history before it disappears is more than a pastime; it's a duty. "They're great stories," Mr Scanlon said. "I feel really humbled and honoured, and it's a great privilege to help people and to roll out these stories about their past lives, war stories. "Everyone's got a great story if you listen long enough and hard enough, and that's what I'm trying to bring to the fore." Mr Scanlon said he felt privileged to be nominated for an OAM. "I'm just at a loss for words. I'd like to thank whoever nominated me; it's one of those things you don't expect, and it's very nice," he said. About 20 years on from retirement, he shows no signs of slowing down. "I think I'm just driven, I like to discover something new and interesting, go to unknown territory and write it up," he said. "They call me a self-starter. I just went out and found stories, in many cases, where people didn't think there was one. "Hopefully, my readers will come along and enjoy it as well." John Drinan described his Order of Australia (AM) award as unexpected from his Mid North Coast home at Bonny Hills. "You do what you do in life, and you don't need acknowledgment for that work because so many others have done far more," he said. But his list of achievements written in his citation for this year's King's Birthday Honours says otherwise, showing his tireless work for his community, agricultural industries and the environment for decades. A former long-term resident of Singleton, Dr Drinan and his wife, Anne, moved to Bonny Hills in 2017 to retire, well, at least retire from farming. The couple had some close friends who were already living in the district and they thought it would be a lovely place to live. Since that time he has immersed himself in the life of the community. Rotary, Landcare, and Bonny Hills Progress Association, he has been heavily involved in these groups. "Anne and I love the community here, so it is easy to become involved in these groups, especially the Progress Association, whose members are committed and highly capable," he said. His next project, now that he has stepped away from executive roles in the various community groups, is writing a book about the flora of the region, which he describes as magnificent in spring and summer. He would also like to emulate the long life of his much-admired mother, Flo Drinan, who died aged 102. "At 82, I would love to live as long as my mother, who was a much-loved member of the Singleton community," he said. The Drinan family has strong connections to the Singleton district, and John and Anne lived on their property "Wahgunyah" at Glendon Brook for 30 years. Dr Drinan grew up in Singleton, and he would spend time during his childhood visiting and working on "Wahgunyah", the property his father Bernie and his sister Margaret Boyce jointly shared as a "lifetime stewardship. It was time spent helping his aunt Mrs Boyce that shaped his future career. He went onto enjoy a successful career as an agricultural researcher and educator including being the principal of Tocal College, Paterson from 1981-87. Prior to taking on the role of principal at Tocal College, he was the head of the Department of Animal Production, Hawkesbury Agricultural College of Advanced Education, 1975-1981. He held various senior positions in agricultural research and advisory bodies, including chairing the Rural Research and Development Corporations, 1996-1997 and a member of the Dairy Industry Adjustment Authority (2000-2006) and Chief Executive, (2006-2008). He was a member of the Australian Animal Health Laboratory Advisory Committee, 2000-2005. He worked as an academic at Newcastle University and is particularly proud of his involvement in establishing allied health degrees such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy at UON. As he has done at Bonny Hills Dr Drinan's life in Singleton was one that involved a strong commitment to Rotary, Landcare, and the church (St Patrick's Catholic Church, Singleton Parish). While as a Rotarian in Singleton, he was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship, Rotary Club of Singleton on Hunter, Rotary International, 2004 and the Paul Harris Fellowship, Rotary District 9670, Rotary International, 2008. He was also very active in establishing environmental groups while he lived in Singleton. He was a Foundation Member, Singleton Shire Healthy Environment Group, 2009-2016 and a community representative, Environmental Strategy and Action Plan, Singleton Council, 2015-2017. He was a member of the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue, 2011-2017. Since his move to Bonny Hills, he worked for several years writing a book on the impacts of mining on the Hunter Valley. He launched his book The Sacrificial Valley Coal's legacy to the Hunter at the late Wendy Bowman's home, 'Rosedale', Camberwell near Singleton in November 2022. At the launch, Rosedale's beautiful garden on the banks of Glennies Creek was filled with community members, people whose homes and properties had long ago been acquired by the mines, representatives from environmental groups, Dr Drinan's family and friends and former colleagues. At that time, he said, "I drove up the Valley to Scone yesterday and felt physically sick at the destruction that has been wrought to this once beautiful place." "For that, I don't blame the mining companies or their workers. I am not anti-coal mining, as I know what coal has done economically, but now it must stop. "The world has changed, and so must the valley." His opinion of the Valley and the need for change remains steadfast, and he will continue to engage where he can in ensuring the environment, no matter where he lives, is protected and cherished. THERE are worse places to work. Shaleigh Lennox started out as a Nipper and has been a dedicated member of the Cooks Hill Surf Lifesaving Club since 1992. She's patrolled beaches, put in more than 1188 hours in support operations and as a duty officer since 2009, worked on the frontline in floods and shown others the ropes to keep the coastline safe. Now, she's been awarded an Emergency Services Medal for her efforts, recognising more than 30 years of service to the Hunter community. "I joined as a Nipper," Ms Lennox said. "My family lived quite close to the coast, so I think my parents signed me up because having an understanding of the surf and being safe in the surf and living so close is important." Her love of the beach saw her become director of lifesaving for the Hunter branch in 2007, where she established the duty officer role and brought in new policies that helped shape rescue and patrol operations. Ms Lennox has held several frontline roles including patrol captain, zone supervisor and duty officer. "Surf lifesaving is extending further out from the flags," she said. "The role that I do looks at those areas outside of the flags, and if there are people swimming in dangerous areas, we organise jet skis or whatever we can to cover those areas. "There hasn't been any loss of life between the flags, and I think that says a lot about keeping that area of the coast safe." Outside the flags, Ms Lennox played a critical role in evacuations during the Hunter's hazardous 2007 June floods and through every major flood incident within the region since. "Before we did this routinely, responding to floods, we didn't really have the gear, it was dark, we'd have to get the equipment to the area because all the roads were flooded and everything," she said. "There was a lot of unknown, but there was just a sense of everybody being in it together, pitching in and helping out." It's the camaraderie that has kept Ms Lennox going, along with seeing young Nippers come through the ranks like she did and the knowledge that her work helps keep the community safe. "I would trust all of those guys with my family, so I think that's a great indication of the knowledge and the skills that they've got," she said. "People can get into trouble so quickly in the surf, and being there to help them out or give them some education, even on the beach, helping out and being such a huge part of the community, I really enjoy that." Ms Lennox said receiving an Emergency Services Medal was "totally unexpected". "I'm really honoured to get it," she said. "There are so many deserving people out there, so to be recognised, I'm humbled as well." Stephen Raymond first joined emergency services 35 years ago out of necessity but chose to stay out of love. The Marine Rescue NSW (MRNSW) Hunter and Central Coast zone duty operations manager was awarded an emergency services medal as part of the King's Birthday honours on Monday, June 9. "It's very humbling and much appreciated to get recognised for this award," he said. Living in the middle of a heavily forested area in Braidwood in the NSW Southern Tablelands, Mr Raymond joined the Rural Fire Service (RFS) to protect his community. "I got started in 1989, and it was self-preservation, really," he said. "I moved up through the RFS and became a captain of a brigade, then went into a paid position in 1998." After 27 years with the RFS, he decided to move to the newly created Marine Rescue NSW nine years ago. "There were three organisations brought together under one banner, there was a lot of culture to be built, new policies and standard operating procedures," he said. In his role at Marine Rescue he coordinates emergency calls from Triple Zero, tasks rescue units out on the waters and overseas equipment and training of staff and volunteers. From Gosford up to Port Stephens, Mr Raymond oversees seven units of volunteers and staff. "We save lives on the water, and people are having the worst day of their lives, and we go in there, and bring them home safely," he said. "There is nothing more rewarding than being able to do that." Most days out on Hunter waters were not smooth sailing, however. "We are sending people out on rough seas and dangerous situations but you've also got to be able to make sure they're safe and get back safe as well," he said. "We have to manage different weather conditions and incidents evolving in dangerous conditions," Nearly every day on the coast involves a rescue, with his team bringing 2800 back to safety last year. "We had one in Lake Macquarie where we had nine people in a scuba diving boat, the boat was sinking," he said. "We got the call early, and we sent two boats and our jet skis out - it could have ended a lot differently." From his days with the RFS, he still remembers the intense bushfire that ripped through Catherine Hill Bay in 2013 and flames that came into Dudley and the back of Newcastle. "What I remember most during those big fires were people being very generous with donations," he said. "One lady in her late 80s walked a couple of miles to our fire control centre to bring us water and cut up oranges." The best part of his job was the people, he said. "I'm working with volunteers, with passionate people that want to be here and doing this for no financial reward," he said. "I owe it all to the great people that I've worked with over the last 35 years who have made it possible for me to work in the industry." It was 1997 when Sister Carmel Moore reached a critical juncture in her life as a Sister of St Joseph. She had already spent more than three decades as a school teacher, high school principal and hospital chaplain, to name a few roles, but there was something else she felt called to do. That was founding the Living Waters Meditation Centre at The Junction, a place where participants take time out to connect with their true selves. "I think that's my life's main work," Sister Carmel, who has received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the Catholic Church in Australia, said. "I had a need within myself to find silence and inner peace. "It was something I craved, even from when I was young. Entering the convent did a lot for that, but I also wanted to share it. I experienced a call to do it. " About 800 people have participated in the centre's weekly meditations over the past 29 years. And the waters are still flowing, with between 40 to 50 participants presently attending the centre's bi-monthly retreat mornings. There are also offshoot groups that meet weekly across the Maitland-Newcastle diocese that share the centre's Benedictine Charism. Sr Carmel said she was initially surprised at the centre's success, but, upon reflection, it's easy to understand - the unrelenting distractions and pressures of modern life were driving a corresponding need for spiritual solace and meaning. "There are many people who come along because the world's just too fast for them; their lifestyle is too heavy for them. They are seeking life's deepest meaning and their truest self," she said. Now 90, Sr Carmel handed over the centre's administrative reins about 12 years ago, but is still actively involved in its activities. "I fill in for people if they can't come, but I don't want it to be all about me, because if I can't come someday, I don't want it to end," she said. The centre's philosophy is closely related to another of Sr Carmel's roles as a member of the Sisters of St Joseph's inter-congregational eco-spirituality committee. "We aim to spread the sense of God in creation, which involves caring for the earth, our common home," she said. "When I'm swimming at Merewether baths, I see a lot of people just gazing at the sunrise or the beauty of the clouds and the ocean. That is all helping to bring them into the contemplation of the beauty around them." Sr Carmel admits she initially wasn't too keen on accepting a King's Birthday award, but she accepts that it also recognises the Sisters of St Joseph and all of those who have supported her. "I'm embarrassed by all of this, really," she said. "There are a lot of people who have done a lot more than I've done, and there are so many people who silently go about doing great things without any recognition." She noted religious life was very different from when she entered the Sisters of Joseph at Lochinvar 72 years ago. "We have gone from being a very disciplined and minutely organised group to being free to be the people that we were meant to be," she said. "There is a beautiful sense of community among our sisters. It's not a rigid community, it's a friendly and supportive community that allows us to use our own gifts." Outside of his family and friends, Fishing Point's Doug Saxon had three major passions in life: education, local history and music. Whether it was ensuring he knew the name of every child in the various primary schools where he served as principal, or writing the 22 local history books he had published, or coordinating the various Newcastle and Hunter Jazz Club festival lineups, Mr Saxon launched into everything with passion. On Monday, Mr Saxon's service to education, local history and music is being recognised in the King's Birthday honours list with a Medal of the Order of Australia in the general division. Sadly, Mr Saxon died in July last year after a bout of influenza A. He was 78. "He would have been so pleased," Mr Saxon's wife, Judith, said of the OAM. "He spent a lot of time doing it, but he really enjoyed it. "He had a passion for local history and keeping the music going, and the things he was really sure about in education. He loved being a principal." Mr Saxon grew up in Hamilton and attended the local public school. He would later publish the book Hamilton: Memories of Life and School in the 1950s in 2010. While at Newcastle Boys High, he met Judith, who was a Newcastle Girls High student, at a school dance. After initially working as an accountant, Mr Saxon moved into teaching and took up his first post at western Sydney's Villawood East Public in 1968. Within 10 years, he became a principal at Yanco in the Riverina. Mr Saxon returned to the Hunter in 1983 as Bonnells Bay Public School principal (1983-87) and led Cessnock East PS (1987-1992) and Jewells PS (1992-2006) before retiring in 2006. It was while he was living in Yanco in 1980 that Mr Saxon's love of local history was first ignited. He used to take students to the nearby village of Morundah on excursions to visit its historic school building. "They did a dig, talked to the local people and made a great big study of it, and a publication was put together," Judith said. "That was the first of all the local histories he did over the years." Mr Saxon continued to write local history books, focusing predominantly on the Hunter region, telling the stories of the schools he taught at and the development of Lake Macquarie suburbs Awaba and Morisset. He also published a book in 2017, Michael Scott: An Artistic Life, on the founder of the Blake Prize for religious art. His last books, Eraring's History - Farming, Monkeys and Electricity and Dora Creek Memories 1870-2020 were published in 2020. "After each publication he did, I'd say, 'That's the last one, isn't it?'" Judith said. "But he always did another one. He just loved it." While Mr Saxon didn't play an instrument himself, he always held a rich love of music. While a principal, he promoted musicals strongly and encouraged his three children and four grandchildren to follow their passion for music. He was a member of the Newcastle and Hunter Jazz Club and was the organisation's festival band coordinator for 14 years, right up until his death a month out from last year's event. On July 27, the Newcastle and Hunter Jazz Club is hosting the Doug Saxon Memorial Concert at Wangi Wangi District Workers Club in his honour. When Catherine Johnson started work in cancer care in 1990, it was a different world. "It was very difficult, treatment was very limited, and it wasn't always successful," Ms Johnson said. "We've seen huge transformations in the care patients receive now. That's been driven through clinical trials and research." A clinical nurse consultant in medical oncology at the Calvary Mater Newcastle, Ms Johnson has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. "I've worked in clinical trials for 20-odd years at the Mater," she said. Her work is a mission of the heart. "I've been working in healthcare for a very long time. It's important to me," she said. "It's been a very rewarding career." She aimed to follow the example of her parents by "serving the community". "It's a joy to give back," she said. She's held senior roles on numerous committees in the cancer nursing field. Among her achievements, she helped develop the Cancer Nurses Society of Australia in 1998-99 and later served as its treasurer and deputy chairperson. As an editorial board member with the Australian Journal of Cancer Nursing from 2011-20, she helped share knowledge in the field. Ms Johnson is secretary/treasurer of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care. "I've worked internationally and done projects in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa in breast cancer screening. "In Latin America, I have led projects across five countries, training nurses in cervical cancer screening and prevention and breast cancer screening. "I trained nurses who worked with women to prevent and detect early cancers in low and middle-income countries. " She said this work was "really rewarding". Her work on clinical trials for Mater patients in Newcastle was a labour of love. When patients respond to treatments, it's a "lovely feeling". "It's great for them," she said. While working in cancer care could be emotional, she said "we are working to improve the outcomes". "There are moments where it's very sad, difficult and challenging, but there are also rewarding moments. "I work with great teams and wonderful nurses all around the world." The international nurses she worked with "do so much with so little". "That is humbling and makes me appreciate everything we have here," she said. It gave her perspective. "It makes what we do on a day-to-day basis easy, even though we sometimes think we're resource-constrained and working in difficult circumstances. "We live such a privileged and fortunate life in Australia." She added that cancer often gives people "the chance to have a new perspective on life, even though it's difficult". Asked about the prospects of a future cancer cure, she said "we see people living with cancer for a long time and living well". "It's now a chronic disease to a large degree, rather than something that is a life sentence." She was humbled to receive the King's Birthday honour, knowing that "somebody would nominate me and recognise the work I do". It was perhaps a relic of his rugby league days that Mark Holton has never had much fear of having a crack at something. A career of running onto the field with the intent of out-gunning the other guy will do that to you. In that sense, he says he has lived by a fairly simple philosophy of having a go at everything. If you bite off more than you can chew, you just have to chew harder. Mr Holton would probably not admit it - rather, he would tell you that he was merely in the right place at the right time - but there is the distinct sense that it is that same philosophy that led him off the field and into the boardrooms of a litany of charities and sporting organisations that have defined his past three decades of community service. Mr Holton's list of accomplishments is long, but a few names are on there that are close to his heart. He got involved with the children's health charity Ronald McDonald House, for example, not long after retiring from his sporting career as a rugby league player and referee (he calls it his time "running around"). He was called in to help set up the charity's accounting system and, not long after, was asked if he would consider becoming a volunteer treasurer. That was 30 years ago, and still, he has no plans to call full-time. "I just see myself as someone who puts their hand up to help when they are asked," Mr Holton said. "I went down to Ronald McDonald House to help them with a bit of software, thinking 'here's another client', but when I saw what it was doing, I thought I couldn't charge this organisation. And I want to help it." Mr Holton is one of several Hunter identities to be conferred with Order of Australia honours over the June long weekend. Mr Holton will be inducted for his services to the community for his involvement in community and regional sports, business, and charity. The most recent of his achievements was establishing, among other sporting leaders, the Regional Academies of Sport, effectively merging the Hunter and Central Coast academies to help young athletes outside the city get access to high-quality training and development opportunities. Mr Holton has been the chair of the organisation since 2022. "There are so many great kids here, and their parents have to go to extraordinary lengths to get them to sporting practice sessions, training and development, which often aren't on the coast," he said. "Putting something together that would allow them to get that development without having to leave home really just appealed." The old fable goes that when asked how they had created a stunning and intricate sculpture of an elephant from a lump of formless stone, the sculptor said they had not. They just chipped away all the pieces of stone that were not part of the elephant. There is the sense that, in some ways, Stockton potter Les Peterkin has approached his life as a teacher and an artist in the same way; not by grand sweeping strokes, but by gradual and lovingly diligent degrees. Take ceramics, for example. Mr Peterkin did not have any particular vision of becoming a potter, but he took an evening class when he was a teacher in Sydney to satisfy an interest and soon found it spoke to him. Not long after, he started teaching the class. When he met his partner, they started a business. He began selling his art while he was working as a teacher. Thirty years later, he retired to Stockton, where, on the King's Birthday long weekend, he was in line for induction to the Order of Australia for his services to the arts. From the formless medium, the picture takes shape. Mr Peterkin's work evokes the sea. His art is full of vibrant sea life, water blues and natural curves. It's folky and colourful, and in each work, there is the sense that it has been laboured over. Still, the artist believes that there is nothing innate in the arts. No one is born with it, but it belongs to everyone. The elephant is there; it's just a matter of chipping away at it. "It's all learnable," Mr Peterkin, who has amassed a considerable following online where he posts videos of his work and process, said. "It's just that if you want to do something, you go ahead and get on with it." "They say that if you're once a teacher, you're always a teacher, and I suppose that is one of the reasons why I learned how to make videos." "I have done a lot in my life, and I've worked hard, but I never expected to get any accolades. If they turn up, it's all the better." Mr Peterkin said he was humbled by the King's Birthday honour and was looking forward to celebrating with friends on Monday. COMING from a family of educators, Lehetta Lane-Porter has always been passionate about providing opportunities to Indigenous youth. "Within my family dynamics, from my mother to my three sisters, we are all educators," she said. The 40-year-old Gamilaraay Yuwaalaraay woman has been recognised for her work and awarded a Public Service Medal in the King's Birthday honours. Ms Lane-Porter has been instrumental in supporting First Nations students to succeed in school, complete year 12 and move on to employment and training. She has worked as head of boarding at Aboriginal Hostels Limited's (AHL) Kirinari Newcastle hostel for the past eight years. "I was actually a student within Aboriginal Hostels Limited, where I left my home and lived in Dubbo for many years in a boarding setting, so I often reflect on my own time there," she said. "The passion I walked in the door eight years ago, I still strongly have that today." She helps connect students to cultural, sporting and social events to build their confidence, self-identity and community connections. In her role, she also encourages students' annual participation in the Boots for Bright Futures campaign, working with Australian National Rugby League clubs to paint footy boots for auction to raise money for the fight against youth suicide. "I've got kids from far northwest NSW, western NSW, and the northwest of NSW. Being even exposed to NRL players, within itself, is an excitement. It's not something they get to see every day in their home community," she said. "Being able to share the journey with them while they play the Indigenous round is something special." Ms Lane-Porter said she was honoured and humbled to receive a Public Service Medal. "It's actually quite a surprise. I'm still inquisitive. I don't know who made the nomination, but I'd love to know who it is," she said. "I feel very honoured to be receiving it and have those three little slash initials after my name." Her mother, known as Aunty Beth, received one last year. "Both her and I now get to share that glory together," she said. Ms Lane-Porter said she enjoyed guiding the next generation of indigenous leaders and would continue to do so. "They come to my boarding setting to be provided with better opportunities educationally, but also culturally," she said. "I will continue to do what I do and hopefully change many more lives of the Indigenous youth that come across my path." From his career as a police officer to his commitment to volunteering, Gordon Gorton has dedicated his life to serving the community. Now, his service has been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for service to the community through a range of service organisations. The Rutherford resident was a police officer for 35 years who was stationed across the Hunter and at Lithgow, and retired ranked chief inspector at Maitland Police Station. Mr Gorton said the honour is a very appreciated shock. "To me it means that some of the work I've done with the community over the years has been recognised," he said. "You just poke along and do what you're doing and you don't look for accolades, but when you do get an accolade like this you say 'wow, I might have done a bit'." Whether stationed in Maitland, Cessnock, Lithgow, Scone or Maclean, Mr Gorton has always become involved with local clubs like Apex, and organised many community projects like skate parks and blue light discos, and coached sporting teams. "You got respect that was the main thing, two-way respect. The community respected you and vice versa," he said. "People knew who you were, you weren't just the copper down the road, they knew who you were and your values." In 2002 he was awarded the NSW Police Diligent and Ethical Service Medal. After retiring, Mr Gorton still felt a strong calling to help the community and volunteered in a number of roles including as an official hospital visitor to mental health patients with NSW Health. He also served as a juvenile justice conference convenor with the NSW Department of Communities and Juvenile Justice. "I've always had an interest in mental health and there was an opportunity there to work as an advocate for patients in various mental health institutions, both adult and adolescents in the Hunter Valley area," he said. A former Cessnock Goannas Rugby League Football Club president, Mr Gorton is still very much a Goanna at heart despite moving to Maitland a few years ago, and is a director on the board of Cessnock Leagues Club. "Rugby league has always been an interest of mine, and also what I found too from my point of view as a policeman when you go to a particular community, you've got to get involved with that community," he said. Irene Hemsworth dedicated her life to supporting others, and she has had her service to Maitland recognised in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours list. Mrs Hemsworth had been volunteering since she was just 12-years-old, and at the time of her death in September 2024 was still active on 12 committees, at 84-years-old. She has been honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the general division for service to the community of Maitland. It's recognition that's long overdue, according to her daughter Raylene Teague. "We're so proud of her in all honesty, I think it's been long overdue with the amount of work she's put into the community," she said. "I know she would have liked to have been here to get it but it is what it is. "She'd be chuffed." Mrs Hemsworth has volunteered at a range of Maitland sporting clubs, church groups, scripture at schools, the RSL, op shops and school P&C associations. "She started volunteering when she was about 12 at Sunday school, and then just never stopped," Ms Teague said. "It was always if we wanted to be involved with something whether it was swimming or netball, or soccer or dancing, whatever it was mum would also throw her support behind that because she knew organisations were only as strong as the volunteers that it had." Mrs Hemsworth has held roles at Maitland Netball Association, Maitland RSL Netball Club (co-founder and former president), Maitland Park Sport Recreation Board, Maitland Sports Council and was a learn to swim instructor. She also was president of RSL Youth Club for almost 40 years, and was a member of the Maitland RSL sub-branch women's auxiliary. One of her greatest passions was being a scripture teacher, where she taught at local schools from 1973 to 2024. Ms Teague said her mum's strong Christian values drove her to volunteer. "It (volunteering) was always from a Christian belief of serving others, so the scripture was important to her," she said. "Principals of schools came up to me at her funeral and said mum didn't push Christianity, she was just the epitome of Jesus and loving everybody, it was all just about how to love one another and maybe that drove her volunteering." Ms Teague said her mum's own life experiences often determined the groups she joined, whether it was a cancer support committee after being diagnosed with breast cancer, or becoming a learn to swim instructor when her daughter needed to learn to swim. "We had a brother who passed away at eight-months-old and going through that as a young mother that she was, and the support she received, the was always looking at how to repay people and her motto was always 'if you can, I think you should'," Ms Teague said. This isn't Mrs Hemsworth's first award, having been named Maitland Citizen of the Year in 1989, and a Freeman of the City in 2014. Brian Jack has been active in the community for more than 50 years, and while his biggest thrill has been his career as an auctioneer, he has always been passionate about helping young people. Now, his decades of service have been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for service to the community of Maitland. The Aberglasslyn resident said while he has never been in it for the accolades, it's nice to be appreciated. "I never went looking for accolades, and the only kudos that I received was from myself that if I'd helped somebody to turn them into a better person, I felt good," Mr Jack said. Mr Jack has held roles at a number of Maitland clubs and organisations, including being the inaugural president at the Rotary Club of Maitland Sunrise, and the longest-serving president of the Maitland High School Ex Students Association. He has held roles on the junior selection panel of Newcastle Knights Rugby League, where he helped young people achieve their best. Whether through Rotary, rugby league or work, Mr Jack has always found ways to help young people. At the Rotary Club of Maitland Sunrise, one of his portfolios was youth service. "I always liked youth service because I always say the youth are our future of tomorrow, and we've got to get them there," he said. One of his proudest career moments was judging state auctioneering at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, and judging the national competition in 2019, the same year he retired. "I've got a lot of pleasure out of doing a lot of things and I've helped quite a few young auctioneers come through, I've trained a few and to see them go on and become the men in the industry they have really, really makes me happy," he said. In his career Mr Jack started as an employee at Lindsay and Comerford from 1969 to 1972, then was an auctioneer with Carr Bros from 1972 to 1985 before becoming a partner at Jones and Berry from 1985 to 2019. Considered to be a quiet achiever, Dave Sams is being honoured with one of the greatest accolades. The Anna Bay man has been awarded an Order of Australia medal (OAM) in the King's Birthday Honours for his service to the community of Port Stephens. Mr Sams originally thought the phone call to say he had been nominated for an OAM was a scam call. "I never expected to get a call like that," he said. With a passion for the community and volunteering, Mr Sams said he couldn't have achieved the recognition on his own. "I've volunteered alongside a lot of good people and I wouldn't have been able to achieve whatever I have without those people I volunteered with," he said. In his thirties, Mr Sams created his own job, in hopes of helping other unemployed people and the community. Mr Sams founded the not-for-profit Salamander Bay Recyling Centre in 1994, formerly Not Everybody Works Employment Centre and today still works at the centre. "I'm there until I retire," he said. The recycling centre which has now become more commercialised, once received boxes full of recycled treasures. "Stuff would come in the door and it was going out as quick as it was coming in," Mr Sams said. Mr Sams has been an instrumental part of the Port Stephens Suicide Prevention Network, where he spends time volunteering. He joined the network after his son, Robert, took his life. "Your kids bury you, you don't bury your kids," Mr Sams said. The heartbreaking loss of his son steered Mr Sams in a new direction - to help others who have lost ones to suicide. "I'm involved with putting Lifeline signs out at bus stops and I've tried to put as many signs out across Port Stephens as possible," he said. He helped create Solace Place, opened at Boat Harbour in 2014, for those seeking a quiet place for reflection. "It's a good place to go and sit and reflect," Mr Sams said. Mr Sams also founded Port Stephens Survivors of Suicide (SOS), which deals with issues after suicide. "It had a real ripple effect on my family," he said. "I would talk to people who had lost loved ones and it was an opportunity for them to talk about the person," he said. Mr Sams was also there from the beginning of the Salamander Bay Men's Shed and said he wanted to create an environment where men could socialise and interact. "Talking and getting things off your chest is so important," he said. Another passion of Mr Sams is the environment and he is a former member of both the Anna Bay and Boat Harbour Parks and Gardens Group and Soldiers Point Tidy Towns Committee. He is also a current Landcare volunteer and can often be found at Robinson Reserve planting trees. Everything Mr Sams does around the community is for the kids and he said he would like to see more volunteers in Port Stephens.
Man of Many
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Man of Many
Bottle Shock: How Marc Fennell is Uncorking the Wine Industry's Dirtiest Secrets
At first swirl, the world of wine appears a seductive blend of old-world charm and new-world flair, but beneath the decadent soil of the elitist industry lies a deep, dark secret. It's easy to fall for the romance of wine. From rolling hills and vineyard vistas to the lure of underground cellars and hidden barrels, there is an undeniable allure behind every label. But is the industry's noble rot really as noble as it claims? As Walkley Award-winning journalist and self-confessed connoisseur of the second-cheapest bottle on the menu, Marc Fennell reveals in his latest Audible Original, the world of wine is not as glamorous as you might think. In Corked, Fennell takes us inside the sordid underbelly of the viticulture scene, prying open long-cellared secrets that are as dark and sinister as a three-day-old Shiraz. What lies at the bottom of the bottle, he explains, is not a story about wine, but rather, of obsession. 'I think food and drink are actually the best prisms to understand people,' he tells me. 'If you think about your choices of food, what you drink, and what you put in your body, they reveal your culture, your economics, and what you care about.' 'The really interesting thing about Corked is that it isn't a thing that you need to listen to. This isn't a thing for wine nerds. It's actually a show about people who are obsessed…And what happens when that obsession gets completely derailed.' The new audio investigative series unpacks the incredible true story of the 2018 cheating scandal that rocked the Court of Master Sommeliers to its very core. Held in the highest regard, the wine industry's governing body is responsible for administering qualifications and titles for those talented enough to pass its excessively stringent examination process. But on one fateful morning in September 2018, everything changed. Allegations that tasting cues had been leaked, just hours before the final exam was to be held, sent the industry into furore and left the board of directors with little option. Within a few weeks of the scandal breaking, the organisation announced that it was invalidating the results of the tasting portion of the exam, effectively stripping 23 of the 24 new Master Sommeliers of their titles. It was a brash decision aimed at saving face, but by then, the damage was done. Scrutiny was mounting on the organisation, and piece by piece, the foundations started to crumble. 'This Court that decides who gets to be in and who gets to be out; how they wielded that power actually ended up really derailing a whole bunch of lives,' Fennell explains. 'As we dug a little bit deeper, it became clear that there's a track record with the Court of Master Sommeliers not being transparent when things go wrong. The cheating scandal was one example of that.' Throughout Corked, Fennell travels the globe to uncover an intricate world of ego, power, and deception and asks what's next for an industry ripe for cultural transformation. Ahead of Corked's exclusive launch on Audible on May 20, I sat down with the Aussie journalist to talk vines, wines, and the unique characters willing to risk it all to protect them. Truly, this is a story that bears rich fruit. MoM: Marc, congratulations on Corked. It sounds like an absolutely wild ride. Wine, travel, mystery. I think you've knocked out my perfect Friday evening agenda. What can you tell me about the project? Well, a couple of years ago, I made the very first Audible Original for Australia, which was a thing called It Burns about the race to breed the world's hottest chilli…I worked with my friend Matt and (since then) we've spent years trying to find a story in the world of food and drink because I love it. I think food and drink are actually the best prism to understand people. We stumbled across this thing that transpired in 2018 that none of us realised had happened and centred around (and I didn't even realise this was a thing) the Court of Master Sommeliers. There was this scandal where people had been accused of cheating, and it just imploded this very tight-knit community. I was like, 'Why did this cheating scandal happen?' But also, what does it tell you about these people? MoM: Over the course of the project, you took steps to actually become a sommelier yourself. Were you at all surprised by what you learned about the industry during that process? I learned that I wasn't very good; that's what I learned. And that's a good thing; it's a good thing to be humbled by these jobs. It's a good thing to put yourself in other people's shoes. I don't think I'm going to quit my day job anytime soon, but I think one of the beautiful things about this kind of storytelling, and the beautiful thing about doing an Audible Original, is that you put the headphones in, you enter a different world, you enter a different time, but you also get to be a bit complicit. When you're watching television, you're kind of observing it from the outside. When you do an Audible Original, you are putting the audience in the middle of the story. MoM: It's interesting that you say that. I feel like your style of storytelling involves taking us all on that journey. In a way, you are learning at the same time, which makes it far more interesting. This is the thing, I'm not an expert and that's not my job. My job is to be professionally curious. My job is to be curious and empathetic and try to piece together the story and unfold the mystery. But the beautiful thing about audio is that we are unfolding it together. I think that's why I love it so much. MoM: There's certainly a perception about the industry that it is for elites and the upper echelon. Is that true of what you found and if so, how challenging was it for you to break into that inner circle? Yeah, it really was. There are plenty of people out there who know vast amounts about wine, but actually the really good sommeliers are the ones that stand in the gap between you, I and that big reservoir of knowledge. The really amazing sommeliers are the ones who make it about you—a human being understanding what you love and what you don't love. They take that reservoir of knowledge and tailor something to you. It's more than a service job. It's care. It's genuinely caring for a person and their taste to make that moment, that meal, that night special. That's the skill. MoM: Of course, your journey through the industry does take a sordid turn. At what point did you start to realise there was a deeper story to unpack? Well, it was interesting because all I really knew from the outset was that this scandal had happened, the entire class of 2018 had been cancelled, and everybody was very upset. There were a bunch of things we didn't know, though. We didn't know that there were these rogue investigations happening, where people within the class split off and tried to run their own investigations. We didn't know that there might've been more to this secret email. We worked out who was behind it pretty quickly because that was reported, but we didn't know who would talk, who wouldn't talk. What I really wasn't prepared for was how much emotional damage the story did. There's a character in there, Elton, the stress of this literally lands him in hospital. I think Elton is the most intriguing character to me because he didn't ask for this email. He got it, and then he panicked and then he did something that I think he's regretted ever since, which is that he didn't tell anybody. So for Elton, there's just a series of decisions with disastrous consequences for him. Watching him and also his family navigate that was hard, honestly. It was hard watching this man, who, years after this happened, is still left with a crater in their lives. I wasn't quite prepared for that. As we dug a little bit deeper, it became clear that there's a track record with the Court of Master Sommeliers not being transparent when things go wrong. The cheating scandal was one example of that. The revelations around harassment that emerged out of that, to me, represent a pattern that needs to be acknowledged. It's worth pointing out that management of the Court has changed, but it still remains something that many, certainly many of the victims, do not feel has been sufficiently acknowledged. That's an important point to make. MoM: It's no secret that oenophiles border on the obsessive and a true wine-lover will stop at virtually nothing to get their hands on a rare drop. Tell me a little about a few of the colourful characters you encountered whilst making Corked. We met lots of interesting people and quirky characters, but at a certain point, we were down in the weeds with this story about cheating and secret emails and things and investigations, it was getting very, very down. We were in proper true crime territory. At that time, I was like, it's probably worth just asking the question, 'Why do we care about this?' So we went out to Napa Valley, probably the most famous wine region in the United States and we met this lovely guy named Bertus. It was a really important thing to do. At that point in the story, everything had devolved, the relationships between people had devolved and we're hearing about the worst behaviour and the worst abuses of power. But then to just take a minute to go stand in a vineyard and realise the life that gives birth to those flavours was really important. I've never actually thought to go into the vineyards and look around and feel the insects, and the way the scent as you walk through the vines; it was breathtaking. One of the things I love about audio is that the audience is, as I mentioned before, complicit. You want it to live in the theatre of their mind. So just to be there surrounded by these vines and feel the life of the insects and the birds, there's a sort of savoriness to the air. You can smell the beginnings of the wine around you in a way. I was like, 'Oh, I understand the mystique of this. I understand why you would be pulled into wanting to know as much as you possibly can about this'. Absolutely in that moment, I understood the passion. I'd spent weeks just being presented by these really obsessive A-type personalities who are taking it very seriously and they're feeling very aggrieved about what happened. I think in that moment, you sort of have to look at it around yourself and go, what is happening? Why are people so obsessed with this? And why did the Court behave in the way that it did to preserve this elite institution? It's important to take steps out of the story to just recalibrate what actually matters. MoM: So what did you find? What really matters? There are so many parts of our lives that we can do without human interaction. Now you can sit in a room and just do a whole day of Zoom meetings. You can have everything you want ordered to your door and never encounter another person. And some of that's great; I'm not bemoaning that, but there is something very special about going to a restaurant. It doesn't have to be a fancy expensive one, it could just be a cafe or a bar that you love, but that moment where a person genuinely creates something for you, that they put care and love into what you're eating, into selecting what you drink so that it matters— that is precious. I've come to regard it as somewhat of a sacred thing because it's one of those so rare occasions in our life where one human takes care of another, and it's a creative act. It's an empathetic act, it's a compassionate act. It's given me just an enormous amount of respect and gratitude for that interaction, that space that is a restaurant.
Daily Mail
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Married At First Sight's Nasser Sultan looks loved up as he steps out for red carpet date night with SBS presenter girlfriend Karla Grant
Married At First Sight star Nasser Sultan has proudly debuted his blossoming romance with esteemed SBS journalist Karla Grant - and the unlikely couple looked absolutely smitten as they stepped out together on Sunday night. In photos taken at Sydney 's NIDA Theatre, the lovebirds made a dazzling entrance as they strutted hand-in-hand down the red carpet. Karla, 60, stunned in a flowing, tie-dye silk maxi dress in shades of coral and white, which featured a plunging neckline and flared sleeves. She paired the striking look with clear-strap stilettos, wore her honey-blonde locks in glamorous loose waves, and opted for a soft, glowing makeup look featuring glossy nude lips and bronzed cheeks. Meanwhile, Nasser, 56, looked every inch the proud boyfriend, flashing a wide grin as he rocked a short-sleeve powder blue shirt, slim black trousers, and matching black shoes. He accessorised with a chunky gold watch, bracelet, and a pendant necklace. The couple couldn't keep their hands off each other as they posed together in front of a giant white throne chair and the event's sponsor wall. In photos taken at Sydney's NIDA Theatre, the lovebirds made a dazzling entrance as they strutted hand-in-hand down the red carpet In one playful moment, Karla was even seen sitting on Nasser's lap, laughing as he wrapped a protective arm around her waist. Their affectionate display comes after Daily Mail Australia revealed in February that Nasser and Karla had been quietly dating for several months after reconnecting at a party last year. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia Nasser said, 'We've known each other for four years, to be honest. Then we just reconnected at a party and fell in love. 'That was it. It was like love at first sight - just not Married At First Sight!' Gushing about his girlfriend, Nasser added, 'She's gentle, smart, elegant, very well-educated, respected in the industry. And she's not fake. And she's not on Instagram.' Indeed, while Nasser has often courted publicity since starring on MAFS back in 2018, Karla is renowned for her serious work as a presenter and producer for SBS's Indigenous current affairs program, Living Black, and largely shuns the spotlight. The romance between the Walkley Award-winning journalist and the self-confessed reality TV 'troublemaker' may seem unexpected, but Karla herself said it best in a rare public statement: 'Nasser is one of a kind. He's attentive, caring and thoughtful and I see how he is with those who are closest to him. He's always helping his friends.' The Grants' marriage split became front-page news in 2000 when Stan left Karla for his Seven colleague Tracey Holmes (left) Stan and Tracey are still together to this day. They are pictured here in August 2019 She continued, 'Our union was very unexpected, but it is growing into something very special.' The relationship marks a fresh chapter for Karla, who was previously married to journalist and broadcaster Stan Grant for 16 years before they split in 2000. Stan famously left Karla for his Seven Network colleague Tracey Holmes, leading to one of the biggest media scandals of the decade. Meanwhile, Nasser has continued to make headlines in his own right over the years - from pulling cheeky publicity stunts to faking romances for tabloid attention. But insiders say his romance with Karla is '100 per cent genuine' and not just another ploy for the cameras. The fact that Nasser, a man who once said, 'write whatever you want about me so long as you write about me,' has kept their relationship low-key until now, speaks volumes. 'I credit her for making me calm. I'm still a troublemaker - don't worry about that' he said.
