Australia Day honours in Bridgetown announced

Public service and private philanthropy will be honoured when the Bridgetown-Greenbushes shire celebrates Australia Day.

Leonie Eastcott has been named Citizen of the Year after Greenbushes’ Tidy Towns victory while Noel Holdsworth, who has a long history of philanthropy, is the inaugural Senior Citizen of the Year.

Shire president John Nicholas said the new senior category reflected the “enormous response” to the call for nominees.

“We take great pride in all our citizens, whether senior or not so senior,” he said.

St John volunteer Emily Rae will receive the Junior Citizenship Award, while the Blues at Bridgetown board will be honoured for reviving the town’s signature event.

Ms Eastcott’s award recognises two decades of voluntary service in Greenbushes, notably coordinating the campaign which secured the town’s win at the 2016 WA Tidy Town awards.

A founding member of the Greenbushes Eco Cultural Discovery Centre committee, she is a regular volunteer at community events and for the Catholic Church.

“You don’t go into doing these voluntary things to get awards and acclaim, but it’s very humbling and nice of the shire and the people nominating to put me forward,” she said.

Known for his work for Rotary’s Blackwood Marathon, Mr Holdsworth has also donated to important projects such as the new St John Ambulance subcentre and the swimming pool.

He regularly gives wood for community raffles, and is a long-time patron of the Bridgetown Bulldogs as well as supporting the Blackwood Women’s Group.

“I’m a bit surprised but I was nominated by some people. I’ve been around Bridgetown a long time,” he said.

Cr Nicholas will present the awards on January 26.