2021 Australian of the Year Awards
The 2021 Australian of the Year Awards was an action packed, whirlwind, 3 days with events held in our nations capital, Canberra. Daniel and William are incredibly honoured and humbled to be among so many amazing people.
All the national recipients have incredible and inspiring stories to share.
The first official event was meeting with all the other Young Australians of the Year. They were taken to the National Zoo and Aquarium where they were met by the keepers of the Zoo’s beautiful Cheetah. They were then escorted inside where they were able to view the white lions and the Jamala Wildlife Lodge where you can stay the night next to the lion enclosure.
The group was then whisked onto the bus for an afternoon tea with his Excellency the Governor General of Australia and his wife, Mrs Hurley at their residence, Government House.
An amazing few hours were spent with everyone at Government House. The function was held at the gardens of Government House overlooking the lake. An incredible experience, wonderful music, great food, speeches of course with inspiring stories shared by all.
All the national recipients for each Australia Day Award, from each state and territory, finished the day with a group photo on the lawn of Government House.
The next day we had the rehearsal for the National Awards at the Arboretum in Canberra. Such an amazing venue. We were escorted to where we would be seated for the evening awards and have a run through of the program for the night as the awards were to go live on the ABC that evening.
From there we went to Parliament House where we met with the Honourable Prime Minister Scott Morrison for morning tea. We were able to meet and talk with the Prime Minister about our quest which was a fantastic. We were then escorted to The Great Hall in Parliament House to a grand lunch with entertainment that was enjoyed by all.
The next event was the awards themselves, that night. Back to the Arboretum where we were greeted by a traditional Aboriginal smoking ceremony as we via the red carpet.
It was a fantastic night and we congratulate Isobell Marshall from Taboo who was named the National Young Australian of the Year.
Although we were not the recipients of the national award it was an honour to be among so many incredible, inspiring young people from around the nation.
Every one of us has a drive and passion to make a difference in this world within our own causes, and we hope to inspire the next generation to also make change.
“William and I are so excited for the future and cannot wait to see what the next 12 months brings all of us, it really was an incredible few days that we will never forget”, Daniel Clarke.
The following morning, we were invited to the official flag raising ceremony held on the foreshore of Lake Burleigh Griffin looking up toward Parliament House.
What a way to end the weekend – truly unforgettable.