2016 S.E. STEPHENS AWARD WINNER IS PAULINE O’KEEFFE

2016 S.E. STEPHENS AWARD WINNER IS PAULINE O’KEEFFE

The Cairns Historical Society is delighted to announce that Pauline O’Keeffe is the Society’s S.E. Stephens Award winner for 2016.

Society President Clive Skarott presented the award to Pauline at the Society’s AGM, after reading an exhausting account of Pauline’s work researching and presenting Far North Queensland history, with a recent focus on the history of WW1 in FNQ.

Attached below is the full nomination and list of Pauline’s accomplishments and we are confident all members will agree that she is a worthy winner.

The S.E. Stephens Award is an annual award offered by the Cairns Historical Society. It recognises a historian, writer or researcher who has made a significant contribution over a number of years to the research, collection and dissemination of Far North Queensland history.

The award is named after Stephen Ernest (Ernie) Stephens, a founder of the Cairns Historical Society and its first President, in 1958. S.E. (Ernie) Stephens was an avid local historian, naturalist and collector, as well as an advocate of local history and the importance of preserving and communicating it for future generations.

The award is open to anyone in Australia and can be awarded to an individual or a group. Nominations open in February and the winner is announced at the Society’s AGM. Nominees do not have to be members of the Society.

Those who know Pauline will know she is a woman of few words, but she did manage to thank the President and the Society for the honour. 

Congratulations Pauline!