Four inspiring residents have been named as recipients of the 2023 Boroondara Citizen of the Year awards.
The awards acknowledge locals who have made an outstanding contribution to Boroondara through exceptional leadership or commitment to improving the lives of others, with the winners selected by a committee of Councillors chaired by the Mayor.
This year’s winners’ local achievements were celebrated at a special Australia Day citizenship ceremony held on Thursday 26 January. At this ceremony, we also welcomed over 150 new Australians to our community.
Our citizens of the year
Maxine Gross was one of two recipients for the Citizen of the Year Award, acknowledging her charity work as co-founder of You Matter which helps survivors of family violence to restart their lives.
John Unkles was also recognised as 2023 Citizen of the Year for his tireless volunteering with the Camberwell Hockey Club, for over 35 years.
Mike and Ben Zhou were joint winners of the 2023 Young Citizen of the Year for their ongoing community contribution through Christmas busking across Boroondara for over 13 years and donating all proceeds to charity.
