June 14, 2021
Well-known Murgon Lions member Bevan Routledge has been awarded an Order Of Australia (OAM) in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours.
The former Cloyna dairy farmer, who now lives in Murgon, has been a member of the Murgon Lions Club for the past 40 years and has served at the club’s monthly markets for the past 25 years.
He is also the club’s long-standing secretary and served as the Lions’ District Youth Exchange chairman for several years, along with several other district roles.
Bevan was also one of the few volunteers who mastered the arcane art of assembling and disassembling the famous Murgon Lions Merry Go Round in just over an hour.
This merry-go-round was a popular attraction at many community events for decades until rising public liability insurance premiums forced it into retirement a few years ago.
The ride has now found a new home at Murgon’s Queensland Dairy and Heritage Museum.
Bevan is also a life member of the Murgon Blue Light Disco Association, a group that has been providing safe entertainment for young people in the Murgon district for the past 25 years.
While the COVID pandemic has forced the Blue Light Disco into a temporary recess, Bevan said he’s hopeful it will return as soon as the situation normalises.
In his long life, the 80-year-old has also been a junior tennis and junior cricket umpire, and served in the roles of secretary and president of the Murgon branch of the Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation for many years.
He was also treasurer of the South Burnett Holstein Friesian Association, and in 2017 was one of four nominees for a South Burnett Lifetime Achievement Award.
Bevan said his principal motivation for more than four decades of service to the Murgon district was to help support an area he loved, and he intends to continue.
“I enjoy doing it all and being part of the community,” Bevan said.
