Geoffrey Rush Australian of the Year
Geoffrey Rush has been named Australian of the year - marking his extraordinary 40 year contribution to cinema and the performing arts.
He is pictured above reading the news in Stage Whispers Magazine. ( OK that is a joke)
But we at Stage Whispers salute him and laud the decision to recognise a leader in the performing arts for this honour.
The second Australian of the Year award in 1961 went to Dame Joan Sutherland.
Sir Robert Helpmann followed in 1965.
But since then many more sportsmen and woman have got the gong.
Here is the complete list courtesy of Wikipedia.
More reaction to follow.
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| 1960 | Sir Macfarlane Burnet | OM | 1899 | 1985 | virologist; 1960 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine co-recipient |
| 1961 | Joan Sutherland | CBE | 1926 | 2010 | opera singer |
| 1962 | Jock Sturrock | 1915 | 1997 | yachtsman | |
| 1963 | Sir John Eccles | 1903 | 1997 | neurophysiologist; 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine co-recipient | |
| 1964 | Dawn Fraser | 1937 | swimmer; gold medal winner at 1956, 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympic Games | ||
| 1965 | Robert Helpmann | CBE | 1909 | 1986 | actor; ballet dancer; director |
| 1966 | Sir Jack Brabham | OBE | 1926 | racing driver; Formula One champion in 1959, 1960 and 1966 | |
| 1967 | The Seekers | N/A | music group | ||
| 1968 | Lionel Rose | MBE | 1948 | 2011 | boxer; first Aboriginal Australian to win world boxing title (1968) |
| 1969 | The Rt. Hon. Lord Casey | GCMG CH DSO MC PC | 1890 | 1976 | politician, diplomat, Governor-General of Australia (1965–1969) |
| 1970 | Cardinal Sir Norman Gilroy | KBE | 1896 | 1977 | clergyman; first Australian-born Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church |
| 1971 | Evonne Goolagong | 1951 | tennis player | ||
| 1972 | Shane Gould | 1956 | swimmer; winner of three gold medals, a silver and bronze in 1972 Summer Olympics. | ||
| 1973 | Patrick White | 1912 | 1990 | author; 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature recipient | |
| 1974 | Sir Bernard Heinze | 1894 | 1982 | conductor | |
| 1975 (joint recipients) |
John Cornforth MAJGEN Alan Stretton |
AO CBE |
1917 1922 |
scientist; 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recipient Australian Army officer; managed Cyclone Tracy cleanup |
|
| 1976 | LTCOL Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop | CMG OBE | 1907 | 1993 | military surgeon; World War II prisoner of war |
| 1977 (joint recipients) |
Raigh Roe Sir Murray Tyrrell |
CBE KCVO CBE |
1922 1913 |
1994 |
president of the Country Women's Association Official Secretary to six Governors-General |
| 1978 (joint recipients) |
Alan Bond Galarrwuy Yunupingu |
1938 1948 |
businessman native title activist |
||
| 1979 (joint recipients) |
Neville Bonner Harry Butler |
OBE |
1922 1930 |
1999 |
first Aboriginal elected to the Parliament of Australia naturalist |
| 1980 | Manning Clark | AC | 1915 | 1991 | historian |
| 1981 | Sir John Crawford | 1910 | 1984 | economist | |
| 1982 | Sir Edward Williams | KBE KCMG QC | 1921 | 1999 | judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland; chairman of the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games Foundation |
| 1983 | Robert de Castella | MBE | 1957 | marathon runner | |
| 1984 | Lowitja O'Donoghue | CBE | 1932 | Aboriginal health worker; inaugural chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (1990–1996) | |
| 1985 | Paul Hogan | 1939 | actor | ||
| 1986 | Dick Smith | 1944 | entrepreneur | ||
| 1987 | John Farnham | AO | 1949 | singer, entertainer | |
| 1988 | Kay Cottee | AO | 1954 | first female sailor to perform a single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation of the world (1988) | |
| 1989 | Allan Border | AO | 1955 | Australian cricket team captain | |
| 1990 | Fred Hollows | 1921 | 1993 | ophthalmologist; founder of The Fred Hollows Foundation | |
| 1991 | Peter Hollingworth | AC OBE | 1935 | bishop; Governor-General of Australia (2001–2003) | |
| 1992 | Mandawuy Yunupingu | 1956 | singer, Yothu Yindi | ||
| 1993 | No award made: award dating system changed | ||||
| 1994 | Ian Kiernan | OAM | 1940 | environmentalist; founder of Clean Up Australia and Clean Up the World | |
| 1995 | Arthur Boyd | AC OBE | 1920 | 1999 | painter |
| 1996 | John Yu | AM | 1934 | paediatrician | |
| 1997 | Peter Doherty | AC | 1940 | veterinarian; immunologist; 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recipient | |
| 1998 | Cathy Freeman | 1973 | athlete; also Young Australian of the Year in 1990 | ||
| 1999 | Mark Taylor | AO | 1964 | Australian cricket team captain and air conditioning expert | |
| 2000 | Sir Gustav Nossal | AC CBE | 1931 | biologist | |
| 2001 | General Peter Cosgrove | AC MC | 1947 | Chief of the Australian Army (2000–2002); leader of the International Force for East Timor; Chief of the Australian Defence Force (2002–2005) | |
| 2002 | Patrick Rafter | 1972 | tennis player | ||
| 2003 | Fiona Stanley | AC | 1946 | epidemiologist | |
| 2004 | Steve Waugh | AO | 1965 | Australian cricket team captain and humanitarian | |
| 2005 | Fiona Wood | AM | 1958 | plastic surgeon; worked with victims of the 2002 Bali bombings | |
| 2006 | Ian Frazer | 1953 | immunologist | ||
| 2007 | Tim Flannery | 1956 | scientist; global warming activist | ||
| 2008 | Lee Kernaghan | OAM | 1964 | singer | |
| 2009 | Mick Dodson | AM | 1950 | Indigenous Leader | |
| 2010 | Patrick McGorry | AO | 1953 | psychiatrist | |
| 2011 | Simon McKeon | 1955 | philanthropist businessman | ||
| 2012 | Geoffrey Rush | 1951 | Australian actor and film producer | ||
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