November 16, 2022
A funeral will be held in Cherbourg next Friday (November 25) for well-known community leader Dr Honor Dell Cleary OAM.
Aunty Honor, 84, was born and raised in Cherbourg.
During her long life she earned many awards, including a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2000 for services to the Aboriginal communities of Cherbourg and Brisbane and a Centenary Medal in 2001 for services to the Aboriginal community, particularly at Pine Rivers.
She was also awarded a Rotary medal for her service to the community.
In 2013, Aunty Honor was recognised for her contributions to early childhood education and the wider society by the Central Queensland University which conferred upon her an honorary degree of Doctor of the University.
Her involvement in early childhood education began after she completed an early childhood course in Brisbane.
She then worked at the Yelangi Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Preschool for more than 30 years.
However, her community involvement and lobbying extended into many other facets of society, including health and housing, especially in the Pine Rivers and Moreton Bay regions.
She was a Board Member of the Moreton Regional Elders Committee and served as an Elder with the Murri Court.
Aunty Honor was also a founding member of the Bunyabilla Aboriginal Corporation in Lawnton.
In 2018, her work was recognised again when a new social housing complex at Lawnton was named after her.
At the time, the Queensland Department of Housing described her as a “living legend” for people in the Pine Rivers community.
Aunty Honor was also a strong supporter of Cherbourg’s Ration Shed and would often bring a busload of visitors up for cultural education.
She spent her last days in palliative care in Cherbourg surrounded by family, and died peacefully on November 12.
Aunty Honor’s funeral will be held from 1:30pm on November 25 at the Cherbourg Community Hall.
