Anglicans honoured in Australia Day list 2023

A senior public servant and a former dean of the Sydney College of Divinity are among local Anglicans given Australia Day honours.

“Congratulations to the outstanding Australians recognised in today’s honours list,” said the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley in announcing the list. “The recipients have had a significant impact at the local, national and international level and are, quite simply, inspiring.”

There were 736 awards in the

General Division of the Order of Australia. Among them, Professor Emerita Diane Speed (above) was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to tertiary education, and to the Anglican Church of Australia.

Professor Speed was Dean and CEO of the Sydney College of Divinity for 14 years and has been Professor Emerita since 2021. She lectured in the Department of English at the University of Sydney for more than 40 years. As a member of St Mark’s, Darling Point, she has held several parish positions, including lay reader and Bible study leader. She has also served the Diocese in a number of roles, including as the Anglican representative on the NSW Ecumenical Council.

Senior Sydney Anglican layman, Dr Darren Mitchell

(above), was given the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his service to veterans. Dr Mitchell, a Churchill Fellow in 2010, was director of the Office for Veterans’ Affairs in NSW and director of the Anzac Memorial at Hyde Park from 2007-2014.

Dr Mitchell has been active in a