Ash Barty's huge weekend
The Queen’s Birthday long weekend has been anything but dull for retired tennis champ Ash Barty, having joined a lengthy list of Aussies recognised on the Queen’s Birthday Honours List and taking part in an icy plunge in the name of charity.
The 26-year-old was appointed an AO (Officer of the Order of Australia) after ending her tennis career having won this year’s Australian Open - making her a three-time grand slam singles champion.
Barty also took part in Big Freeze 8 - an annual sporting event that raises funds for Motor Neuron Disease (MND) - which saw her slide down the iconic Big Freeze slide into icy waters.
With costumes encouraged, Barty took to the slide while dressed as Rafiki, the baboon from The Lion King, re-enacting an iconic moment from the movie with a small Simba toy in hand.
In an interview during half-time of the event’s clash between the Collingwood Magpies and Melbourne Demons, Barty showed her true classy colours while reflecting on the slide.
“The moment’s about Simba. It’s not about me, it’s about Simba!” she told Hamish McLachlan and Tim Watson.
“At this point I’m thinking, ‘I can’t breathe, I need to get this wool off me’.
“Then it is Simba’s moment. This is the iconic moment from the movie! Why not, right?”
McLachlan said: “The beautiful thing about Ash, it is never about Ash. It is always about someone or something else. It happens to be Simba.”
But Barty wasn’t the only one to have a momentous weekend, with the 992 people featured on the Queen’s Birthday Honours Lists including individuals involved in the country’s pandemic response, the first female premier of NSW, scientists and philanthropists championing for good causes, and athletes and politicians.
Shane Warne was posthumously appointed an AO in recognition of his distinguished service to cricket - with 708 wickets under his belt - and her service to the community through charitable initiatives.
"On behalf of all Australians, I congratulate the Australians recognised in today’s Honours List," the Governor-General said in a statement.
“Recipients share some common traits – including selflessness, excellence and a commitment to service. They’re from different backgrounds, their stories are each unique, and each has served in different ways. This diversity is a strength and each has impacted their community and made it better.
“For that, we thank them and, today, we celebrate them.
“Collectively the recipients, whose achievements span community service, science and research, industry, sport, the arts and more, represent the very best of Australia.”
Some of the Queen's Birthday honours recipients include:
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Victoria’s Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp
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Teacher's aide Jill Smith
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Managing Director of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Nicholas Heyward
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Chief defence scientist Tanya Monro
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Former deputy prime minister John Anderson
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Physicist Anne Green
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Cook and author Donna Hay
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Chef Matthew Moran
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Former Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young
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Golfer Adam Scott
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Author Susan Marsden
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Founding director at The Immunisation Foundation of Australia Catherine Hughes
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Former Nationals politician Larry Anthony
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NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant
For a full list of Australians included on this year’s Honours List, head here.
Image: @7AFL (Twitter)