Former Tarranyurk resident Gary Aitken has been honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his services to the Wimmera in today’s Queen’s Birthday honours.

Gary grew up at Hopetoun and then spent twenty years farming at Tarranyurk, before retiring to Horsham, with his wife Beverly, in 2000 where he has continued his life-long passion for the environment by volunteering with organisations such as the Wimmera River Improvement Committee and the Horsham Tidy Towns committee.

During his time at Tarranyurk, he was involved in the early days of Landcare, making improvements to the natural amenity of his property and the adjacent Wimmera River, and he has continued this in Horsham where he has worked to rebuild and restore the natural heritage of the River whilst being a strong advocate for the protection and identification of the indigenous Wimmera River history.

Gary’s contribution to the environment was further acknowledged last year when he was awarded the Dame Phyllis Frost Award at the 2019 Tidy Towns - Sustainable Communities Awards presentation dinner held in Dimboola last October.

He also received the Victorian Government Certificate of Appreciation as part of the International Year of the Volunteer in 2001.