Kim Beazley, Stephanie Rice and Marcia Hines get Australia Day Honours

Melbourne, Jan 26 (ANI): Australia's former Labor Party leader Kim Beazley, Olympic swimming champ Stephanie Rice, and singer Marcia Hines are among those that are being awarded at this year's Australia Day Honours.

This year 536 Australians, 369 men and 167 women, were awarded for their achievements in arts, education, business, law and sport, with a majority of the recognition going to those involved in community work, reports News.com.au.

Beazley was awarded the highest honour, Companion in the Order of Australia (AC), along with indigenous rights activist Faith Bandler and patron of the arts Marilyn Darling.

With the Beijing Olympics last year, 22 Olympians along with gold medallists pole-vaulter Steve Hooker, swimmer Stephanie Rice and diver Matthew Mitcham have been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the general division.

John Bell, an actor, founder and artistic director of the Bell Shakespeare Company, was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO), along with Fairfax Media director John B. Fairfax, barrister and refugee rights advocate Julian Burnside QC and retired federal court judge, scholar, author and law reform advocate Ronald Sackville QC.

Retired Sydney TV newsreader Brian Henderson, singer Marcia Hines, former ABC sports commentator Norman May and Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, who is joint managing director of Transfield Holdings and a number of other known faces were made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). Human rights lawyer Marion Le, retired champion netballer Liz Ellis, former rugby union Wallaby Tim Horan, champion surfer Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew and former National Farmers' Federation president and executive chairman of PrimeAg, Peter Corish, were also made an AM.

The man who found the HMAS Sydney, the Australian navy battle cruiser sunk off the coast of Western Australia during World War II, Edward Graham, has been made an AM while Commodore Robert Trotter, who contributed to the search, was awarded an OAM.

Wendy Whiteley, artist and one-time wife of the late Brett Whiteley, has been awarded an OAM for her contribution to art and philanthropy as has actor and philanthropist Rebel Penfold-Russell.

The honours list is announced twice a year on Australia Day and the Queen's Birthday and are the result of nominations put to the Council for the Order of Australia. (ANI)