Diane coasts to an Australia Day honour with barbecue at home

Andrew Mathieson
WHEN Diane James invited her family around for an Australia Day barbecue they thought it was just in the name of patriotism.
But the national holiday took on a more personal significance than raising the flag and singing the national anthem.
Diane found breaking the news of her Order of Australia award while cooking a few snags tougher than receiving the honour itself.
“I had to tell my children about it in the morning because they were making excuses to do other things – they had better offers,” she laughed.
The mother-of-three earned the award for her work on the region’s seaside environment, including more than a decade in charge of Victorian Coastal Council, establishing marine parks, advising on a national action plan for salinity and water quality and securing international coastal agreements in East Asia.
“When I was a child we always went to the beach and we were very much a surfing family,” she explained.
“We had a beach house at Ocean Grove, so I later raised my three children in Ocean Grove. I’ve always had a connection with the coast.”
Other award winners in the Geelong area on Wednesday included Lara’s Bryan Woodford who received an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to people with disabilities.
Newtown’s Kathleen Lancaster also earned an OAM for her service with Australian Red Cross.
Clifton Springs’ Rex Ruwoldt, Queenscliff’s Bill Comerford and Moggs Creek’s Margaret MacDonald also won awards.
Australia Day also included honours for Geelong Grammar student Mariah Kennedy and Lara Lake Primary School pupil William Parrello. Corio MP Richard Marles named them the Geelong Young Leaders 2011 for their voluntary work.