Francis honoured with OAM for services to the community

By Gabriel Garcia

Jun 12, 2023

Humbled: Cobram resident Francis Lawrence Wallace has received an Order of Australia Medal for services to the community. Photo: Gabriel Garcia Photo by Gabriel Garcia

Cobram resident Francis Lawrence Wallace has been honoured as part of the King’s Birthday 2023 honours list with an Order of Australia.

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The OAM is being awarded for service to the community in a variety of roles.

Mr Wallace helped found the Moira Shire Foodshare program in 2004 and volunteered as a warehouse foreman for 18 years before retiring from the organisation in 2022 due to health reasons.

Before that, he was pivotal in the creation of Moira Shire Foodshare’s predecessor Cobram and District Foodbank.

Mr Wallace, who was a keen football player when he was young, was also involved with the Invergordon Football Club as a selector and groundmarker for 10 years and sat as a board member at the Invergordon Fruit Growers Corporation.

Looking back at his years with the football club, Mr Wallace said they were great days,

“We had a very great community in Invergordon. It was really family-oriented,” he said.

Mr Wallace isn’t someone who takes things for granted and he said volunteering at the Foodshare was his way of giving thanks.

“The reason I volunteered was I thought I needed something of an interest and I could give something back to the community ... I'd had a pretty good life myself,” he said.

Like many OAM recipients before him, Mr Wallace is humble about receiving the accolade.

“Well, I must admit it was a bit of a surprise, really, because I didn't think I'd done that much for the community, but obviously someone thought I did,” he said.

Mr Wallace was previously honoured by the Rotary Club of Cobram in 2011 with the Citizen of Distinction Award.

Governor-General David Hurley has released a statement saying all those on the King’s 2023 honours list deserved their place for their contribution to the community, be it local, national or international.

“Some are volunteers, others have had a remarkable impact in professional roles — many have done both. They are all inspiring and their service is valued by us all,” he said.