59-555: Colleen Margaretta McCullough AO ( / m ə ˈ k ʌ l ə / ; married name Robinson , previously Ion-Robinson ; 1 June 1937 – 29 January 2015) was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being The Thorn Birds and The Ladies of Missalonghi . McCullough was born in 1937 in Wellington , in the Central West region of New South Wales , to James and Laurie McCullough. Her father
118-401: A ribbon development form strung along Taylors Road, with its boundaries marked by cattle grids on Taylors Road, New Cascade Road, Grassy Road, Douglas Drive and Ferny Lane. Central Taylors Road around the intersection with New Cascade Road forms the town's High Street or CBD and contains its major infrastructure . Shops, cafes, offices, service clubs, several tourist resort complexes and
177-600: A bow on the left shoulder, although they may wear the same insignia as males if so desired. A gold lapel pin for daily wear is issued with each badge of the order at the time of investiture; AK/AD and AC lapel pins feature a citrine central jewel, AO and AM lapel pins have a blue enamelled centre and OAM lapel pins are plain. The different levels of the order are awarded according to the recipients' levels of achievement: Since 1976 any Australian citizen may nominate any person for an Order of Australia award. People who are not Australian citizens may be awarded honorary membership of
236-561: A challenge to take the prime ministership in September 2015. Two months after coming into office, the new republican prime minister announced that the Queen had approved his request to amend the Order's letters patent and cease awards at this level. Existing titles would not be affected. The move was attacked by monarchists and praised by republicans. The amendments to the constitution of
295-663: A few residential properties line both sides of the street. The Bicentennial Complex on Taylors Road contains the main public buildings (Visitor Centre, Post Office, Customs & Immigration Offices and Liquor Bond Store), Rawson Hall and the Lions Park sports grounds and oval. Other public buildings are the Norfolk Island Hospital on Grassy Road and the Norfolk Telecom Offices on New Cascade Road. There are no real side streets or blocks below
354-665: A medical doctor. Instead, she switched to neuroscience and worked at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney. In 1963, McCullough moved for four years to the United Kingdom; at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London she met the chairman of the neurology department at Yale University who offered her a research associate job at Yale. She spent 10 years (April 1967 to 1976) researching and teaching in
413-589: A member of the British Empire, members of the colonies and later federated nation of Australia were able to have achievement awarded under the British Imperial Honours system . However, existing criticism of the aristocratic nature of the awards grew following a cash-for-honours corruption scandal in the UK in 1922. Moves to abolish the awards federally and the states were unsuccessful; however
472-612: A military aerodrome began (now the Norfolk Island Airport). This involved the destruction of the convict -planted Pine Avenue for the east–west runway. Between 1943 and 1944, the Army produced the Burnt Pine News , the first eponymous use of the place name. By the end of the war, a number of shops and a new hospital had been built around the intersection of Taylors Road and Grassy Road (the original location of
531-585: A representation of the states (with whom Whitlam's government was constantly in dispute) through the state badges within the Commonwealth Coat of Arms . The original three-level structure of the Order of Australia was modelled closely upon the Order of Canada , though the Order of Australia has been awarded rather more liberally, especially in regard to honorary awards to non-citizens. As of July 2024 only 30 non-Canadians have been appointed to
590-444: Is a convex golden disc decorated with citrines, with a blue royally crowned inner disc bearing an image of the coat of arms of Australia. The ribbon of the order is royal blue with a central stripe of mimosa blossoms. Awards in the military division are edged with 1.5 mm golden bands. AKs, male ACs and AOs wear their badges on a necklet and male AMs and OAMs wear them on a ribbon on the left chest. Women usually wear their badges on
649-434: Is a registered charity, whose stated purpose is "[t]o celebrate and promote outstanding Australian citizenship". It also supports the "community and social activities" of members and promotes and encourages the nomination of other Australians to the Order. The Order also runs a foundation that provides scholarships to tertiary students that show potential as future leaders and are involved in community activities. Branches of
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#1732782465171708-563: Is likely to feel a bit second-rate, and the public is likely to agree. We hate to be the first to say it, but there is no doubt that the Order of Australia (OA) will be labelled as the Ocker Award. Satire and mockery also greeted the awards, being dubbed "Gough’s Gongs" and "the Order of the Wombat". The newly elected Liberal Fraser government decided to once again make recommendations for imperial awards, whilst maintaining and expanding
767-543: Is no level of municipal governance in Norfolk Island, and the town has no formal boundaries. The Chamber of Commerce provides an avenue for involvement by business people in lobbying the Territory government for improved facilities and maintenance of public spaces. The town has no distinctive emblems or heraldry. Kingston , the capital of Norfolk Island and main landing place, is about 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) to
826-458: Is the main commercial hub of the island, and travel from one side of the island to another generally involves passing through Burnt Pine as the island's sole thoroughfare runs through the town's centre. The town is located on a roughly east–west-aligned ridge of volcanic soils, about 100 metres (330 feet) above sea level . The headwaters of Cascade Creek and Broken Bridge Creek (northern side) and Watermill Creek (southern side) flow from just below
885-488: The Australian Labor Party remained opposed and generally refused to recommend awards whilst in office, with this a part of the party's platform since 1918. This was confirmed in a resolution adopted unanimously by the party conference in 1921. However, the non-Labor parties remained supportive, with the long running Menzies government making significant use of the imperial system. The Order of Australia
944-474: The 435 people who have received the nation's top Order of Australia honours since they were first awarded in 1975, shows they disproportionately attended a handful of elite Victorian secondary schools. Scotch College alumni received the highest number of awards, with 19 former students receiving Australia's [then] highest honour". On 26 January 1980 the Order of Australia Association was created as an incorporated body with membership open to award recipients. It
1003-579: The Carmine Delmonico series. Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II , Queen of Australia , on the advice of then prime minister Gough Whitlam . Before the establishment of the order, Australians could receive British honours , which continued to be issued in parallel until 1992. Appointments to
1062-656: The Department of Neurology at the Yale Medical School in New Haven, Connecticut , United States. While at Yale she wrote her first two books. One of these, The Thorn Birds , became an international bestseller and one of the best selling books in history, with sales of over 30 million copies worldwide, that in 1983 inspired one of the most-watched television miniseries of all time. Following The Thorn Birds , McCullough wrote her magnum opus: seven novels on
1121-720: The Emily Bay cemetery on the island. In 1978, McCullough received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement . In 1984, a portrait of McCullough, painted by Wesley Walters, was a finalist in the Archibald Prize . The prize is awarded for the "best portrait painting preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics". The depth of historical research for
1180-554: The Grassy Road corner. The expansion of the town matched the growth of the tourism industry. Development spread eastwards along Taylors Road: Prentice's duty-free shop opened on Taylors Road in 1953, as did the 'Leeside' store near the New Cascade Road corner. The tourist boom started in the mid-1960s, and as the town spread, the name Burnt Pine followed and now refers to the whole urbanised area. The town has
1239-401: The Norfolk Island Hospital, Burnt Pine , from apparent renal failure after suffering from a series of small strokes. She had suffered from failing eyesight due to haemorrhagic macular degeneration , and also suffered from osteoporosis , trigeminal neuralgia , diabetes and uterine cancer , and used a wheelchair full-time. She was buried in a traditional Norfolk Island funeral ceremony at
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#17327824651711298-418: The Order of Australia and the award of 199 Honorary Medals of the Order of Australia. Notable honorary awards include: Since 1975, just over 30 per cent of recipients of an Order of Australia honour have been women. The number of nominations and awards for women is trending up, with the 2023 Australia Day Honours resulting in the highest percentage of awards for women to date (47.1 per cent, 47.9 per cent in
1357-465: The Order of Australia is a convex disc (gold for AKs, ADs and ACs, gilt for AOs, AMs and OAMs) representing a single flower of mimosa . At the centre is a ring, representing the sea, with the word Australia below two branches of mimosa. The whole disc is topped by the Crown of St Edward . The AC badge is decorated with citrines , blue enamelled ring, and enamelled crown. The AO badge is similar, without
1416-597: The Order of Australia. This was done by with the addition of two additional award levels: Knight or Dame (AK or AD) above the level of Companion, and the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) below Members. The Civil Division was also renamed the General Division, so that awards could be given to those in the Defence Force for non-military achievement. These changes were made on 24 May 1976. The reaction to
1475-486: The Order of Canada, while 537 non-Australians have been appointed to the Order of Australia, with 46 to the Companion level. Public reaction to the new awards was mixed. Only the state Labor governments of Tasmania and South Australia agreed to submit recommendations for the new awards, with the remaining governments affirming their committent to the existing imperial honours system. Newspaper editorials similarly praised
1534-498: The Order were gazetted on 22 December 2015. Yvonne Kenny AM represented the Order at the 2023 Coronation . King Charles III , when he was Prince of Wales , was appointed a Knight of the Order of Australia (AK) on 14 March 1981. As he is not an Australian citizen, even though he was the heir to the Australian throne at the time, this would have required the award to be honorary. To overcome this issue, his appointment
1593-594: The Order would be determined by the Council of the Order of Australia. Awards of the Order of Australia are sometimes made to people who are not citizens of Australia to honour extraordinary achievements. These achievements, or the people themselves, are not necessarily associated with Australia, although they often are. On 1 July 2024, the Australian Honours website listed appointments for 46 Honorary Companions, 118 Honorary Officers, 174 Honorary Members of
1652-441: The Queen to reinstate the level of knight or dame and the Queen co-signed letters patent to bring this into effect. The change was publicly announced on 25 March, and gazetted on 17 April 2014. Up to four knights or dames could be appointed each year, by the Queen of Australia on the advice of the prime minister after consultation with the chairman of the Order of Australia Council. Five awards of knight and dame were then made, to
1711-559: The association are in all the states and territories of Australia as well as the UK and the USA. Total inductees as of July 2024 . The order of wearing Australian and other approved honours is determined by the government. The award is parodied in the play Amigos , where the central character is determined to be awarded the AC, and uses persuasion, bribery and blackmail in his (ultimately successful) attempts to get himself nominated for
1770-502: The award to Prince Philip in a ReachTEL poll. The Australian Labor Party continued to oppose knighthoods and damehoods. Leader of the opposition Bill Shorten stated in March 2014 that the party would again discontinue the level if it were to win the next Australian federal election. The knighthood decision was a significant factor that caused Liberal party members to question Abbott's leadership, with Malcolm Turnbull succeeding in
1829-482: The award. During the 1996 season of the popular television programme Home and Away , the character Pippa Ross was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for her years of service as a foster carer. Burnt Pine Burnt Pine ( Norf'k : Ban Pain ) is the largest town on Norfolk Island , an Australian external territory located in the Pacific Ocean between New Caledonia and New Zealand . It
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1888-411: The awards as an example of Australia's greater independence, whilst also noting that the awards would likely appear second-rate. The Australian stated that There is no longer a British Empire; everyone knows that. But somehow the phrase "imperial honours" still carries a ring of regal authenticity that somehow transcends nationalism. For the time being a recipient ... of the Order of Australia
1947-519: The changes to the awards were similarly split along party lines. Following the 1983 federal election , Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke recommitted to the end of recommendations for imperial awards. No knighthoods were awarded during his first term in office and he advised the abolition of the knight/dame level after being re-elected in 1986. During the time the division was active from 1976 to 1983, twelve knights and two dames were created. On 19 March 2014, monarchist prime minister Tony Abbott advised
2006-531: The citrines. For the AM badge, only the crown is enamelled, and the OAM badge is plain. The AK/AD badge is similar to that of the AC badge, but with the difference that it contains at the centre an enamelled disc bearing an image of the coat of arms of Australia . The colours of royal blue and gold are taken from the livery colours of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms , the then national colours . The star for knights and dames
2065-463: The exception of awards recommended by the soon to be independent government of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea ); however this did not affect the constitutional right of state governments to recommend imperial awards. According to the governor general's then-secretary Sir David Smith , Whitlam was furious when he first saw Devlin's design for the insignia of the order, due to the inclusion of
2124-489: The general division). Advocacy groups such as Honour a Woman and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency have called for greater effort to be made to reach equal representation of men and women in the order. In December 2010, The Age reported a study of the educational backgrounds of all people who had received Knight/Dame and Companion level awards at that time. It reported: "An analysis of
2183-683: The governments of each respective state and territory, and three ex officio members (the chief of the Defence Force , the vice-president of the Federal Executive Council and a public servant responsible for honours policy). The Council chair as of August 2024 is Shelley Reys. The Council makes recommendations to the governor-general. Awards are announced on Australia Day and on the King's Birthday public holiday in June, on
2242-586: The governor-general to remove an individual from the order, who may cancel an award. Announcements of all awards, cancellations and resignations appear in the Commonwealth Gazette . Nomination forms are confidential and not covered by the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) . The reasoning behind a nomination being successful or unsuccessful—and even the attendees of the meetings where such nominations are discussed—remains confidential. As
2301-450: The life and times of Julius Caesar , each a colossus weighing in at up to 1,000 pages. The Masters of Rome series preoccupied her for almost 30 years, from the early 1980s to the publication of the final volume in 2007. The research was a monumental task: a library of several thousand books and monographs on every aspect of Roman history and civilisation accumulated on the shelves of her home. She drew maps of cities and battlefields, scoured
2360-464: The name Burnt Pine), and in 1946, Rawson Hall was built in Taylors Road. Regular commercial air services from 1946 onwards brought a gradual increase in tourism, and Burnt Pine was well placed on the airport edge for siting new guest houses and shops, such as Holloway's 'Sample Rooms', a tea shop that operated on a rise in Taylors Road known as Holloways Hill. A new hospital was built in 1952 on
2419-409: The novel, as she felt that Elizabeth Bennet was rewritten as weak, and Mr. Darcy as savage. Fullerton said: "[Elizabeth] is one of the strongest, liveliest heroines in literature … [and] Darcy's generosity of spirit and nobility of character make her fall in love with him – why should those essential traits in both of them change in 20 years?" McCullough died on 29 January 2015, at the age of 77, in
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2478-417: The novels on ancient Rome led to her being awarded a Doctor of Letters degree by Macquarie University in 1993. McCullough was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia on 12 June 2006, "[f]or service to the arts as an author and to the community through roles supporting national and international educational programs, medico-scientific disciplines and charitable organisations and causes". Following
2537-417: The occasion of a special announcement by the governor-general (usually honorary awards), and on the appointment of a new governor-general. The governor-general presents the order's insignia to new appointees. Appointments to the order may be made posthumously as long as a person was nominated for an award whilst they were still alive. Awardees may subsequently resign from the order, and the Council may advise
2596-478: The order are made by the governor-general , "with the approval of The Sovereign", according to recommendations made by the Council for the Order of Australia . Members of the government are not involved in the recommendation of appointments, other than for military and honorary awards. The King of Australia is the sovereign head of the order, and the governor-general is the principal companion and chancellor of
2655-674: The order at all levels. Nomination forms are submitted to the Director, Honours Secretariat, a position within the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia , at Government House, Canberra , which are then forwarded to the Council for the Order of Australia . The council consists of 19 members: seven selected by the prime minister (described as "community representatives"), eight appointed by
2714-446: The order. The governor-general's official secretary , Paul Singer (appointed August 2018), is secretary of the order. The order is divided into a general and a military division. The five levels of appointment to the order in descending order of seniority are: Honorary awards at all levels may be made to non-citizens. These awards are made additional to the quotas. The order's insignia was designed by Stuart Devlin . The badge of
2773-457: The outgoing governor-general , Quentin Bryce ; her successor, Peter Cosgrove ; a recent chief of the Defence Force , Angus Houston ; a recent governor of New South Wales , Marie Bashir ; and Prince Philip . This last award was widely met with ridicule and dismay by many in the Australian media. The award was also heavily criticised in the community, with 72% disapproving and 12% in favour of
2832-681: The prime minister alone, rather than by the Council of the Order of Australia, as is the case with all lower levels of the order. In accordance with the statutes of 2014, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , was created a Knight of the Order by letters patent signed by the Queen on 7 January 2015, on Abbott's advice. Prince Philip's knighthood was announced as part of the Australia Day Honours on 26 January 2015 and his appointment attracted criticism of what Abbott described as his "captain's call". Abbott responded by announcing that future recommendations for appointments as Knights and Dames of
2891-597: The publication of The Ladies of Missalonghi in 1987, McCullough was accused of having plagiarised The Blue Castle , a 1926 novel by L.M. Montgomery . McCullough responded that any similarities were due to subconscious recollection . In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald in November 2004 to promote Angel Puss , McCullough said the men of Pitcairn Island that were convicted of sexual encounters with children should have been allowed to follow their "custom" and have sex with young girls. "The Poms have cracked
2950-490: The ridge. In 1795, First Fleeter Andrew Goodwin was granted a prime sixty-acre lot (lot 64) on Middlegate and Queen Elizabeth Roads Norfolk Island, where he lived with his wife Lydia (Letitia) Munro and his children until 1802. A map of 1844 labels the area 'Sheep Station', and a 1904 map shows the area as large rural holdings. The impetus for founding the town came in 1942 during the Pacific War , when construction of
3009-480: The ridge. Taylors Road merges into Douglas Drive and the Norfolk Island Airport marking the western edge of the town. The town's buildings mainly date from the 1970s and 1980s and are mainly single storied, sitting low in the landscape. Census population figures are not available for the various districts of Norfolk Island. The population of Burnt Pine was estimated to be 180 in 2007. There
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#17327824651713068-558: The south. Middlegate , the site of Norfolk Island Central School , is a hamlet on the eastern fringe of Burnt Pine. Middlegate's main street is Queen Elizabeth Avenue, running from Taylors Road to the Middlegate Crossroads. The school is located at the crossroads, as is the Bounty Folk Museum, formerly Uncle Joe Jenkins General Store. Several tourist resorts have a Queen Elizabeth Avenue address whereas
3127-415: The whip and it's an absolute disgrace. These are indigenous customs and should not be touched. These were the first people to inhabit Pitcairn Island, and they are racially unique." she said. "It's hypocritical, too. Does anybody object when Muslims follow their customs?" The comments generated stories at the time, and were mentioned in her obituaries. McCullough also published five murder mysteries in
3186-594: The world’s museums for busts and inscriptions, consulted experts in a dozen universities and recorded every known fact about her subject and his times. The success of these books enabled her to give up her medical-scientific career and to try to "live on [her] own terms." In the late 1970s, after stints in London and Connecticut, she settled on the isolation of Norfolk Island , off the coast of mainland Australia, where she met her husband, Ric Robinson. They married in April 1984. Under his birth name Cedric Newton Ion-Robinson, he
3245-665: Was 25 while trying to rescue tourists in difficulty. She based a character in The Thorn Birds on him, and also wrote about him in Life Without the Boring Bits . Before her tertiary education, McCullough earned a living as a teacher, librarian and journalist. In her first year of medical studies at the University of Sydney she suffered dermatitis from surgical soap and was told to abandon her dreams of becoming
3304-565: Was a member of the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly . He changed his name formally to Ric Newton Ion Robinson in 2002. McCullough's 2008 novel, The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet engendered controversy with her reworking of characters from Jane Austen 's Pride and Prejudice . Susannah Fullerton , the president of the Jane Austen Society of Australia, said she "shuddered" while reading
3363-447: Was created by an amendment to the constitution of the Order of Australia by special letters patent signed by the Queen, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser . In March 2014 the knight and dame levels, which had been abolished in 1986 by Prime Minister Bob Hawke , were reintroduced to the Order of Australia by Tony Abbott . At the same time, Abbott announced that future appointments at this level would be recommended by
3422-498: Was established on 14 February 1975 by letters patent of Queen Elizabeth II , acting as Queen of Australia , and on the advice of the newly elected Labor prime minister , Gough Whitlam . The original order had three levels: Companion (AC), Officer (AO) and Member (AM) as well as two divisions: Civil Division and Military Division. Whitlam had previously announced in 1972 (on his third day in office) that his government would no longer nominate persons for British Imperial honours (with
3481-467: Was of Irish descent and her mother was a New Zealander of part- Māori descent. During her childhood, the family moved around a great deal and she was also "a voracious reader". Her family eventually settled in Sydney where she attended Holy Cross College, Woollahra , having a strong interest in both science and the humanities. She had a younger brother, Carl, who drowned off the coast of Crete when he
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