Patrol awarded Order

CLONCURRY UNITING Church and McKay Patrol minister Rev Garry Hardingham was honoured with an Order of the Outback by the Burke Shire at the Burketown Ball on 3 July.

Rev Hardingham and the Cloncurry Uniting Church shared the award with fellow flying padre Simon Steele from the Salvation Army. Burke Shire Mayor Annie Clarke said the night was a time to honour the flying padres who play a vital role in the community and celebrate the courage shown by the shire when it was hit by massive flooding last Easter.

The Order of the Outback Award honours those people or organisations who selflessly provide service, support and recognition to the people of the outback. 

“Both Garry and Simon play a vital role in outback communities bringing support and spiritual guidance services to those in remote towns and properties,” said the Order of the Outback report.

Mr Hardingham said the award was quite unexpected and he was not planning on attending the ball until someone strongly suggested he should.

“That coming weekend was chock-a-block with the intern-ment of some ashes on Friday arvo at Nardoo station (300k north), a baptism at a station 100kms south of Hughenden (400k east of here) and then church services on Sunday at Cloncurry, Dajarra and Boulia,” said Mr Hardingham.

“It wasn’t until we got there and the Burketown Ball began that I sort of realised what was going on.

“The mayor got up and she started talking about this award called the Order of the Outback and how it had been presented to people and organisations, such as Ram Chandra, the snake bloke who helped develop Taipan antivenene, the CWA and the RFDS.

“She then started to read out a heap of stuff I’d done in the area over the past seven years, from playing guitar and doing sing-a-longs for the School of the Air to building airstrips, doing food drops, evacuations, baptisms, weddings, worship services, mediation work with the mines and succession planning with some families.

“I’m doing the work God has called me to and no matter how tough it might be to raise the money to keep MJZ [aircraft] in the air, I’m doing the best that I can.

“This hard work is making real changes to people’s lives.

“I’m very proud to be a minister of the Uniting Church … a church that sees that rock turning and loitering about in the outback as worthwhile things to keep doing.”

To donate to the McKay Patrol contact Garry Hardingham on 4742 1441 or mckaypatrol@bigpond.com or visit www.mckaypatrol.ucaqld.com.au

Photo : Burke Shire Mayor Annie Clark, centre, with Order of the Outback Award recipients Garry Hardingham, left, and Simon Steele, right. Photo courtesy of the Burke Shire Council