City of Wollongong celebrates top citizens in 2026

2025's Citizen of the Year Malika Reese set the precedent for song when she accepted the city's top award and this year's joint winners, Teresa Tran OAM and H. Phong Le OAM, embraced the challenge, ending yesterday's ceremony with an uplifting celebration of multicultural Australia.

"Theresa and Phong did a beautiful rendition of I am, you are, we are Australian with their Vietnamese flavour, which was wonderful. Lots of goosebump moments," Wollongong Lord Mayor Tania Brown said.

It's been an incredible 40-year journey for the couple, from fleeing communist Vietnam, to starting afresh in Wollongong, to standing before a crowd of award-winning citizens, leading them in a patriotic ballad and being praised as "wonderful voices for diversity and inclusion" by the Lord Mayor.

"We met in a refugee camp in Singapore 40 years ago," Teresa said. "We were put into prison because of the journey."

Phong remembers almost dying at sea, then being rescued "in a miracle" and welcomed to Australia.

"In the new country, with determination and courage, we make a promise to ourselves because of what we went through," Teresa said, "we must make a positive contribution, positive impact to the country, to the city that we now live in. We are so lucky and grateful to reside in Wollongong city. Every day is a blessing to us."

Teresa made a promise to herself to show Australians that sheltering refugees is a "good investment".

"Because not only the next generation, but the future generation will put back into Australia, the seed that you grow will grow into the beautiful tree."

Today, the couple – known for supporting refugees, war veterans and widows – want an end to generalisations about immigrants. "We need to move forward and work together for a better and stronger community, and make sure that we do everything together with love," Teresa said.

Phong agreed: "For me, just keep sharing, keep compassion, keep loving, keep giving, so you can make the miracle happen."

Phong is a board member and Teresa is the long-serving president of the Vietnamese Community In Wollongong, an organisation that also took home a certificate yesterday – for Community Group of the Year.

"This is a lovely surprise. We did not do this alone – there's a lot of people behind us, our community members, our family," Teresa said. "Everyone in the community deserves an award for what they went through."

On February 28, the Vietnamese community are inviting the guests to celebrate the most significant event on their cultural calendar – Lunar New Year, also known as Tet – at Dapto Ribbonwood Centre.

Senior citizen celebrates 'ubuntu'

The title of Senior Citizen of the Year went to Judith Henderson, patron and co-founder of International Women’s Day Illawarra, and a champion of programs for women and girls. The annual IWD event – which has raised more than $400,000 for women’s programs and services over 21 years – will this year have Olympian Jana Pittman as its guest speaker on March 6, and Judith said it's already sold out.

Judith said she was "bowled over" by her award and reminded of a word that Bishop Desmond Tutu, the late South African human rights activist, shared with her many years ago: ubuntu. "It means every person you meet becomes a part of you, and you become a part of them. And that stayed with me, and I thought how true that is, and that's how I feel about these sorts of things. There are so many people who are a part of this. It's not something that you do on your own."

Young Citizen who planted a tiny forest

Fatima Al Taleb was awarded for her work on Keira High School's Student Representative Council in creating a garden and green space for students.

"I was beyond excited and thrilled that I was nominated, first of all, as a finalist, let alone actually receiving the award. That was quite overwhelming," Fatima said.

"I'm most proud of achieving the tiny forest that I have helped to build at Keira High School. We've planted over 200 plants in there, with the help of the botanical gardens team and the Wollongong City Council to build the tiny forest. The school helped with building the fence around the tiny forest.

"I like the eucalyptus trees, they bring out that nice smell. I love anything refreshing, it's so nice."

The school forest was planted last September, its growth almost as remarkable as the young leader's. "Fatima's speech about what she's doing in her community from a young year 12 Keira High student was very impressive," the Lord Mayor said.

The Young Citizen of the Year category was "particularly strong", she added. "All of the finalists were deserving winners."

Prize for zookeeper turned conservation leader

Symbio's Jarrad Prangell won the Sustainability and Environmental Achievement Award for his conservation work in saving endangered frogs, flying thermal drones at night to map the locations of koalas and southern greater gliders, and working with the Local Aboriginal Land Council to teach young First Nations rangers how to use drones. "That's been a lot of fun," Jarrad said.

Jarrad is also spearheading the Symbio Conservation Foundation, a new not-for-profit arm at the Helensburgh wildlife park, and is particularly proud of having helped fill in gaps in the scientific knowledge of Illawarra koalas and also in the process learning about "a beautiful population" of southern greater gliders.

"It's pretty special. And they're not far from there at all; they're only really five minutes up the road. Illawarra is home to a lot of beautiful species. I've been very lucky to be able to just really work with some of the animals," Jarrad said.

The Innovation Achievement Award went to Ty Christopher for his contribution to the clean energy transition, ranging from a four-decade career in industry to his current role as Energy Futures Network Director at the University of Wollongong, where he leads close to 100 researchers. Last year Ty not only co-wrote Business Illawarra's Clean Energy Roadmap but was also the brains behind the new interactive, clean-energy exhibits at Science Space. “Who does not want to design cool toys – the dream of every engineer,” he said at the time.

"This is very humbling to receive this award," he said yesterday. "I feel like almost an imposter, but it's just lovely to see the recognition of the innovation that's going on in our region, whether it's the big end of town – the big companies and new startups in clean energy, Green Gravity, Sicona Batteries, Hysata, all of those – or it's the social enterprises and the social startups that are also innovating here in the Illawarra. The grassroots and community groups – Renew Illawarra, Good for the Gong, Rewiring Australia, and who can forget the Knitting Nanas? It's just amazing to be part of this community ecosystem in all that we do."

City full of talent

The 2026 Diversity and Inclusion Award went to Green Connect Farm at Warrawong, a social enterprise known for providing jobs for young people and former refugees. Rob Battocchio, founder of the Wollongong Aquathon, received the Sports Achievement Award, while the Arts and Cultural Achievement Award went to Korimul Gang Show, the series of skits performed by Scouts, Guides and local volunteers for the past 50 years.

"To hear our name called out this afternoon was just mind blowing," said Gang Show director Joshua Warren, who attended with stage manager Michael Glover.

"I've been involved as an adult helper for 25 years, and I love it," Michael said. "I think the thing that makes Gang Show for me is the laughter. Everybody's enjoying it."

Performed every two years, the show's cast ranges from 40 to 100.

"The show's been going since 1975 so each year it's just gotten bigger," Josh said.

This year will be a planning year, with a camp in August when children will write the first themed Gang Show.

"One great thing about Gang Show is that it is a little bit corny and a bit cheesy," Josh said, "and the great thing with our plan for the 2027 show is that we're going to keep that corny and cheesy factor of the show, but we're going to structure it a little bit differently, with the storyline from start to finish."

Thursday's ceremony also featured three recipients of the Lord Mayor's Award: robotics mentors Andrew and Lyndell Clark, for their work in STEM education; and Diane Reid for community volunteering.

Six highly commended certificates were awarded to Dr Sharad Tamhane, Sama Sabbar, AJ Andrew Junior Rapana, FRC Team 5981 - Project Bucephalus, Angela Forrest and Better Births Illawarra (BBI), which turns 10 years old this year.

BBI president and co-founder Sharon Settecasse said: "This is for the mothers and babies. We couldn't do this work without the women and the families who share their stories and really speak up about what they want and need."

Looking back on a decade of advocacy, Sharon said, "Probably the proudest moment is when you bump into a woman in the street and they say to you, 'The work that you guys did had a positive impact on my birth experience, and I feel more connected to myself and my baby, my family.'

"Then I think the Birth Trauma Inquiry is our biggest and greatest achievement, of having 4500 women share their stories, and for $85 million being invested in maternity care, which is the most the New South Wales government's invested in a decade. That's been huge."