Six Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay residents have been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), two of which are Bartholomew Edwin Willoughby and Colin Osborne Harrison.
Altona North musician Bartholomew Edwin Willoughby has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal for his service to the performing arts, particularly through music.
Mr Willoughby, 63, started learning his musical talents at the age of 14, now years later in addition to being a songwriter he has mastered multiple instruments.
Mr Willoughby’s musical career began in 1978 when he pioneered a distinctive Indigenous Australian sound, a fusion of Jamaican reggae with traditional Indigenous influences.
He has founded a number of bands and been a music instructor for many years.
“ I have been in the business for 45 years, I believe I make up six per cent of all Australian music,” he said.
“I helped a lot of people become in the music industry, and I have taught a lot of kids who have become very specialised in their fields.”
Mr Willoughby has also had an impressive career in film, television and stage.
He was invited to become the first Aboriginal to compose, play and direct the music track of a feature film Jindalee Lady.
“That was a pinnacle moment and the real understanding of my own talent, I wrote that soundtrack in three-and-a-half days,” he said.
Mr Willoughby has written 120 songs spanning across a range of genres, saying this award makes him extremely proud.
“This honour means I have been recognised for my talent and my contribution to Australian music, that’s a great thing,” he said.
Footscray and Yarraville City Band’s Colin Osborne Harrison has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal for his service to music through brass bands.
His work with the Footscray and Yarraville City Band from 2017-2019 has been most notable along with his involvement with other bands and orchestras.
He conceived, developed and project managed The Silent Anzac tour to France, Belgium and the United Kingdom to commemorate the armistice of World War I.
His other works stem from the Box Hill City Band where he has been treasurer and a member of the junior and senior bands.
Mr Osborne has been a member of the Dandenong City Brass Band, since 2019 and a member of the Casey Symphony Orchestra, since 2020, and was also a member of the Whitehorse Symphony Orchestra in the years 1989-1990 and 1973-1975, (formerly Eastern Region Technical Schools Orchestra and Whitehorse Youth Orchestra).
Mr Osborne has been co-founder and director of Skunkwork Productions and Skunkworks Community since 2019.
At this organisation he has written, created , produced and performed on a number of productions, including the Silent Anzac, since 2014.
He co-founded both the Bright Brass and Percussion Summer Intensive, since 2017 and the Victorian State Youth Brass Band and has established and ran online master classes for community musicians during the COVID lock downs during the years of 2020-2021.
Finally he established ‘The Last Post Project’ during COVID lock downs to enable community members to commemorate Anzac day, all while working as an engineer.
