Australian of the Year Alumni to attend the Queen’s funeral
In the late afternoon of Thursday 8th September 2022, Buckingham Palace advised the world that Queen Elizabeth II had passed away peacefully. Countries and Realms of the Commonwealth then entered into a 12-day period of mourning and leaders commenced planning attendance at the funeral for the late Monarch, to be held in London on Monday 19th September.
In recognition of the high regard with which the Australian of the Year Awards are held, a selection of Australian of the Year Alumni has been invited to also attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II along with Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese and Governor General, David Hurley.
The Prime Minister announced that, in addition to Australia’s heads of state, Buckingham Palace had wanted to invite 10 Australians who have made “extraordinary contributions to their communities, and who represent Australian culture and values.”
The Australian of the Year Alumni who have been invited include:
- 2022 Australian of the Year, Dylan Alcott
- 2022 Senior Australian of the Year, Valmai Dempsey
- 2022 Local Hero, Shanna Whan
- 2022 SA Young Australian of the Year, Trudy Lin
- 2022 QLD Local Hero, Saba Abraham
- 2022 Tasmania Local Hero, Kim Smith
- 2021 WA Australian of the Year, Professor Helen Milroy
- 2021 Senior Australian of the Year, Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann
These inspiring Australians will travel to the UK today, Thursday 15th September and will be in attendance on Monday 19th September at Westminster Abbey for the funeral.
Auspire – Australia Day Council WA CEO, Morgen Lewis, said, “Receiving the news that Australians of the Year would be amongst those attending to represent the people of Australia reaffirms the relevance of the Awards and validates their diverse and inclusive representation of the people of Australia.”
The Australian of the Year Awards are announced on the eve of Australia Day each year by the Prime Minster at an awards ceremony in Canberra.