2021 Australia Day Award winners

President of Bayside Community Emergency Relief group, Deb Brook is Bayside’s Citizen of the Year 2021.

Announced at the Australia Day Awards ceremony held at Sandringham Yacht Club, Deb Brook was presented the award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Bayside through her work mobilising and educating the community to effectively help those in need. 

Alongside a large group of committed volunteers, Deb works tirelessly to provide rapid response support in emergency situations including bushfires, COVID-19, escaping family violence and more.

During the January 2020 bushfires, Bayside Community Emergency Relief mobilised over 6300 people in the Bayside Community to donate requested items for fire ravaged communities and wildlife shelters affected.

Bayside Mayor, Cr Laurence Evans OAM congratulated Ms Brook and said the award recognises her ongoing commitment to helping others.

“Deb has done an extraordinary job in co-ordinating community members who want to volunteer or donate to help others. We know Bayside is a kind and connected community and Deb’s work as part of Bayside Emergency Relief Group is giving people the opportunity to help in meaningful ways,” Cr Evans said.

“Deb sets an example of what it means to be truly committed to community, helping those well beyond Bayside’s borders. She is an outstanding member of our community and Bayside is lucky to have her.”

“All the individuals and organisations recognised through these awards are making a wonderful contribution to our Bayside community and should be extremely proud of their achievements,” he said.

The 2021 Young Citizen of the Year was awarded to Sam Higgins for his leadership as a young person living with cerebral palsy.  Last year, Sam shared his story on ABC Radio through the Take Over Melbourne initiative inspiring many to not let anything get in the way of achieving their dreams.

The Senior Citizen of the Year Award went to community man Derek Jones to recognise his contribution to keeping Bayside beautiful. As the convenor of the Friends of Bayside Road program, Derek has enthusiastically and effectively driven FoBR administration and management, set strategic directions and maintained team morale.

The Community Event of the Year Award went to Bayside Community Emergency Relief Inc for the COVID comfort packs. BCER donated 538 COVID comfort packs to residents in non-for-profit aged care centres and 200 comfort packs for children displaced by family violence. Each pack was carefully assembled by the hands of volunteers over a number of days. 

The Environment award for an individual went to John Eichler in recognition of his extraordinary voluntary contribution to the photo documentation of the flora, fungi and fauna of Bayside and his high degree of skill as a scientific photographer.

Jacqueline Pascari         

Jacqueline raised over $11000 in Remembrance Day Poppy Sales for Hampton RSL in addition to over $3000 on Anzac Day. In January 2020 Jacqueline ran Operation Angel and brought thousands of volunteers from the community locally and surrounds to pack donated and purchased hygiene and nutrition kits for exhausted firefighters battling blazes. She drove trucks to fire zones twice weekly to drop essential relief packages behind fire lines.

Lisa Grant

Lisa Grant has coordinated the setup of Bayside Community Hub Facebook Account connecting the community to service, events and important information. Lisa has expanded the Bayside Community Hub through the creation of a sub group to incorporate a babysitting and business directory. Currently the Bayside Community Hub has over 22,000 members.

Emma Olivier

Emma Olivier is a member of Black Rock Life Saving Club and Victoria's first one-armed lifesaver. She is an advocate of accessibility in Bayside as well as a committee member of Black Rock Life Saving Club involved in fundraising for the clubhouse replacement.

Grant Holland  

Grant is the CEO of Bayside registered charitable foundation honoring and continuing the work of Sir George & Lady May Holland. The Holland Foundation core program is an on-site retail and office administration training program for unemployed, overseas arrivals, mothers returning to the workplace, people of all abilities etc. Grant and his team have raised over $1.7 million dollars in equipment, food and material aid donations to local families and organizations in the last 11 years.

Jeff Shaw

Jeff is CEO & Founder of Disability Support Service; Give a Care Pty Ltd and not for profit; The Give a Care Foundation. Jeff is a staunch advocate for people with a disability to receive quality, respectful support. Jeff is leading the charge by raising awareness of disability, and how as a community, we can join together to make a difference in the lives of people with different abilities.

Stuart Worn

Over the last 18 months, Stuart has been a tireless leader of the community campaign to have gates installed at the deadly and well-used Grenville Street pedestrian rail crossing in Hampton. Thanks to Stuart’s determination, evidence based and multifaceted advocacy, the State Government has recently commenced the long overdue safety upgrade at the crossing and it is expected to reopen in early 2021.

Luke Richards

Luke is an Ambassador for Movember and BeyondBlue. He has lived with mental illness since the age of 11, survived suicide and recovered from addiction. 4 years ago, he decided to start sharing his story publicly to help raise awareness of recovery from mental illness and the importance of getting help if you are struggling. He uses ultra-marathon swimming events as a platform to show people how your life can change.

Helen Curphey 

Helen (also known as Maria) has been the Leader of Advantage Scouts since it's conception. In this time she has changed the lives of the youth she leads remarkably. They are more confident, happy and feel connected to a community. This extends out to their families which feel a great deal of support from the group.

Jane-Maree Michaelis  

Jane-Maree is a group leader at 5th Sandringham Scouts. She has in the past 2 years grown the 5th Sandringham Scouts from 15 to 80 members, and has created a new section called Advantage Scouts as an alternative program for youth with additional needs. She is a strong advocate for the scouting movement and enjoys being involved with young people.

Nicholas Layton             

Nicholas Layton made a World Deaf Record in swimming 50 meters butterfly on the 27th of November 2020 and is an outstanding swimming champion with many wins in different championships in Australia. Nicholas is a true example of an incredible young athlete, smart student and dedicated swimmer.

Evan Lewis        

Evan has shown incredible dedication to 5th Sandringham Scout Group. Evan mentors other young scouts, steps up and volunteers and shows great leadership skills. More recently, at his own cost he attended the New Zealand Jamboree last January so Scouts could be represented and provided with support.

Lily Adams

Lily is the leader of the Minties Netball Club, Net Set Go program. The program commenced two years ago and has quadrupled in size. Lily’s innovation in delivering the program has seen a higher level of skills development by participants, greater engagement with parents and in 2020 won the Netball Victoria Net Set Go Centre of the Year.

Mia Eng             

Mia is a young climate emergency activist in Bayside. She is a passionate climate advocate, volunteer and speaker. Mia started the Bayside branch of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, running monthly meetings to work on various campaigns and is also the Youth Liaison Officer for the Bayside Climate Crisis Action Group (BCCAG), the onboarding coordinator for Schools Strike for Climate Melbourne and part of the Firbank Grammar School Environmental Action Group and Climate Live Australia team.

Lilian Mayer

Lilian is a young climate emergency activist in Bayside. She is a passionate climate advocate, volunteer and speaker. Lilian is a member of the Firbank Grammar School Environmental Action Group (EAG), Bayside Climate Crisis Action Group (BCCAG), Schools Strike for Climate (SS4C), Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC), Fridays 4 Futures (F4F).

Mairi McIntosh

Mairi is the President of Beaumaris RSL Women's Auxiliary. Mairi has tirelessly worked for the Women's Auxiliary over many years and has been actively involved in fundraising activities in support of veterans and their families.

Terry Reynolds 

Over a span of 50 years Terry Reynolds has provided conservation and community work in Bayside that that has led to amazing outcomes. His achievements include: organising a group of volunteers to clean out blackberry and bone seed infestation, rehabilitating the 60 acre Picnic Point foreshore, rehabilitating the reef at the end of Jetty Road and more.

Sue Steele         

Sue commenced her community involvement as a member of the Steering Committee for the Bayside U3A in 2012. It was not long after that she took up the role of Course Co-ordinator, a pivotal position she still holds. She volunteers her time of a minimum of 25 hours per week to meet the demands of the fast-growing club.

Arthur Hubbard

Arthur has been an active community leader and volunteer in the Bayside area, and a member of the Brighton Rotary since 1992. Arthur contributes to the Bayside Community in his volunteer role as President for BayCISS and as an active member of the Rotary Club of Brighton. In his capacity at BayCISS, Arthur has been an invaluable contributor responsible for guidance, strategic direction, governance, compliance and strong leadership.

Ron Smith         

Ron Smith has supported the scouting movement over a lifetime in particular the Black Rock Scout Group. Ron worked tirelessly managing the building and supporting the 5th Sandringham Scouts until the building closed.

Ian Sandell        

Ian has dedicated so much of his life to Scouting. He is over 85 and works tirelessly on maintenance on Scout properties. Ian is an active participant at every working bee and has spent many weeks building new equipment sheds and shelving them to enable the scouts to access their equipment safely.

Christine Logan

Christine Logan volunteers her time to ensure Bayside U3A administration operates smoothly and efficiently. Since 2015 Christine has been fulfilling the role of Office Manager and she has been the glue that keeps the Bayside U3A running efficiently. Christine dedicates a minimum of 25 hours per week to oversee a team of up to 40 volunteers including organising rosters, scheduling training for the volunteers, maintaining office supplies, answering phones, attending to office maintenance issues and ensuring that all membership records are kept current and accurate.

Sylvester Kroyherr

Sylvester is a well-known volunteer throughout the community and is currently the Vice President of the Seniors Russian Social Club "Friendship", co-ordinating excursions and conducting the monthly meetings. 

Barry Scott

Barry is the current President of the Sandringham Life Activities Club coordinating and organising walking groups and tours. Barry worked alongside Council to ensure a smooth club location move and helped facilitate renovations. 

Dr Valerie Tarrant

Valerie is a founding member of the Black Rock and Sandringham Conservation Association and advocated to Council to establish a Community Plant Nursery. She is also a published author and in 2015 was a recipient of an OAM for so many years of hard work, dedication and success in conserving the natural environment. 

Sandy Street Art Project – Sandy Primary Rainbow Caterpillar  

The Sandringham Street Art Project teamed up with Sandringham Primary School to paint a giant caterpillar over hundreds of metres on the hoarding. This project brought the school community together in a happy and constructive way after a particularly difficult year for the school during COVID and a major fire.

The Give a Care Foundation – Because We Care Campaign

“Because We Care” ran from March through October of 2020 and involved deliveries of food and basic household necessities to the most vulnerable people in the Bayside community including those living with a disability. Over the course of the COVID-19 lockdown “Because We Care” made over 200 deliveries, assisting approximately 100 Bayside households access food and basic household items.

Bayside U3A Bayside – An evening with Rod Quantock and Trivia Night

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Bayside U3A had to suspend all face to face courses. Thinking outside the square, the committee decided to run an online event with comedian Rod Quantock OAM. The event provided laughs, community connection and attracted over 100 participants – many of whom were new to using Zoom.

Hampton Community Centre – Ludstone Street Deliveries

Hampton Community Centre liaised with local resources to provide fresh vegetables and bread to isolated seniors on a weekly basis.  Provision of these items enabled the staff at Hampton Community Centre to continue interacting with residents during lockdown, providing light touch welfare check ins and relevant referrals to support services.

Hampton Lifesaving Club – Beach Access Day

This was a day for people with all abilities to experience the beach. On Beach Access Day many people experienced for the first time water in the bay with access to two floating wheelchairs and beach matting.  Hampton Life Saving club made everyone feel welcomed and part of the community.

Friends of Black Rock House – Black Rock House Paranormal Tour

Black Rock House Paranormal Tours held this special event before COVID restrictions. Guests were asked to wear their spookiest costumes and special tracking devices were used to detect the movements within the House - and there were many, much to the delight of the guests.

Boombox Events FReeZa Committee – Sound Bites

Enthusiastic committee members developed Sound Bites, an online platform designed for young artists to submit video footage of themselves performing, transforming their homes into their stage. Council live streamed each videoed performance to a captivated audience of music-loving Baysiders, all rocking simultaneously from their own homes in support of the young musicians. Sound Bites has been viewed by over 5,400 people on social media.

Sandy Street Art Group – Dogs of Bayside

The Dogs of Bayside is an art mural depicting the many varied variety of dogs at play in Bayside. The street art project created meaningful connections between the arts and the dog community.

Felix Hobbs       

As a young 8 year old Felix is a young Waste Warrior and feels deeply responsible for the rubbish he sees on our streets and beaches. Felix is often walking the beaches after a storm picking up rubbish along the foreshore, and encourages others to join in.