Bourke’s Australia Day Ambassador — ‘Reflect, Respect and Celebrate’

Phillip Sullivan, Cecil Dorrington, Dawn Smith, Greg Donovan, Leonie Brown, Raylene Donovan, Margo Grimes and Nimalan Karthikeyan at the reception for Bourke’s Australia Day Ambassador Greg Donovan at Diggers on the Darling on Monday evening. Photo TWH

Bourke’s Australia Day Ambassador Greg Donovan reflected the spirit of the event with the theme of his address ‘Reflect, Respect, Celebrate’.

Greg is the founder of the Born to Run Foundation and the Big Red Run fundraising event, following his son’s diagnoses with Type 1 diabetes and coeliac disease. He is also founder of the Big Burke and Wills Trek and the ANZAC Day Challenge and has tackled a brutal 250km run across the world’s four biggest and most dangerous deserts.

The Four Desert run is rated by Time Magazine alongside Tour de France and Dakar Rally as one of the top 10 most challenging endurance events on the planet.

Greg was an appropriate choice as ambassador for Bourke’s Australia Day, having faced personal and physical hardship and turning those challenges into a community awareness and fundraising mission.

“The story of Australia began more than 65 thousand years ago with the First Nations people and continues today,” Greg said.

“Like any good story it has its highs and lows, in part beautiful and in part raw.

“Some of those chapters begin with our newest citizens receiving their Australian citizenship here today.

“We live in a land of sharp contrast – flood, fire, drought and this year, a pandemic.

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