2005 Sydney Harbour Award Winners
Friday, 4 March 2005
Ten people have tonight been honoured for their contribution to maintaining and celebrating the internationally renowned watery playground that is Sydney Harbour.
The 2005 Sydney Harbour Awards, which herald the start of Sydney Harbour Week, were presented before a 200-strong ‘who’s who of the harbour’ aboard the historic James Craig.
Awards were presented for excellence in the categories of Artist, Community, Environment, Heritage, Lifetime Achievement and Tourism. Two special awards were also presented, at the discretion of the Chairman of the Sydney Harbour Awards, Ian Kiernan AO. (full list below)
Mr Kiernan said the competition for the awards was strong with 41 nominations received.
“To qualify in any of the award categories, an individual or group must prove to have in some way encouraged people to care for and share Sydney Harbour by informing, educating or engaging the community,” Mr Kiernan said.
“For there to have been so many worthy nominations is a reflection of the passion the community has for the Harbour.”
Sydney Harbour Award Winners received hand-chiselled trophies – replicas of the Hornby Lighthouse, located at South Head, Sydney Harbour.
Volunteers from the Australian Heritage Fleet spent countless hours whittling the replica trophies of the lighthouse, which was built in 1858 after community outcry following two tragic shipwrecks in the area.
2005 Sydney Harbour Awards
Artist Award Winner – Peter Kingston
- Created 12 bronze sculptures which form the ‘comic walk’ at Lavender Bay
- Exhibited internationally and nationally at the Australian National Gallery, Art Gallery of New South Wales, and other public and private collections
- Was an artist and cartoonist at Luna Park until the fire in 1979
- Completed a series of works about Walsh Bay highlighting the heritage significance of these Harbour structures.
Community Award Winner – Bill Orme
- Volunteered time and skills, and successfully lobbied for improvement of pedestrian access, signage and links around the foreshore
- Worked with DIPNR and local councils to develop foreshore walking maps including Walking North Sydney brochure which highlights the best pedestrian links along the Harbour foreshore
- Contributed to the development and mapping of a walk called the Seven Bridges Walk around Sydney Harbour – encompassing the Harbour, Pyrmont, Anzac, Iron Cove, Gladesville, Tarban Creek and Fig Tree bridges.
Environment Award Winner – Trevor & Lerida Harrison
- Formed the Cremorne Point Bushcare Group in 1994, which they convene, and have since dedicated more than 1000 hours to the restoration of bushland in the area
- Have been interviewed for numerous educational documentaries and children’s education shows such as ABC’s Currawongs – Wolves with Wings, and Channel 10’s Totally Wild
- Joint winners of the 2001 Bushcare Legend Award.
Heritage Award Winner – John Books
- Recipient of an Order of Australia (OAM
- Recipient of a Centenary Medal
- Volunteered his boatbuilding and shipwright skills to the preservation of historic vessels in Sydney.
Lifetime Achievement Award Winner – Bill Barnett
- Holder of numerous sailing titles including Yachting Hall of Fame (WA) and State, national and world championships
- Sydney Flying Squadron foundation member
- Built two wooden 12-metre challengers for the America’s Cup – Dame Pattie (1967) and Gretel II (1970)
Tourism Award Winner – Pro Dive
- Taught thousands of residents and tourists to dive in Sydney Harbour
- Primary supporter of the Harbour Keepers program which surveys dive sites to check for number of fish, pests and any decline
- Active participant in Clean Up Australia Day
Chairman’s Special Award Winner - Robert Albert AO
- Sydney Maritime Museum patron
- Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron committee member
- Contributed more than $10 million to the restoration of the James Craig
- Contributed $1.2 million to the Sydney Heritage Fleet in 2003/04.
Chairman’s Special (posthumous) Award – Mary Shelley and Jack Clark
- Founded Friends of Cockatoo Island in 1995 and helped save the island from non-maritime related development through tireless lobbying
- Gave many interviews and wrote countless articles as spokespeople for the protection of Sydney Harbour from development and for future public access and use
- Co-authored Islands of Sydney Harbour. Mary also wrote Ships, Shores and Trading Ports.
Sydney Harbour Week is an initiative of Sydney Harbour Week Committee on behalf of Australian National Maritime Museum, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, Sydney Ports Corporation and NSW Maritime.
