GEEBUNG parish priest Fr Tim Norris said he was surprised and delighted to hear he was to receive an Australia Day award on January 26.
The Brisbane priest received the Medal of the Order of Australia in the General Division (OAM) for service to the community of Geebung, particularly through the Catholic Church.
Fr Norris, who has been parish priest of St Kevin’s, Geebung, since 1959, built the parish and school from scratch when he first arrived off the boat in Brisbane from County Limerick in Ireland.
The affable priest, with a still evident Irish accent, began raising funds and co-ordinated community voluntary labour to build the parish church and St Kevin’s Primary School.
Fr Norris said he did not know who nominated him for the award, but he was pleased they did.
He said the award will hopefully give younger men thinking about the priesthood a bit of encouragement.
He said hopefully they would see that the life of a priest was “most fulfilling”, it can “certainly be very happy and rewarding” and “they’ll have the love and affection of their people to keep them going”.
