Prominent Swan Hill volunteer recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours

A LIFETIME of volunteering has seen a Swan Hill man recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Semi-retired farmer and freemason Hadyn Bailey has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his services to the community.

Mr Bailey, 71, is the third freemason from the Swan Hill region to receive an OAM, after Jim Thompson in 2019 and Ivan Lee in 2017.

Upon hearing of his OAM, Mr Bailey said he was “excited, shocked, surprised and thrilled, and maybe even a bit embarrassed”.

“When I got the notice the other day, I thought that’s really special,” he said.

After showing his wife Cheryl the good news, he celebrated his accolade on the Monday public holiday with an afternoon tea.

Mr Bailey said he was inspired to help the community by his father, Colin Bailey, who was also community-driven.

Colin Bailey was one of the original committee members of the Woomelang and District Bush Nursing Centre, and Mr Bailey continued his fathers’ work.

“I was with them for 29 years and am a life member,” he said.

Mr Bailey’s experience in volunteering has been in the areas of agriculture, social services, education and sport.

He was with the Victorian Farmers and Graziers Association from the 1970s onwards, and was a member of the Woomelang Freemasons Lodge, the Swan Hill Freemasons Lodge, the Watchupga Fire Brigade, and the Mallee Crisis Committee (now the Rural Financial Counselling Service).

He is also a former member for the Woomelang School Council and former volunteer with the Woomelang Football Club.

Mr Bailey has always lived in regional Victoria, being born in Birchip and attending boarding school in Ballarat.

He returned to the family farm in Watchupga, where the Baileys had grain and sheep.

His first wife, Bronwyn, died from breast cancer in 1996, and Mr Bailey briefly halted his volunteer duties to raise his children, Leticia, 44, Karl, 41, Stuart, 33, and twins Alex and Rhys, 30.Mr Bailey’s children now live and work across Victoria, with many remaining within north-west Victoria.

Leticia Laurien (nee Bailey) works at a caravan retailer in Bendigo, Karl is a truck driver in Ballarat, and Stuart works as a specialist welder in Bendigo.

As for the twins, Alex lives in Ballarat and has worked in hairdressing and landscaping, and Rhys is an accountant in Geelong.

Mr Bailey moved to Swan Hill in 2014 and found love again with his wife Cheryl.

He also resumed his community services, working as a volunteer driver for Swan Hill Neighbourhood House.

Mr Bailey considered his volunteer work to be a rewarding endeavour.

“People in the bush just work in their communities, because someone has to do it,” he said.

“And really, that’s all I’ve ever done – there’s a job to be done, when you’re able to.”