Tara Murray
Uncle Graham (Boots) and Aunty Joyce Cooper were stunned to be named joint winners of Brimbank council’s citizen of the year award.
Following the council’s Australia Day ceremony on Tuesday morning, Uncle Graham said they were ‘gobsmacked’.
The two local Aboriginal Elders were honoured for their work in helping tackle broader community issues, advocating on behalf of the community, acting as role models and having fostered more than 87 children.
“We thought we were getting an OAM [medal of the Order of Australia],” Uncle Graham said.
“This award, in my eyes, citizens of the year is a bit better than the OAM … because, it’s the community nominating you and looking at you as community-minded people. The OAM is the government in my eyes.”