Honours are all yours

By Kath Gannaway
THE contribution made to Upper Yarra communities by two of the area’s most respected and loved members was recognised in the Australia Day Awards last week.
The late Ian De La Rue received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the annual honours list for services to business and commerce in the Upper Yarra Valley, especially his role in establishing community banks.
And Upper Yarra Rotarian and Launching Place resident Valda Woodman received the shire’s Citizen of the Year Award. The energetic 78-year-old has spent a lifetime caring for others as a carer and volunteer.
Mrs Woodman retired to Launching Place 20 years ago with her late husband, Fred Woodman.
She worked with Aboriginal mothers whose children had been taken into care at the Department of Aboriginal Affairs.
She also worked with girls at Kedesh Hostel in Kew where she saw 250 babies born and where she received a bravery award for rescuing some of the girls from a fire.
“There was a lot of heartache there, but a lot of fun as well,” she said.
As a member of the Rotary Club of Upper Yarra for the past six years Mrs Woodman’s organisational skills are highly valued.
She organises children’s trips to Portsea Camp, is the chief sausage-sizzle organiser and was the inspiration behind the club raising funds to build three houses in one of many tsunami-devastated areas of Sri Lanka. One of the houses will be named after her.
She is secretary of the Karinya Village aged-care units, regularly entertains residents of the Yarra Junction Aged Care Facility and plays the organ at the Uniting Church as well as serving on church committees. Mrs Woodman also volunteers her time at the diabetes supply office in Healesville.
Mr De La Rue, who died aged 58 in June last year, was involved in the Winterfest Committee, the Warburton Chamber of Commerce, the Advancement League and Bowls Club, and the Warburton Millgrove Football Club.
He was a founding member of the Warburton Bendigo Bank Branch and played a major role in establishing other community banks in Yarra Ranges townships.
He continued his contribution to community banks as a mentor and advisor to Bendigo Banks, both in Victoria and interstate.
Mr De La Rue’s widow, Margaret, said the award was a bittersweet honour. “I am sure he would be very proud. It’s just a shame he is not here to appreciate it,” she said.
“He was just trying to make a difference; I think he did that.”
Mr De La Rue was also honoured with the naming of an award after him, the inaugural Ian De La Rue Community Leadership Award, which was given to Yarra Glen resident and former professor of Botany at Melbourne University, Malcolm Calder.
He was instrumental in establishing the Steels Creek Community Centre, is involved in many environmental causes and has led the way with the Vision and Values of Yarra Glen program.
Two other residents, from Healesville and Yarra Glen, were recognised for their contributions in various fields.
Healesville resident and Wurundjeri elder Joy Wandin Murphy was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (OA) for service to the Indigenous community.
Dr Richard Gutch, of Healesville, received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to medicine as a general practitioner and through executive roles with a number of medical organisations, including the Asthma Foundation, of which he was a founding member.