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Australian of the Year Luncheon

The Australian of the Year Luncheon showcases a sensational line up of speakers and performers which gives attendees the opportunity to enjoy lunch and make meaningful connections with a variety of business and community leaders whilst showing your support of the importance of Australia Day in our community.

SPEAKERS: DR RICHARD HARRIS SC OAM & DR CRAIG CHALLEN SC OAM AUSTRALIANS OF THE YEAR 2019

In July 2018, anaesthetist Dr Richard Harris and retired vet Dr Craig Challen made worldwide headlines when they joined an international team to rescue a group of boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

Richard is a diver with 30 years' experience and a specialist in aeromedical retrieval. He has previously participated in complex diving recoveries, appeared in National Geographic documentaries and, in 2015, was recognised for his outstanding contribution to cave exploration. In 2017 he was awarded The Australasian Technical Diver of the Year.

Craig has dived some of Australia's deepest wrecks and has set depth records in diving, including diving to 194m in the Pearse Resurgence, New Zealand in 2011. He was awarded Technical Diver of the Year 2009 at the Australian technical diving conference Oztek.

Both Craig and Richard were awarded the Star of Courage for unwavering and selfless bravery following the successful rescue of the trapped soccer team.