Australia Day Award Winners 2023 Announced

At today’s Australia Day awards, Bernadette O’Neill and Beverley Goodall were both presented with Citizen of the Year awards in Gympie’s Memorial Park. Gympie Regional Council Mayor Glen Hartwig said the awards recognised the hard work and commitment of the recipients in helping others in the region.

“On behalf of Gympie Regional Council, I would like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate Bernadette and Bev for their years of service to our community,” Mayor Hartwig said. 

“It takes a special person to give so much of their time to help others. The committee believed that both Bernadette and Bev were very deserving winners, which is why they shared this year’s award”. 

Five other award recipients were announced as part of the Australia Day celebrations, including:

 - Young Citizen of the Year Award: Austin Van Twest
 - Sports Award: Xander Jacobi
 - Creative Award: Hayley James
 - Community Group, Event or Organisation of the Year Award: Little Kids Day Out 
 - Resilience Award: Rachael Lehmann

“The Australia Day awards is one of my favourite events each year because I get to share the stage with some of our region’s most talented and hardest working residents,” Mayor Hartwig said. 

“I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome 17 new Australian citizens to our region. On behalf of council, I would like to congratulate all our Australia Day award nominees, recipients and also our newest citizens.” 

For a full list of winners please visit  Australia Day Awards – Gympie Regional Council

Below: Photo of 2023 Australia Day Award Winners, Beverley Goodall and Bernadette O'Neill.