This year’s King Island Australia Day holiday celebrations were held at the King Island Boat Club at Grassy Harbour and recognised Linda Payne as the 2024 King Islander of the Year.
The Community Organisation of the Year was awarded to the King Island RSL sub-branch. “As Mayor and on behalf of all King Islanders I congratulate both Linda Payne and our RSL Club (Sub-branch) for their Australia Day recognition this year. Linda and the RSL epitomise volunteer service for the benefit of King Island and are an inspiration to us all”, Mayor Blackie said.
The formalities began at 11am and the attendance, while reasonable, continued to follow the decline in numbers of recent years. Participation increased when families with young children arrived for the post-ceremony activities of the colour run along the breakwater, and a bit of wharf fishing. The council provided $5 food vouchers, which could be redeemed with food vendors.
The day commenced with MC and King Island District High School Year 7 student Heath Blake welcoming the community and visitors and introducing King Island’s Australia Day Ambassador, Dr Christina Henri, a visual and performing artist, who is on the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women, 2013 and is Tasmanian Senior Australian of the Year, 2014.
Dr Henri spoke of her heritage cloth bonnet projects, which symbolise the lives of 25,566 convict women, their children and lost babies transported to Australia between 1788-1853 and of King Island’s connections with the project, particularly recognising the previously unrecognised women on the Barque Neva; the King Island women who washed calico in the waters of King Island and sewed bonnets, which are now on permanent display in Cobh, County Cork Heritage Centre and at the Reekara Community Centre.
Prior to the awards presentation, Mayor Blackie said in his address that Australia Day is important to him personally and it remains firmly part of King Island. “It is an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the individuals and organisations that have made a noteworthy contribution to our community,” he said.
The 2024 Community Event or Organisation of the Year went to the King Island RSL sub-branch and was accepted by acting president Gary Barker.
“The RSL has, over 100 years, continuously supported defence veterans and their families on King Island, all done voluntarily,” Mayor Blackie said. “In 2023 our RSL Club held two significant commemorative events honouring the sacrifice of veterans and King Island military history.
“The first of these events was the Commemorative Service for the Beaufort bomber crash on King Island in 1943.
“Last year’s large commemorative event honoured the four-crew killed in that crash and the three islanders who died serving in the RAAF during World War 2. This very successful commemoration attracted national attention and involved the RAAF from East Sale (where the aircraft was based at the time) current and former service personnel and most importantly family descendants of those killed. The second very successful RSL event was an audio-visual presentation of the King Island World War 2 Comfort Fund.
“The Island’s fund, led by Jack Marshall, raised money, and sent comfort parcels to service personnel throughout the world. It was the only fund in the nation that was not required to work through the state branch.
In his award acceptance speech, Mr Barker outlined the events and acknowledged former RSL sub-branch president Tom Shaw and his wife Mel, who left the island last week. “Tom, ex-navy, accepted the RSL presidency and is responsible for reviving the sub-branch. Membership was waning and he, with the support of his wife Mel and team reinvigorated our local branch,” Mr Barker said. He highlighted the significance of the Commemoration Ceremony for the descendants of the four-crew killed in 1943. Families were unable to attend 80 years ago, and their deaths today remain part of their families’ stories.
“The sub-branch is truly appreciative of the Comfort Fund letter transcribers over the last ten years, as should the community: Ann Ghazarian, supported by Ann Honess, Sophie Thorn and Trish Clemons,” he said.
Mayor Blackie said 2024 Citizen of the Year Award winner Linda Payne could be recognised for so many reasons.
“Linda originally came to King Island to take up a teaching position at Reekara School. She is kind of still working there part-time today. Her teaching career gradually extended across both KIDHS and Reekara School,” he said.
“Linda has had extensive involvement in a range of community groups over many decades. However today I will focus on her more recent volunteer work as a member of our fantastic Lions Club, where she has over 25 years of dedicated service.
“Recently with Lions, Linda founded and established our LEO Club which is all about fostering young people to serve our community and develop new skills and connections under the Lions umbrella. It was Linda’s drive and fostering the potential in our young people that has taken our LEO Club to national and international acclaim.
“Of course, Linda has so many other significant achievements ascribed to her, but she would always humbly come back to teacher, mother, now grandmother, farmer, and Lion. Linda is a very humble person and we thought she may not accept Islander of the Year for that reason. This huge accolade had been decided by your peers Linda, congratulations, and thanks for accepting it on our behalf,”
The King Island Council did not receive any nomination for the Young King Islander of the Year, so it was not awarded.