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The Australian Father of the Year Awards celebrate and acknowledge the essential role of fathers, not just within families, but also the wider community. Each year, the Australian Father’s Day Council and The Shepherd Centre present the award to a father who has demonstrated support and guidance to his children or other children, through his work or family life.
The 2016 Australian Father of the Year award will be announced at a special ceremony on September 2, the Friday before Father’s Day. Previous winners hail from a range of fields, from sport and science, to entertainment and the arts. These are just some Australian dads who have won the prestigious award.
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2014 – Andrew Gaze. The Australian basketball legend now works in the media and recently became an ambassador for the Beehive Foundation, a charity that runs free programs to develop resilience and confidence for young people via sport. Gaze has four children, Courtney, Phoebe, Annie and Mason.
2009 – Li Cunxin. Most known to many as the author of Mao’s Last Dancer, Li is currently the artistic director of the Queensland Ballet. The father of three, Sophie, Thomas and Bridie, was recently bestowed another honour, after a spider discovered in outback Queensland was named after him, the maratus lincunxin.
2003 – Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. Often simply referred to as Dr Karl, Kruszelnicki has written 38 science books. After being named the country’s Father of the Year in the early noughties, the father of three was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2006 and a National Living Treasure in 2012.
1999 – Slim Dusty. Known as Australia’s king of country, the late singer’s career lasted nearly 70 years. The same year Dusty was awarded Father of the Year, the 72-year-old was also crowned Australian Senior of the Year. His children are David and successful country singer, Anne Kirkpatrick.
1978 – Sir Zelman Cowen. The Australian legal scholar and academic administrator was Australia’s 19th Governor-General. His advisory role with the British Colonial Office and Ghana and Hong Kong governments earned him an international reputation. Cowen had four children, Shimon, Yosef, Kate and Ben.
1962 – Sir Norman Gregg. In the 1940s the Australian ophthalmologist discovered that contracting rubella during pregnancy can cause birth defects in the child. His Father of the Year accolade followed various honours for his contribution to medicine.
1957 – Sir Edward Hallstrom. The first dad to be crowned Australian Father of the Year, the refrigerator manufacturer and businessman was one of the nation’s best-known philanthropists during the mid-20th century, with specific interests in fauna and medicine.