2026 WELCOME UPDATE
ORDER OF AUSTRALIA ASSOCIATION
HUNTER REGIONAL GROUP
Welcome to 2026. I hope we see many of you at our Order of Australia morning teas this year in Newcastle and Port Stephens.
In the December 2025 edition of The Order magazine, the message from our National President, Hon Vicki O'Halloran AO CVO, was quite moving. I quote here a small part of it, as I am sure it will resonate with many, if not all of you:
"One of the most humbling and unexpected experiences of my life was being awarded an Order of Australia…. It was a moment that reminded me of the power of community, the importance of perseverance, the value of hard work. Receiving an Order of Australia is most certainly life-changing."
I hope you all still remember that unexpected moment of reading the letter of offer and the day of your induction into the Order. I hope the experiences since have been life-changing.
Hunter Regional Group Committee
The Hunter Regional Group Committee of the Order of Australia Association welcomes you to this update on activities planned for 2026. The committee has been busy organising the 2026 celebration events for recipients of Order of Australia awards. These events allow you to meet up with fellow honours' recipients and to meet new awardees, announced on Australia Day and the King's Birthday in June.
Membership of the Hunter Regional Group is free and open to any recipient of an award in the Order of Australia honours system who resides within the Hunter Region. You do not need to be a member of the National Order of Australia Association to attend our events. The events are also open to family, friends and Order of Australia recipients who are visiting the region.
The Hunter Regional Group updated the membership list in 2024, and email is the now the most common mode of communication with you. However, for those who do not have internet access the postal invitations will continue. Invitations will be issued prior to each event.
2026 Morning Tea Dates
- Australia Day Honours List Award recipients' morning tea will be held at Wallsend Diggers on Saturday 28th February 2026.
- King's Birthday Honours List Award recipients' morning tea will be held at Wallsend Diggers on Saturday 1st August 2026.
- The combined Port Stephens morning tea will be held at Harbourside Haven, Salamander Bay on Tuesday 23rd June 2026.
Wallsend Diggers RSL
In August 2025 we changed the venue for our Newcastle-based morning teas to the Wallsend Diggers RSL Club. This was necessary to accommodate the increased number of members wishing to attend the morning teas. We are grateful to the Diggers Club for their financial support and assistance with our events.
New Website
In 2025, we also changed our website to allow the committee to automate the RSVP system for our morning teas. We are grateful to Innovative Computer Systems for free hosting of our website: https://hrgooaa.org/
Hunter Regional Group Committee Members
In 2025, there were several changes to the Committee. I assumed the role of Convenor of the Hunter Regional Group in June. Ms Rhonda Scruton OAM was appointed as our new Secretary and Mr John Gambrill OAM joined the committee to assist with event organisation. Our contact details are available on the new webpage.
In 2026, our long serving Treasurer, Charlie Stevens OAM, will retire from the Committee. We extend an invitation to all members to consider joining our Committee, as Treasurer or as a general organising committee member. An invitation has been sent to all members. The invitation and Information about the Committee is also on our website.
We encourage you to keep in touch and if you have any suggestions for the Committee we welcome hearing from you.
Emeritus Professor Maree Gleeson OAM
Hunter Regional Group Convenor
Order of Australia Association