Arabic version: تكريم أربعة من سكان فيكتوريا ضمن جوائز أسترالي العام 2027
According to ABC News, four Victorians will travel to Canberra after being named the state’s 2027 Australian of the Year award recipients. The national awards are due to be announced on January 25, with recipients from every state and territory taking part.
Cherie Dear was named 2027 Australian of the Year for Victoria for her pancreatic cancer advocacy. She founded Dare to Hope, a national platform for pancreatic awareness and research, with her husband and co-founder Paul, a former Hawthorn player who died in July 2022. Her father, Don, died from the same disease four months later. Dear established the annual Easter Monday Dare to Hope AFL match between Hawthorn and Geelong, while her volunteer-led organisation has funded three research scholarships.
Associate Professor Wenn Lawson received the Senior Australian of the Year for Victoria award for work advancing understanding of autism and neurodivergence. Lawson, 74, was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager and spent decades in and out of mental health institutions before being diagnosed with autism at 42. He has worked as an educational psychologist and social worker, undertaken research and advocacy, and written 30 books.
Ryan Brigham was named Victorian Young Australian of the Year. At 21, he founded Health in Focus, a charity delivering healthcare initiatives and education programs in Australia and internationally. The organisation has involved more than 800 young volunteers across Australasia, south-east Asia and Africa, and raised more than $500,000 for initiatives including free heart health assessments in Victoria.
Gavin ‘Bear’ Hynam was named Victorian Local Hero for his Cars 4 Youth gifting program and learner-driver mentoring in the Wimmera. After losing his eldest son, Preston, in an accident in 2008, Hynam began repairing pre-loved cars for disadvantaged young people in the Horsham area. He has gifted 19 cars through the program.
