PETER McPhee is a humble recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), dedicating the honour to his family and all the people he has met through his travels and valued work over the years.
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Mr McPhee was announced as receiving an OAM in the Queen's Australia Day honours for 2020 and it came as a shock to the Leeton shire resident.
"I was in shock ... I thought 'where has this come from and why nominate me because surely they are many, many other more deserving recipients'," he said.
"I'm no different to the plumber, the baker, the people who do consistent work for many years."
Mr McPhee's background is in teaching and student counselling for the last 20 years at St Francis College - a place he calls his second home.
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He has received the OAM for his "service to youth and to the community".
The Order of Australia recognises citizens and other persons for achievement or meritorious service.
Mr McPhee's community work is extensive and isn't just limited to Leeton shire.
He is a current member of the Friends of Luro and Leeton Multicultural groups and, over the years has found himself, and his family, helping others in countries overseas.
This has included being a volunteer teacher in Papua New Guinea on two separate occasions, living there with his wife Mary and their children.
Mr McPhee is a current volunteer with Palms Australia, the co-founder of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults in 1992 and an ecumenical monitor for justice and peace during the 1994 election in South Africa.
He was also a volunteer with Rural Australians for Refugees from 2000 to 2004.
All of this work has a common thread - humanity. His work in each of these countries, schools and with students all boils down to human connections and relationships.
The most important of those is the connection he has with his family. Mr McPhee credits his wife and children for his achievements and successes, saying without them and their insistence he take up opportunities as they arose, he would never have been able to experience what he has.
He counts all of these experiences as being some of the most enriching times of his life, learning from people who live vastly different lives to those in Leeton and bringing those memories and friendships home.
Mr McPhee said if there was one message he could promote through receiving the OAM it would be centred on everyone "embracing the people around them".
"Let's be enriched by difference and not see it as a threat," he said.
"It's all about that human connection and building relationships. At the end of the day we are all just humans. It doesn't matter what colour we are, what beliefs we have, our religion.
"None of that. It's about forming relationships and that is where I feel most privileged, be that in teaching, counselling (destigmatising the myth around mental health) and being active in the local community and the communities of the developing world."
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