Goulburn to recognise exceptional community contributors

A high school student with an exceptional record of work in mental health, a soccer referee with a passion for the game and a woman who helps in developing companion animals are among the nominees for Goulburn’s Australia Day Awards.

Goulburn’s 2022 Australia Day Citizen of the Year Heather West has set a high bar for this year’s winner, and the latest nominees are continuing the city’s fine reputation for volunteering. Several outstanding community events will also be recognised at the awards. The winners will be announced on Australia Day, 26 January, at the Goulburn Historic Waterworks, Marsden Weir, off Fitzroy Street.

Youth Citizen of the Year nominee:

Thomas Skeffington for his immense contribution to charity events and mental health initiatives during his time at Trinity Catholic College. Thomas has received many prestigious school awards for his outstanding commitment and involvement within the school community. He is now involved with an Australian charity, the Indigo Foundation.

Citizen of the Year Nominees:

Jason Broadbent for his contribution and services to the Southern Tablelands Football Association and soccer in the Goulburn Mulwaree region. Giving many hours voluntarily, Jason is passionate, organised and hardworking. He spends hours preparing soccer fields and refereeing, all for the love of the game and the Goulburn community.

Louise Allison for her valuable contribution as a volunteer with the Canine Court Companion Program within the Goulburn Mulwaree community over many years.

Community Event of the Year nominees:

Frostival Goulburn – free ice-skating over three days with live music, a foodie lane and much more. Attracting 10,000 people, the community event received state recognition at the NSW Parliament Legislative Assembly.

Rocky Hill Musical Theatre Company – The Wizard of Oz Rocky Hill Musical, presenting five performances over three days in front of packed-out audiences at Goulburn Performing Arts Centre. The aim was to foster a deep respect for the performing arts within the Goulburn community and to inspire people’s passion in performance through the power of musical theatre.

Convoy for Kids Goulburn – Convoy day for kids, which raised more than $100,000 for local children in need. About 240 trucks formed the convoy, followed by a carnival at the Goulburn Recreation Area that offered rides and entertainment. Volunteers gave many hours of their own time planning and executing the events.

The Goulburn Car and Motorcycle Show – Attracted 500 cars and motorcycles and 2000 spectators while raising money to help Canassist, The Crescent School and the PCYC Rise Up Youth Program.

Junior Sportsperson of the Year nominees:

Elsie Apps for cycling achievements with the NSW junior track team. Elise was the Australian champion in the National Road Titles and gold medallist in the NSW State championships.

Costa Toparis for outstanding results representing Australia at age 15 in karting and Formula racing motorsports. Costa has recently joined Carlin, one of the world’s premier driving teams outside of Formula One, and relocated to Surrey, United Kingdom, to continue motor racing.

Ruby McIntosh for district swimming, district cross country and district athletics. Ruby has also represented Goulburn in several team sports, including tennis, touch football, soccer, netball and hockey.

Joshua Kalozi for athletics and long jump. Joshua represented Australia in the under 18s at the Oceania Championships in 2022. He broke the 110m hurdles record and won a gold medal. He is No 3 in the world athletics rankings.

Aaron Morris for being an all-schools athletics finalist. He also competed at the NSWCCC Athletics where he received a gold medal for 12yrs 100m, 200m and long jump. He has also been the Canberra Goulburn Archdiocesan athletics age champion and set the Canberra Goulburn Archdiocesan 100m dash record.

Isabelle Galland for representing the U16s hockey team at the NSW Combined Catholic Colleges and being inducted on the NSWCCC sporting honour roll. Isabelle has competed at many hockey championships at state level from under 15s to under 18s, and for the Goulburn Indoor Hockey rep team at state championships and NSWCCC school hockey.

Georgie Smithers represented the NSW U18s hockey team, NSW U21 indoor hockey team, NSW U21 squad field hockey and NSWCCC school team hockey, and was selected for the Australia Futures Group (hockey).

Jett Edwards for representing NSW in state basketball and playing in the NSW Country Basketball Championships. Jett was also named the basketball junior representative player of the year in Moss Vale.

Senior Sportsperson of the Year nominee

Ellen Ryan for representing the Australian lawn bowls team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and becoming the first Australian lawn bowler to win gold after claiming the women’s singles. Ellen also was the first player in history to take home gold in the singles and pairs.