By Justin Flynn
Ten Greater Geelong residents have been honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the General Division as part of Australia Day honours this year.
Dividing her time between Barwon Heads and Meredith, Dawn Macdonald’s service to golf and to the community was recognised.
Mrs Macdonald served as a Barwon Heads Golf Club committee member for 15 years and is a five-time club champion.
She has been a member since 1966 and was made a life member in 2022. She is the only living life member of the club.
A former state and national player, Mrs McDonald was Golf Victoria’s volunteer of the year in 2014.
“I started playing golf when I left school when I was 15,” she said.
“And just living in a country, it was easy to take up golf. I was playing tennis as well, but golf came very naturally to me.”
However, it’s her volunteer work that Mrs Macdonald holds most dearly. She is a life governor of Ballarat Grammar School as well.
Mrs Macdonald has given countless hours to the Red Cross and local schools as well as being former trustee and secretary for Meredith Cemetery Trust, church organist at St Joseph’s Parish of Meredith since 1996 and a foundation member and volunteer at Meredith Kindergarten from the 1970s.
“I just feel that the community side of it is probably just as, if not more, important than the golf,” she said.
“From playing the piano and all sorts of functions at churches and everything else in a country town. That’s been my life.
“I’m honoured and humbled. It never entered my head that the life I’ve been living was that important to people.”
Local footy followers will have heard of Cyril ‘Bill’ McMaster.
Mr McMaster played 61 games and booted 75 goals for Geelong and was coach for 44 games in 1971 and 1972. He was awarded life membership in 1976 and played in the 1951 and 1952 VFL premierships.
He is also a life member of the Hampden Football League and a long list of accolades includes the Australian Sports Medal in 2000, Jack Titus Service Award 1994, RJ Hickey Award 1993.
Highton’s Dr Joan Benjamin has devoted a lot of her life to tertiary education.
A lecturer at Melbourne, Monash and Deakin Universities, Dr Benjamin has taught for 50 years.
She has been chair of the State Youth Council of Victoria, director and board member of Northern Futures, chair of the Victorian Council of Youth Affairs and national convenor of Community Australia among many other roles.
North Shore Football Netball Club life member and hall of famer John Bligh services to Australian Rules football is well known.
He has had a range of roles with junior football teams including North Shore, St Peters and Drysdale from the 1960s to the 2000s, coach from 1965 to 2001 and was made life member of the Geelong District Football League in 2012.
Rippleside’s Wayne Buttner’s career in print media has spanned half a century.
He was general manager of the Geelong Advertiser from 2011 to 2012 and 2017 to 2020 a sub-editor at The Herald and Weekly Times in the 1980s.
Mr Buttner was a voluntary board member for the Geelong Supercats, a member of the Committee for Geelong and the Western Australia Olympic Council.
David Greenwood’s service to the performing arts and to business is evident through being founder and managing director of CentreStage Performing Arts Academy since 2010 and an ensemble member/supporter of Geelong Lyric Theatre Society since 2019.
He received the Edith Harrhy Award for the Victorian Music Theatre Guild in 2019, Geelong Business Excellence Award 2019, Youth Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 and Youth Business Person of the Year 2007.
Ian Thomson has spent many years volunteering for Rotary and the CFA.
The Grovedale resident has given more than 60 years to Rotary Club of Corio (and Corio Bay), providing assistance at fundraisers, the Rotary Art Show, manning the gates at the Geelong races, selling raffle tickets, and providing support wherever and whenever he is asked to.
He has been a Youth Exchange councillor on six occasions with help from wife Noelene and family.
Mr Thomson was heavily involved with the growth of Probus in District 9780. and has also been involved with the Windmill Jelderks Trust from 2010 to 2020 as a former chair.
Leopold’s Ted Pitfield was honoured for service to youth and to the community, particularly with Scouts Victoria.
Mr Pitfield has given countless hours to scouts at Geelong, Newtown, Bell Post Hill, Norlane and Corio.
Awards include Silver Kangaroo and 50-year service in 2021, Silver Emu 2014, distinguished service 2008, Medal of Merit 1980, Baden-Powell Scout Award 1973 and Norlane RSL Anzac Award 1986.
He has been a committee member and treasurer of Leopold War Memorial and president of Geelong Try Boys Brigade.
Bruce Wilson of Barwon Heads was honoured for service to the community and to agricultural education.
Mr Wilson was chair of Marcus Oldham College from 2008 to 2021 and co-founder and inaugural chair of Southern Farming Systems.
He received the HV McKay Science Award, named after the man who invented the Sunshine Harvester, in 1997. He has been chair of Western Pork since 1997 and former CFA captain at Winchelsea.
Cathryn Nixon of St Leonards was honoured for service to choral music and to conservation and the environment.
She received the Vida Goldstein Award for Women in the Arts in 2002 and has been general manager visitor experience at Werribee Open Range Zoo and co-chief executive for Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies at Community Environment Park from 1995 to 2011 as well as founder and artistic director for Brunswick Women’s Choir.
