By Caroline Smith
Two members of the Perth Archdiocese have been honoured for their long-standing dedication to community groups and initiatives, receiving the Order of Australia medal (OAM).
Wembley’s Ambrose Depiazzi and Wyalkatchem’s Paul de Pierres were named on the Queen’s Birthday Honours’ List on 13 June as recipients of the award, along with 564 other Australians this year.
Mr Depiazzi was acknowledged for his roles in a number of groups, including Lion’s Club of Australia, Fairbridge Western Australia and the Marist ex-students’ association, but said his involvement in the former had come about almost by accident.
“I attended a meeting for the first time on Anzac Day 1971 in Mandurah,” he said.
“It was simply by chance that I went, because I was new in town, and a friend asked me to come and meet some people.”
After this, Mr Depiazzi rose quickly in his involvement with the club, becoming District Governor for 1979-80, Chairman of Lions Club Australia in 1980-81, and inaugural Chairman of the Australian Lions foundation in 1981-82. Today, he continues his involvement at a district level.
He gave credit to Lions Clubs for their awareness of community needs and willingness to respond to these.
“We do a lot of things in the community – we’re usually the first organisation to put money down to help if there’s a flood or bushfire or something like that,” he said.
“We also help to fund any local projects that clubs are running.”
His time as Chairman had brought some novel experiences – such as his involvement with the Miss Personality Quest competition, then hosted by Channel Seven.
Mr Depiazzi said his involvement with the Marist Ex Students group – of which he is Coordinator – had also been a great challenge, particularly in preparing for the centenary of the Marist brothers coming to St Ildephonsus’ college at New Norcia, which was opened in 1913.
“We got to the centenary year in 2013, and a committee was cobbled together so that we could mark the occasion properly,” he said.
“We still had our usual barbecue and Mass to start the year, then we had a half-page spread in the West Australian to mark the school’s opening in 1913, and a mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in May for 750 people, then in October we had a reunion at New Norcia, where we unveiled a plaque.”
Mr Depiazzi’s involvement with Fairbridge – a community which provides support for young people through apprenticeships and job skills – had come about through his experience as a chartered accountant, as they were looking for someone with financial experience.
“I got involved because they were looking for someone with a finance background, so first I became chair of the finance committee, then chairman of the board,” he said.
“Fairbridge generally does a huge amount for kids who don’t make it at school – they run a project that takes on young people who’ve been in prison, including Indigenous people, and train them in using heavy machinery – BIS Industries guarantees them a job at the end.”
Mr de Pierres – who was recognized for his work with St John’s Ambulance, the Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade and Wyalkatchem Agricultural Museum – said it was an honour to be named an OAM, adding that his involvement in local initiatives was a great reward in itself.
“Whenever you’re doing all these things, I don’t think you consider winning an award, you do it for the community,” he said.
“I was most honoured to be named, and in this I consider my wife Colleen is with me in the honour – she’s supported me throughout my community involvement.”
He said his involvement with the Agricultural Museum began in the 1970s with plans to transform an old wheat container into a valuable historical resource.
“A forward-thinking member of the community suggested that we should retain one of the large wheat bins that had been used for storage, and that we could turn it into a museum of agricultural artefacts,” he said.
“I came on to the committee a year later, and was made president a few years after that.
“We concentrated on gathering relevant materials from around the area – there was a period when I think people didn’t pay much attention to their local history, but by the 1970s I think we started to register that part of Australia’s European history a bit more, and that was when we were starting up the museum.”
Mr de Pierres said volunteering roles with St John’s Ambulance and the Bush Fire Brigade had taught him the importance of communities working together.
“In the country whenever there’s a fire or other emergency, we know we have to work together and help each other,” he said.
Along with his community work, Mr de Pierres also looks back with satisfaction on the books he has self-published detailing local, Australian and Franco-Australian military history, with another in production now which details Australians who have served in the French Foreign Legion.
The Order of Australia medal was instituted in 1975, and more than 40,000 Australians have received the medal since then. Other WA recipients include Margaret Mary Sullivan of Holt Rock, who was acknowledged for her services to women and the community.
Looking nationally, the list of winners also included two staff members at the Australian Catholic University (ACU): philosopher Associate Professor Bernadette Tobin and educator Dr Kevin Donnelly.