The community service of two hardworking people in Melbourne’s outer north has been recognised with Australia Day honours.
South Morang resident Jack Mercovich (pictured) was the only Whittlesea resident on the 2015 Australia Day honours list. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the general division for his service to the local community.
The 82-year-old was president of community representative group Friends of South Morang for eight years and is a volunteer at both Villa Maria Disability and Bundoora Extended Care Centre. He’s also a Eucharist minister at St Damian’s Catholic Parish and a Young Christian Workers’ Movement co-ordinator.
Elaine Brogan, of Gladstone Park, also received the Medal of the Order of Australia in the general division for service to historical preservation organisations in Victoria.
Mrs Brogan, 62, is the proud daughter of a dairy farmer and a descendent of one of Victoria’s first residents, who arrived in 1848 from Dundee, Scotland. “My family came out here as free people and I’ve always been interested in where I came from.”
Lexi Cottee
