A senior public servant and a former Dean of the College of Divinity are among Anglicans in Sydney given Australia Day Honours.
“Congratulations to the outstanding Australians recognised in today’s Honours List,” said the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley in announcing the list. “The recipients have had a significant impact at the local, national and international level and are, quite simply, inspiring.”
There were 736 awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia. See the list here.
Among them, Professor Emerita Diane Speed (above right) was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to tertiary education, and to the Anglican Church of Australia.
Professor Speed was Dean and Chief Executive Officer of the Sydney College of Divinity for fourteen years and has been Professor Emerita, since 2021. She also lectured in the Department of English, University of Sydney for more than 40 years. As a member of St Mark’s, Darling Point, she held several parish positions including as a Bible Study leader and lay reader. She has served the diocese in a number of roles including as the Anglican representative on the NSW Ecumenical Council.
Veterans and war commemoration
Senior Sydney Anglican layman, Dr Darren Mitchell (above left) was given the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his service to veterans. Dr Mitchell, a Churchill Fellow in 2010, was Director of the Office for Veterans' Affairs in New South Wales and Director of the Anzac Memorial at Hyde Park, from 2007-2014.
Dr Mitchell has been active in a number of war commemoration committees and events, including the ANZAC Dawn Service Trust, the Battle for Australia Association, the Korean War Memorial Association and the National Boer War Memorial Association.
As a member of St Barnabas, Broadway, Dr Mitchell has been extensively involved in service to his parish and the diocese. He was a parish warden for 10 years as well as a lay reader. He has also served for many years on the Diocesan Social Issues Committee.
Also honoured with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) was Mrs Aileen Davis from the Oaks Anglican Church (above). Mrs Davis was honoured for service to people with disability. She has held several senior positions with Riding for the Disabled Association NSW over 50 years, having been a founding member of the organisation in 1972.
Apart from those named on the honours list, the music director at St Matthew’s Manly, Dave Nduwimana sang the National Anthem at the Australia Day Concert at the Opera House. (see story here)
Have we missed anyone? Please let us know here.
Main photo: Dr Mitchell speaking to the Battle for Australia Association and Professor Speed (Photo courtesy of the Sydney College of Divinity)
