Gillian Hagger was announced as Katherine Town Council’s top citizen at a special Australia Day ceremony at the Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre on January 26 and was clearly touched by her win as she ascended the stage to receive her award.

The gong was presented as part of the council’s annual Australia Day Local Government Awards and recognised the selfless contribution Mrs Hagger has made to the community over several decades.

She told the Katherine Times that she had been surprised to win the award, adding that she had found it was easier to get people involved in community service – either formally or informally – when they were interested in what they were doing.

“It's a wonderful honour,” she said.

“It's not embarrassing, but it’s a bit humbling; you don't do it with the thought that you might get something like that at the finish.

“I encourage people as much as I can, but I find these days that people get into their own thing, in their own interests.

“Which is I guess what I've done, but sometimes it’s hard to talk people into doing something they might not be interested in.”

Anthony Assan-Busch received the Young Citizen of the Year award for his mentorship of indigenous Katherine youth through education and sport.

Mr Assan-Busch works at St Joseph’s Catholic College Katherine as an indigenous education worker, which involves classroom interactions as well as those in the community.

He said he believed there were countless quiet achievers active in the community who were putting in time and effort without public recognition.

“It means a lot to me to be recognised for the work I do in the community,” he explained. 

“I'm a pretty quiet person who keeps to themselves, and I'm pretty sure there are other people out there like me who do a lot of work, who probably don't get noticed enough.

“I'm honoured and privileged to receive the award.”

The Katherine and District Show Society claimed the Community Event of the Year prize for the town’s 2015 show.