2021 Australia Day Awards
About
- 2021 Award categories included: Citizen of the Year, Senior Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, and Event of the Year.
- The Australia Day Awards celebrate and recognise those who have shown a willingness to lend a helping hand, concern for the environment or participated in sport, arts or cultural endeavours. They share the aspirations of all Australians in respect of tolerance, democracy, equity and equality of opportunity.
- For more information about the awards and previous years' winners and nominees, visit our Australia Day Awards webpage.
2021 Citizen of the Year – Chris Rogers
Chris has been a volunteer with the Pakenham SES unit for 36 years, in that time going above and beyond to attend emergencies locally, in other parts of Victoria and interstate, and giving up his Sunday mornings to train fellow volunteers in road rescue.
Since records started being kept in mid-2009, Chris has attended almost 1,100 requests for assistance, including 487 road rescue calls, undertaken repairs to more than 150 residents’ houses during storms, cleared more than 300 trees from roads, assisted police at more than 30 crime scenes and attended 6 plane crashes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chris has continued responding to calls and finding ways to train volunteers in road rescue. He also participates in road rescue forums, ensuring the most-up-to date rescue techniques are used for the Cardinia Shire area.
2021 Senior Citizen of the Year – Stan Hamilton
Stan, along with his late wife Beryl, have always contributed to the local community. Stan has been a volunteer with Upper Beaconsfield CFA for 60 years and was recently recognised for his years of service.
He has been a volunteer and contributor to the Yakkerboo Festival since its inception, donating the use of his vehicles and participating in the street parade. Stan has also been an exhibitor and volunteer with the Pakenham and Berwick shows, a community bus driver, and has undertaken fundraising for the Windermere Foundation.
Stan did his first ‘hay run’ for drought relief in 2005, taking surplus feed from his farm to Murchison, and has continued to donate and deliver hay to farmers ever since. Stan and Beryl received a Pride of Australia award in 2005.
2021 Young Citizen of the Year – Michael William Pearce
Michael is a final year undergraduate majoring in physics at the University of Melbourne (UoM). Following his undergraduate degree, Michael would like to pursue a Masters of Science.
Michael has contributed significantly to the broader community through his volunteer work, driven primarily by his passion for physics and the outdoors. In particular, Michael is conscious about ensuring that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) is accessible for all Victorians.
Through his work with the Melbourne Space Program, Michael is contributing to the development of student-led programs in the state, paving the way for more young Victorians to develop and contribute to exciting and pioneering projects.
Other volunteer roles included presenting science shows and workshops to secondary schools in metropolitan and regional Victoria, helping to coordinate the Victorian Young Physicists’ Tournament, as well as coordinating between different committees to deliver events.
Michael has volunteered across a wide range of organisations, including as a Scout leader, VicPhysics Teacher’s Network, Australian Institute of Physics, UoM Physics Students’ Society, Melbourne Space Program and Science Delivery UoM.
2021 Community Event of the Year – Kids Fun Run With Thomas
The Kids Fun Run with Thomas is the signature fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Emerald and District, raising more than $671,250 for children’s causes since 2002.
The fun run consists of 6 runs on the day; children aged 3–8 years run against Thomas the Tank Engine for the first 5 runs and children aged 9–12 years run against Puffing Billy for the sixth run. In keeping with the fun run’s theme of ‘kids helping kids’, all money raised has been donated to organisations that support children in the local area.
The event has grown to be a family fun day, involving local community groups and featuring activities such as rides on Thomas the Tank Engine, a community market, live music performances and entertainment. The event is supported by local businesses and community groups. More than 460 children and their families participated in the 2019 event, with more than 100 volunteers working to make the day a success.