Awards and Initiatives

Each year on Australia Day the Town of Mosman Park presents awards to recognise outstanding community service over a number of years by individuals and community organisations who reside, work or volunteer/provide services within Mosman Park. 
This year the following individuals and community group received awards.

Pictured here from left to right are Lockie Cooke, Mayor of the Town of Mosman Park - Councillor Ron Norris, Laurel Osbourne, Ruth Lilly and Sue Conlan - 2013 Australia Day Award Winners.

Citizen of the Year:  Laurel Osbourne

Laurel Osbourne is the Deputy Coordinator of the Friends of Mosman Park Bushland, as well as being a regular and long-time volunteer with the Friends of Kings Park Bushland, and has given ten years' service as a volunteer at Rocky Bay and a major contributor to the Dorothy Genders Retirement Village, where she is a resident. 

Laurel’s nominator states, “By volunteering to conserve our natural environment, Laurel is helping all mankind and in particular the users of our local parks.  Laurel’s selfless dedication to this project for the benefit of generations to come is commendable.” 

Young Citizen of the Year:  Lockie Cooke

Lockie is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Indigenous Communities Education Awareness (ICEA).  ICEA is an organisation of over 200 young leaders and volunteers that aims to inspire reconciliation and promote mutual respect and cultural awareness in local schools and in the wider community.  As Coordinator of ICEA, Lockie produces youth-focused leadership programs and forums to help participants better understand and subsequently address specific issues and challenges faced by Indigenous youths.  He also raises funds for remote Indigenous communities in the north west of Australia.  In addition to his work with ICEA, Lockie also volunteers as a surf lifesaver at North Cottesloe Surf Club.  He is a member of the West Australian Institute of Sport and competes in sprint kayaking, aiming for the 2016 Olympic Games.  On the ICEA website, Lockie states his “purpose is to inspire young people to be united by respect,” and his reward for running ICEA is “seeing the joy in the faces of the kids up in the communities and in breaking down the barriers and empowering my indigenous mates.”

Community Event of the Year:  The Friends of Mosman Park Bushland

The Friends of Mosman Park Bushland are an enthusiastic group of Mosman Park residents who are passionate about preserving and enhancing the bushland areas within the Town.  They come together for busy bees on the last Sunday of every month to plant seedlings, spread mulch, pull weeds and generally care for the bush.  Volunteers can often be observed, however, working in the bushlands any day of the week to do their bit for the future of the bush.  The group also teams up with the Town of Mosman Park’s Bushcare Officer to run events that address important environmental initiatives like Bringing Back the Bush.

The Friends group has had a significant impact on the physical landscape of Mosman Park.  According to their nominator, the group’s “tireless efforts in Minim Cove and at Mosman Beach has increased biodiversity and beautified Mosman Park in a natural, sustainable and cost-effective manner.  It promotes sustainability in a time when the preservation of water is proving vital to the future of Western Australia, and the organiser of the group (Sue Conlan) is the first to take the time to acknowledge the contributions of each and every individual.”

For more information about the Town of Mosman Park's Australia Day Awards, and to nominate someone for the 2014 awards, please contact the Town of Mosman Park by telephone on (08) 9384-1633 or by email to admin@mosmanpark.wa.gov.au