Shire of Murray celebrates outstanding citizens

Winners of the 2026 Community Citizen of the Year Awards were celebrated at the Edenvale Heritage Precinct on Australia Day.

Shire President Douglas McLarty said the Shire always receives an outstanding calibre of nominees for the Australia Day Community Citizen of the Year Awards and the 2026 awards were no exception.

“The awards celebrate many citizens and groups who go above and beyond in serving our district," Shire President McLarty said.

“This year we received 11 nominations across the four award categories of Youth, Senior,Community Group and Community Citizen of the Year. Each nominee helps make Murray anoutstanding place for community, lifestyle and opportunity.”

Belinda Brown was named the Community Citizen of the Year in recognition of her work in the Murray community through her tireless work with Riding for the Disabled Murray and Mandurah.

Over more than 15 years of service, she has dedicated countless hours to supporting riders with disabilities, ensuring that every participant feels safe, empowered, and celebrated for their achievements.

Her commitment goes far beyond her weekly volunteering.

What sets Belinda apart is her ability to bring people together and find creative ways to strengthen community bonds.

Whether it’s organising an appreciation day for volunteers, finding innovative ways to engage local schools and families, or simply offering words of
encouragement to those who need it most, Belinda’s influence reaches far beyond the arena.

Her compassion, reliability, and community spirit have made a genuine and lasting difference.

The Youth Community Citizen of the Year Award was awarded to Amelia Ticehurst.

Amelia has developed and run the Blossom Program with Murray Youth for Youth for the second year.

This program provides life skills, self-esteem building, socialisation skills and much more in a safe, age-appropriate environment, held weekly during the school terms.

She also attends every event possible that involves the youth of the Murray Shire to show consistency from a member that many have developed a rapport with.

The Senior Community Citizen of the Year Award was presented to Wilbur Graham.

Wilbur donates his time to helping students at Pinjarra Primary School.

He volunteers five days a week and spends one-on-one time with students giving math tutoring. Some to extend and challenge their maths skills, others to assist and help clarify some concepts.

Wilbur has been volunteering at Pinjarra Primary for approximately 20 years helping increase younger students’ confidence and knowledge, setting them up for brilliance in the future.

The Community Group of the Year Award was presented to the Murray Music and Drama Club, one of the longest running volunteer organisations within the Shire of Murray.

It has been providing shows and entertainment for the local community since 1969.

They are currently rehearsing for their 150th show and the members of the club range in age from 4 to over 80.

Murray Music and Drama Club is run by a dedicated team of volunteers and is 100 per cent self-funded.

“On behalf of Council, I’d like to acknowledge and thank all nominees for their contributions to Murray,” Shire President McLarty said.