Former Young man William (Bill) Alfred Murray is among the 416 men and women in the country who will be receiving an Order of Australia Medal today, Australia Day.
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Bill, now a resident of Bulli, has been recognised for his extensive list of community service, particularly through fire and emergency services.
The 73-year-old has been a volunteer in the State Emergency Service since 1978, at one stage as air liaison officer for the Illawarra South Coast region headquarters and deputy regional controller for six years.
He was air base operator during the Gunnedah and Moree floods in 2012 and the Queensland floods in 2010.
He’s been a member of the Rural Fire Service and National Parks and Wildlife Service (for five years as an honorary ranger) since 2001, acting as air marshal during the Picton bush fires.
Bill has been a volunteer at Bulli District Hospital since 2003 and an examiner with the NSW branch of the Royal Life Saving Society for 17 years.
He’s been a Legatee with Legacy since 2013 and has taken part in the prestigious Camp Quality Illawarra Truck Convoy (for kids with cancer) for three years.
Bill’s list of accolades in recognising him for his tireless and selfless efforts is almost just as long.
He was named Illawarra Volunteer of the Year in 2013, runner-up in the Wollongong Citizen of the Year Awards in 2013, nominated for the National Australia Day Council’s Senior Australian of the Year award in 2012 and received a National Volunteer Award (2012).
Bill said he attributed his years serving the community to his upbringing and living a hard, rural life in Young.
“I was surrounded by poverty yet exposed to the influence of excessive wealth by a few of the rural gentry. We survived on very little and had to live on bread and fat for days when we ran out of food, waiting for supplies,” he said.
“This was a humbling experience. It