Long-time Tailem Bend resident Trevor Gordon awarded Order of Australia Medal

The frequent volunteer has been named on the 2023 Australia Day honours list for service to the community through a range of organisations.

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Trevor Gordon OAM has been recognised for a lifetime of service to the community. Photo: Michael X. Savvas.

Murray Bridge resident Trevor Gordon has received an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for service to the community through a range of organisations.

In a life of service, Mr Gordon has given his time to such organisations as the Freemasons, St John Ambulance Service, the Tailem Bend Primary School, the SA Country Fire Service and the Peake Football Club.

He has also worked in rural government positions since the 1960s.

Despite all the paid and voluntary work he’s done for the community, Mr Gordon said he was shocked to receive the honour.

“It was a bolt out of the blue, but it’s a great honour that somebody’s considered me worthy of such an award,” he said.

“I’ve received several awards, but this award is absolutely the highlight of my career.

“My wife Julie’s over the moon, like me.”

Mr Gordon was originally from Adelaide but moved in the late ’60s to Hallett, a town in SA’s Mid North, to take up a position as the district clerk.

In moving to the country, Mr Gordon appreciated the stronger sense of community than in urban communities.

“People know everybody in rural communities, they tend to work together,” he said.

“In Hallett, I liked being in a community that cared.

“Being involved in things like the SES, everybody banded together.”

Mr Gordon has been living in Murray Bridge for nearly two years and before that, lived at Tailem Bend for almost 21 years.

Although mostly retired, he is still a driver for the Murray and Mallee Community Passenger Network, which he has been doing since 2006.

Mr Gordon developed a philosophy early in his career which he said had been good for him and the communities he’d served.

“When I worked at Hallett in the early days, a person I respected a lot said to me, ‘everybody takes something from the community: look at putting something back into the community’,” he said.

It’s safe to say that Mr Gordon has done that in spades.