THREE Southern Highland residents have been included in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours list.
Our newest Member of the Order of Australia is Associate Professor Bruce Marshall AM.
Bundanoon resident Mr Marshall said he was "a little bit chuffed" to receive the award for service to the humanities and education, particularly through the Australasian Society for Classical Studies.
"Naturally, I feel very honoured to receive this award and I'm grateful to the kind people who thought I was worthy of being nominated," Mr Marshall said.
"I think it is an honour not only for me, but also for the associations with which I have worked voluntarily over the years, particularly the Australasian Society for Classical Studies.
"It is also a recognition of the subjects which I have studied all my life - the language and culture of the Ancient Greeks and Romans - which not only provided me with employment and an income, but also a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction along the way, and still does."
Mr Marshall also thanked his partner, Robin, for her patience. They held a family gathering to reveal Mr Marshall's award yesterday; family members did not know the reason for the party and had speculated that the pair were to announce plans to marry.
Two Bowral residents - Mrs Jone Yvonne Armstrong and Mrs Natalie Tyrawski-Radywyl, will now add OAM to their names, reflecting their Medal of the Order of Australia.
Mrs Armstrong said she had no idea who nominated her for the award, but considering she has run Rainbow of Southern Highlands, a charity that raises money for sick and terminally ill children, for almost 30 years, it could be any number of people.
"When I received the letter asking for me to accept the nomination, I thought, 'well, someone has been kind enough to do this, so I guess I better carry it on'. But I don't really like things like this; it's not why I do it."
Mrs Armstrong still runs regular support meetings at her home but now that she is in her 80s she no longer hosts the lunches for 70+ people and doesn't attend as many markets to sell raffle tickets, although she is proud to say she has never said no to a child in need in this district.
She is looking for more assistance to continue supporting families with disabled children.
"You get back much more than you ever put into something like this and people really don't have to do much to help," she said.
Mrs Natalie Tyrawski-Radywyl, also in her 80s, has received numerous recognitions for her service to the Ukranian community as an artistic director and choreographer of traditional dance, but nothing as formal as an OAM.
The former dance teacher has been involved with Ukranian folk-dancing in Australia for more than 50 years, starting with a group of fellow Europeans in the migrant camp in Greta in 1949, then forming the Veselka Ukranian Dance Ensemble in Sydney in 1952.
"When we started we couldn't afford musical accompaniment so I would stand out the front and sing," Mrs Tyrawski-Radywyl said.
This led to the moniker "Nanny Ta-la-la".
The group grew to about 100 dancers, became regular TV and Shell Folkloric Festival performers and toured the US and the Ukraine. While in the US, the Australian mission to the United Nations asked them to perform at the UN.
"Everyone loves our performance, except the Russians who were quite vocal with their disapproval," said Mrs Tyrawski-Radywyl, who has also been a producer and announcer for the Ukranian Radio Program on 2EA and SBS Radio during the 1980s.
After moving to the Southern Highlands about 10 years ago, Mrs Tyrawski-Radywyl assisted at the Diana School of Ballet in Bowral.
All her work in the industry - as a dancer, choreographer, costume maker and group manager - has been voluntary.
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