Special Supporters
Snowy Hydro SouthCare has gathered support from several well-known individuals that have chosen to voice their support for the Service by becoming Ambassadors and Patrons of Snowy Hydro SouthCare. These individuals include The Governor-General - Quentin Bryce, The Chief of the Defence Force - Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, Olympic athlete Michael Milton and more.
Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce, AC
Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
BA. LLB (Qld). Hon LLD (Macquarie). Hon DLitt (Charles Sturt). Hon DUniv (Griffith). Hon DU (QUT). Hon LLD (Qld)
Quentin Bryce was born in Brisbane in 1942 and spent her early years in Ilfracombe, a small town in Central Western Queensland. In 1965, she graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from The University of Queensland and, in the same year, was admitted to the Queensland Bar. She has since enjoyed a rich and distinguished career as an academic, lawyer, community and human rights advocate, senior public officer, university college principal, and vice-regal representative in Queensland, and now Australia.
Ms Bryce's former roles - some, among firsts for women in this country - include:
• Lecturer and Tutor in Law, The University of Queensland, 1968-1983
• Convenor, National Women's Advisory Council, 1982-1984
• Inaugural Director, Queensland Women's Information Service, Office of the Status of Women, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, 1984-1987
• Director, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Queensland, 1987-1988
• Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 1988-1993
• founding Chair and CEO, National Childcare Accreditation Council, 1993-1996
• Principal and CEO, The Women's College, University of Sydney, 1997-2003
• Governor of Queensland, 2003-2008
Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston AC, AFC, Chief of the Defence Force
Special Ambassador for Snowy Hydro SouthCare
Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston began his military career as a RAAF cadet pilot in 1970. He completed postings in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Singapore and the U.S.A. before being awarded the Air Force Cross for a 1979 open sea rescue in gale force winds off the coast of Western Australia. Air Chief Marshal Houston became involved with the Black Hawk helicopter project, work which eventually earned him a 1990 appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). He assumed his current appointment as Chief of the Defence Force on 4th July 2005 after four years as Chief of Air Force. In 2008 this appointment was extended for three years and he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia - having previously been appointed a Member in 1990 and advanced as an Officer in 2003.
Air Chief Marshal Houston became a Special Ambassador for the Service in 2005, when upon being presented his plaque, he commended Snowy Hydro SouthCare for their outstanding and committed work. "As a helicopter pilot myself, I understand the demanding environment and trying conditions in which the Snowy Hydro SouthCare pilots operate. As Chief of the Defence Force I deeply appreciate the work of Snowy Hydro SouthCare as approximately 50,000 Defence members and their families live in the ACT and south east NSW. Indeed, some of the lives saved by the Snowy Hydro SouthCare Helicopter have included Defence personnel. This is why I am proud to be associated with Snowy Hydro SouthCare."
Professor Ian Chubb AC, Vice Chancellor of the Australian National University
Special Ambassador for Snowy Hydro SouthCare
Professor Ian Chubb has been the Vice Chancellor of the Australian National University since 2001 and a Special Ambassador for the Service since 2005.
Michael Milton, Paralympics and Olympic Athlete
Special Ambassador for Snowy Hydro SouthCare
Michael Milton has competed at five Paralympics competitions, winning six Paralympics' gold medals and eleven world Championships medals in the process. In addition, he became the fastest Australian skier ever in 2006 by performing a record-breaking speed of 213.65km/hr. Having taken on the added sport of cycling and a battle with oesophageal cancer since 2007, many wonder if there is anything Michael Milton can't do.
In 2005, Michael became a Special Ambassador for Snowy Hydro SouthCare. Adding to his continually expanding list of talents, Michael supported the Service by competing in the 2007 Celebrity Ballroom event, joining seven other Canberran celebrities in Latin American and Ballroom dance-training and performance.
Stuart Diver, the sole survivor of the 1997 Thredbo landslide
Patron for Snowy Hydro SouthCare
Stuart Diver is the miraculous sole survivor of the Thredbo landslide which took place on 30 July 1997. The event took the lives of 18 people after two alpine lodges slid from the steep hills of Thredbo and landed in a pile of rubble. Stuart spent 65 hours in freezing temperatures before he was pulled from the debris to begin a long road to recovery.
As Stuart knows what it is like to be in a crisis situation, he is fully aware of the benefits of the Snowy Hydro SouthCare helicopter service and became a patron of the Service in 1998.
