Three receive Queens Birthday honours

An ophthalmologist who was a visiting medical officer at a local hospital is one of five Central Coast residents who was honored in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, announced on the weekend.

Dr Michael Scobie, now retired and living at Avoca, praised the Brisbane Water Private Hospital this week, explaining how it helped support his work caring for people with eye issues in New Guinea.

For two weeks a year for 17 years, Dr Scobie and a team from the Central Coast would volunteer their expertise to people in remote towns and villages in New Guinea, performing eye operations, mainly cataract surgery, in all sorts of unusual circumstances - "where we could find a spot to work, basically,'' Dr Scobie said.

"The people who came with me deserve the praise too,'' he said.

Dr Scobie was awarded the Order of Australia for service to ophthalmology and to the community.

Ms Brenda Booth from Woy Woy was awarded an Order of Australia for her service to community health.

She is president of the Working Age Group Stroke, commonly referred to as WAGS and was a member of the National Stroke Foundation until 2016.Ms Booth was a registered nurse and working as a case manager with the NSW Government Disability Community Support Team when she had a stroke in 2001.

Since then she has had input at local, state and national level as a consumer representative working with the health professionals to improve services. She said 30 per cent of strokes in Australia affected "younger people" defined as people under 65.

She said it was lovely to be recognised for her work.

Representing Central Coast Council's west ward, Cr Chris Holstein, the council's inaugural deputy mayor, was awarded an Order of Australia for service to local government and to the community of Gosford.

He was a councillor of Gosford City from 1991 to 2012 being mayor of Gosford twice for a combined period of about six years.

He was the Member for Gosford from 2011 to 2015.

When Cr Holstein learned he was to be awarded an OAM, he thought it would be interesting to ask his grandchildren if they knew what the acronym stood for.

"One of them suggested Old And Mobile, and another thought it might stand for Oh Another Meeting," Cr Holstein said.

"I am very honoured to receive the OAM," he said.

"In a job that doesn't give a lot of thanks very often, it is nice to be acknowledged for 27 plus years in civic life.

"But I also see it as an acknowledgement for my family, who kept me grounded and focused for all those years, and for all those who worked with me, advised directed and suffered me in that time.

"After 27 years in civic life my wife is still married to me and my kids still call me Dad and that's what's important."

Holstein was recognised in the honours list for services to local government and the community of Gosford.

His list of achievements is long, but one or two things stand out.

"I look back over a range of things we have achieved for the Central Coast, from free garbage collections to big upgrades of our surf club," he said.

"Among things I am proud to have been involved in are the establishment of Central Coast Stadium, the Peninsula Leisure Centre and Caroline Bay public space at East Gosford and I am also proud of the roadworks improvements we have made, from the West Gosford interchange upgrade to the Renwick St roundabout at Wyoming.

"There was a lot of joy and satisfaction in every milestone because they were things we fought hard for."

SOURCES:

Media Release, 9 June 2019

Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor General

Interviews (Merilyn Vale), 6 Jun 2019

Michael Scobie, Avoca

Brenda Booth, Woy Woy

Chris Holstein, Central Coast Council