X-Nico

100 unusual facts about Order of Australia


Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988

During 1996, the Honourable Elizabeth Evatt AC carried out a comprehensive review of the Australian Government's then Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Act 1984 (Cwlth), and, in the process reviewed the Aboriginal heritage protection arrangements of each State.

Aila Keto

Keto was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1994 and was nominated as Queenslander of the Yearin 2000.

Aila Inkeri Keto AO (born 14 March 1943) is founder and President of the Rainforest Conservation Society in Queensland, Australia, now known as the Australia Rainforest Conservation Society.

Andrew Dent

In 2008 Dent’s contributions were recognized with an Order of Australia on the Queens Birthday, one day before his death.

Anne Summers

Anne Summers PhD AO (born 12 March 1945) is a writer and columnist, is best known as a leading feminist, editor and publisher.

Austin Asche

Keith John Austin Asche, AC, QC

Bart Cummings

James Bartholomew 'Bart' Cummings, AM (born 14 November 1927) is one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers.

Bob Jervis

In 1982 he was awarded a gold honor badge of the Australian Journalists Association for "meritorious service" and in the 1985 Queen's Birthday honours list was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to journalism.

Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship

In 2004, Beryl Whiteley was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her service as a benefactor to the visual arts through the creation and endowment of the scholarship.

Carrillo Gantner

Carrillo was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) in June 2001 for service to the performing arts and for fostering cultural exchanges between Australia and Asia.

Charles Goode

Charles Barrington Goode AC (born 26 August 1938) is a prominent Australian director of public companies.

Chris Puplick

Christopher John Guelph "Chris" Puplick AM (born 13 May 1948) is an Australian politician, public servant and public intellectual.

He was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia in 2001, for contributions to Australian politics and public policy, particularly in relation to human rights and social justice.

Christine Wallace

She is married to former Chief of staff to Kim Beazley, Michael Costello AO.

Christopher Margules

Christopher Robert Margules (AM) is the Leader of the Indo-Pacific Field Division of Conservation International.

Clement Semmler

Clement Semmler OBE, AM (1914-2000), was an author, reviewer and manager of the Australian Broadcasting Commission.

Cottles Bridge, Victoria

From the 1950s onwards, various artists settled in the area, most notably Clifton Pugh AO, who established the Dunmoochin Artists Society there in 1953.

Daryl Foster

Daryl Hugh Foster OAM (born 9 December 1938) is an Australian cricket coach.

David Penington

David Geoffrey Pennington AC (born 4 February 1930) is an Australian doctor, academic, Vice-Chancellor and director.

Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

The Department was led by its Secretary, Blair Comley PSM who was responsible to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, the Honourable Greg Combet AM MP.

Don Kendell

Don Kendell AM (19 January 1930 – 14 October 2001) was the founder and Chairman of Kendell Airlines, now a part of Regional Express Airlines.

In 1992, Don Kendell was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours for his services to aviation.

Douglas Lawrence

Raymond Douglas Lawrence OAM (born 1943) is an Australian organist who is Director of Music at the Scots' Church, Melbourne and Teacher of the Organ at the University of Melbourne.

Eddie McGuire

Edward Joseph "Eddie" McGuire AM (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television presenter and businessman known for his long association with Australian rules football and the Channel 9 television network.

McGuire's service to Australia has been recognised by the award of Member of the Order of Australia (2005) "for service to the community, particularly through support for health care and welfare organisations, and to broadcasting".

Eric Bogle

On 25 January 1987, Eric Bogle was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, "In recognition of service to the performing arts as a song writer and singer".

Franca Arena

She was offered the Order of the British Empire for services to migrants, but refused the honour; in 1980 she accepted the Order of Australia for services to ethnic groups.

Frank Cameron Jackson

Jackson was awarded the Order of Australia in 2006 for service to philosophy and social sciences as an academic, administrator, and researcher.

Gail Kelly

Due to her success at St George, there was extensive media speculation in June 2005 that she would return to the Commonwealth Bank as CEO on the retirement of David Murray AO, but Kelly said that she was committed to remaining with St. George.

Galarrwuy Yunupingu

In 1985, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his services to the Aboriginal community.

Galarrwuy Yunupingu, AM (born 30 June 1948) is a leader in the Australian Indigenous community, and has been involved in the fight for Land Rights throughout his career.

Geoff Mosley

His contributions were acknowledged in 2005 when he was awarded a Member Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

Geoffrey Blainey

He was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours list of 2000 for his service to academia, research and scholarship.

Geoffrey Norman Blainey AC (born 11 March 1930), is a prominent Australian historian, academic, philanthropist and commentator with a wide international audience.

George Althofer

George W. Althofer OAM (1903-1993) was an Australian botanist, nurseryman, author and poet, with a special interest in the mint-bush genus Prostanthera as well as other Australian native plants, who founded the Burrendong Botanic Garden and Arboretum.

Gil Brealey

In 1976 Brealey was appointed Officer, Order of Australia, for his services to the Australian Film Industry.

Giovanni Antonaglia

Giovanni Antonaglia OAM (born 19 November 1938) is an Italian-born Australian businessman, supporter of community organisations and winner of the Medal of the Order of Australia.

Grant Tambling

Grant Ernest John Tambling, AM (born 20 June 1943) is an Australian politician and former Administrator of Norfolk Island.

Harry Krantz

Harry David Krantz OAM (24 November 1919 – 30 March 2006) was an Australian trade union leader.

Henry Bosch

Henry Bosch AO (born 20 January 1931) is an Australian businessman, CEO, Chairman and Governance advocate.

Howard Olney

Howard William Olney AM QC (born 7 October 1934) is the Australian Aboriginal Lands Commissioner.

I Made Mangku Pastika

In October 2003 he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia, "for service to Australia by heading the investigation into the bombings which occurred in Bali on 12 October 2002".

Ian Kiernan

Kiernan's environmental efforts were originally recognised in 1991 when the Australian Government awarded him the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).

Ian Bruce Carrick Kiernan AO (born 4 October 1940) is an environmentalist who organised the Clean Up Australia campaign, and in 1993 a similar Clean Up the World operation which attracted participation from 30 million volunteers in 80 countries.

Ivan Deveson

Ivan Deveson AO (born 18 February 1934) is an Australian businessman and the 100th Lord Mayor of Melbourne from 1996 to 1999 after a period of Commissioners controlling the Melbourne City Council.

Jeffrey Lucy

AM - Member of the Order of Australia for services to the Accounting Profession, Business Sector and Community

Jocelyn Newman

Jocelyn Margaret Newman, AO (born 7 July 1937) is an Australian former politician.

John Cade

Dr John Frederick Joseph Cade AO (18 January 1912 – 16 November 1980) was an Australian psychiatrist credited with discovering (in 1948) the effects of lithium carbonate as a mood stabilizer in the treatment of bipolar disorder (then known as manic depression).

John Funder

He is a director of the Harold Mitchell Foundation and an Officer of the Order of Australia, and is one of the trustees of A & E Finkel Foundation.

John Lawrence O'Meally

The Honourable Judge John Lawrence O'Meally (AM RFD) (born 1939) was president of the Dust Diseases Tribunal of New South Wales.

Kate Carnell

She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Australia Day Honours list of 2006, for her services and contributions to the Australian Capital Territory.

Anne Katherine (Kate) Carnell AO (born 30 May 1955) is an Australian businesswoman and former Liberal Party politician, who served as the third Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) from 1995 to 2000.

Kevin Sheehan

Kevin Vincent Sheehan OAM (born 1 August 1953) is a former Australian rules footballer for Geelong and the current Australian Football League (AFL) National Talent and International Manager, a member of the AFL football operations sub-committee and a selector for the AFL Rising Star award.

Lisa Paul

In June 2011 Paul was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to public sector leadership in key policy and program implementation, particularly through driving reform in education, employment and workplace.

Liz Grant

From 1986 to 1989 she was President of the ACT Division of Business and Professional Women and in 1987 was Chairman of the ACT Health Authority; in that year she was also appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.

Mary Elizabeth "Liz" Grant AM (born 23 February 1930) is a former Australian pharmacist and politician.

Marcel Weyland

He was awarded in 2005 the Order of Merit by the Polish government for his contributions to Polish culture, in 2008 the Medal of the Order of Australia, in 2012 (by the President of Poland) the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit to the Polish Commonwealth and 1n 2013 the gold medal Gloria Artis by the Polish Minister of Culture.

Margaret Holmes

Margaret Joan Holmes (née Read), AM (24 January 1909 – 10 September 2009) was an Australian peace activist, particularly during the Vietnam War and as part of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship.

Margaret McMurdo

Margaret A McMurdo AC (b. 30 August 1954) is the current President of the Queensland Court of Appeal.

Max Lake

Max Emory Lake, OAM (24 July 1924 – 14 April 2009) was an Australian winemaker and surgeon, who is generally regarded as the "father of the Australian boutique wine industry".

In the 2002 Australia Day Honours, Lake was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for service to the establishment of the boutique wine industry in Australia as a winemaker, judge, promoter and author.

Mechai Viravaidya

In 1995 he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia, for "service to Australian-Thai relations and contributions to the world AIDS debate".

Melaleuca, Tasmania

King also built the walkers' accommodation and airstrip and in 1975 was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to the community.

Merlyn Myer

On 7 June 1999, she became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her service to the community in the support of health care, medical research and the arts.

Michael F. Good

In 2008 Good was awarded an Order of Australia for his services to medical research and in 2009 he received the Eureka Prize for Leadership.

Michael Gudinski

Michael Solomon Gudinski, AM (born 22 August 1952) is an Australian entrepreneur and businessman currently based in Melbourne who is a leading figure in the Australian music industry.

On 12 June 2006, in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, he was made a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia.

Michael Vernon

He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1985 for services to consumer affairs and was also awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, also for services to consumer affairs.

Michelle Grattan

In the Australia Day Honours in 2004, she was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her long and distinguished service to Australian journalism.

Mike Hindmarsh

He was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for his distinguished leadership in this position.

Miles Lewis

He is one of Australia's most notable Architectural historians, and a member of the Order of Australia.

Murray Tobias

Murray Herbert Tobias AM, RFD (born 1939) is a judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the highest court in the State of New South Wales, Australia, which forms part of the Australian court hierarchy.

Patricia Edgar

Patricia May Edgar AM (born 11 March 1937) is an Australian author, television producer, educator and media scholar best known as the founding director of the Australian Children's Television Foundation.

Peter Baume

Baume was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in January 1992 in recognition of service to the Australian Parliament and upgraded to Companion in the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Petro Georgiou

Petro Georgiou AO (born 30 November 1947), Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from November 1994 to July 2010, representing the Division of Kooyong, Victoria.

Quorn, South Australia

Former Australian of the year and AC, CBE, Lowitja O'Donoghue also spent a huge portion of her childhood at the Aboriginal mission in Quorn, Colebrook Children's Home.

Ralph Willis

Ralph Willis AO (born 14 April 1938), Australian politician, was Treasurer for the final years of the Keating Labor Government.

Raymond Begg

Percy Raymond Begg AO (1898 – 1983) was Professor at the University of Adelaide School of Dentistry and a well known Orthodontist, famous for developing the "Begg technique".

Reg Bishop

Reginald Bishop AO (4 February 1913 – 3 July 1999) was an Australian politician.

Robert Gotterson

Robert William Gotterson AO (born 28 December 1949) is an Appeals Court justice at the Supreme Court of Queensland.

Rod Mackenzie

He received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1999 for his services to the Geelong community.

Rodney Cavalier

Rodney Mark Cavalier AO (born 11 October 1948 in Sydney, New South Wales), a former Australian politician, is the current Chairman of the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust and a Fellow of The University of Sydney.

Roger Covell

Roger Covell was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia on 26 January 1986 in recognition of service to music.

Ron Evans

On 12 June 2006, in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, he was made a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for service to business and Australian rules football.

Ross Gittins

Ross Gittins AM (born 1948, Newcastle, Australia) is an Australian political and economic journalist and author, known for "his ability to make dry, hard-to-understand economics and economic policy relevant".

Russell Trood

In 2012, Senator Trood became the United Nations Association of Australia (UNAA) National President replacing Professor Sen. Robert Hill AC.

Ruth McColl

Ruth Stephanie McColl AO (born 1950) is a judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the highest court in the State of New South Wales, Australia, which forms part of the Australian court hierarchy.

Shane Stone

On 12 June 2006, in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, he was awarded Australia's highest civilian honour, Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).

Susan Alberti

In 1997 she received an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) for her contribution towards the cause of diabetes research.

Ted Egan

Egan was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 1993 Australia Day Honours List for services to the Aboriginal people, and for "an ongoing contribution to the literary heritage of Australia through song and verse".

The Banksias

Largely on the basis of her work for The Banksias, Rosser was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia 1995 for her contribution to botanical art, and the Jill Smythies Award for botanical art in 1997.

The Free Thought

In 2009 he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for "service to the Ukrainian community through cultural, educational and literary contributions".

Tony Messner

He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2004 for "service to the Australian Parliament, to Norfolk Island as Administrator, and to the community, particularly veterans and their families".

Tony Staley

Anthony Allan (Tony) Staley, AO (born 15 May 1939, educated at Scotch College, Melbourne) is an Australian politician, member of parliament and businessman.

University Medal

Emeritus Professor Hans Charles Freeman AM FAA - bio-inorganic chemist and protein crystallographer; University of Sydney; Chemistry.

Valmai Pidgeon

Florence Valmai Miller Pidgeon AM (born c. 1927) is a leading figure in the Arts and the construction industry in Queensland.

Vera Scarth-Johnson

Vera was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in June 1996.

Vincent Serventy

Vincent Noel Serventy AM (6 January 1916 – 8 September 2007) was a noted Australian author, ornithologist and conservationist.

VKS737

On Australia Day, 26 January 2004, Steve was awarded with the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community, particularly residents and travellers in remote locations, through the Australian National Four Wheel Drive Radio Network Inc.

Waiuku

Jim was appointed an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia in 2003 for service to medical science, particularly clinical research into women's health and reproductive issues and the development of the Home Ovarian Monitor.


Athol Moffitt

He was awarded the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1979 Queen's Birthday Honours and, later, the medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).

Cornelius Keogh

Father Cornelius Brendan (Con) Keogh, OAM, (13 July 1921 - 24 November 2011) was an Australian Roman Catholic priest who founded the International Community Mental Health Movement GROW.

Greg Haddrick

Haddrick is the younger child and only son of actor Ron Haddrick AM MBE.

John Zillman

John W. Zillman AO (born 28 July 1939) is an Australian meteorologist, and former President of the World Meteorological Organization and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE).

Merlyn Myer

On Australia Day 1990, Sidney Baillieu was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for service to business and commerce, to government and to the community.

Milan Hudecek

He is a Member of the Order of Australia, winner of the Winston Gordon Award for Technological Advancement in the Field of Blindness and Visual Impairment, and Rolls-Royce & Qantas Award of Engineering Excellence.

Patsy Adam-Smith

Patricia Jean "Patsy" Adam-Smith AO, OBE (31 May 1924 – 20 September 2001) was an Australian author, historian and servicewoman.

Shelford Girls' Grammar

Robyn Christine Robinson AM - President and South Pacific Liaison Officer of the Critical Incident Stress Management Foundation Australia; Former Clinical Director of the Victorian Ambulance Crisis Counselling Unit; Former Senior Lecturer/Deputy Director of the Soc.

Tobi Atkins

He is the son of producer, choreographer and director David Atkins OAM.