Councillor humbled by OAM award

by Janine Hill

“PEOPLE like us don’t get these sort of things.”

That comment from a community member reminded Winston Johnston just how special it was to find himself in the Australia Day honours list.

The Sunshine Coast division five councillor and Maleny Show Society life member has been named as a recipient of the Order of Australia Medal for his service to local government and the community.

A humbled Councillor Johnston paid tribute to those he had worked with over the years to make things happen.

“The OAM, I don’t look at it as something I’ve earned but as something everyone else has helped me to earn,” he said.

“If you don’t have strong support and people working with you and helping you do things, it’s hard to do them yourself.

“I just want to thank the community and tell them that’s it’s a great honour. The way I look at it, I was just doing what I love doing.”

Born and bred in Maleny, Cr Johnston community involvement began work at 15 in the ANZ bank. 

But by 18, had moved into the insurance industry and, at the direction of his boss, found himself convenor of the Miss Insurance quest, which fed Queensland entrants into the Miss Australia quest.

Show Society president at 23

By 23, he was president of the Maleny Show Society and he has also been heavily involved in the Maleny Lions over the years.

“I was always very community-oriented. My mother and father always said make sure you put into the community more than you get out of it,” he said.

In 1982, Cr Johnston was elected to the Landsborough Shire Council, later known as Caloundra City Council, and served three terms.

He successfully ran for election for the Sunshine Coast Council in 2020 and has announced his intention to stand again this year.

Aside from his role as a councillor, Cr Johnston has been on the Sunshine Coast Tourism Development Board, the Landsborough-Maroochy Water Board during construction of the Baroon Pocket Dam, the Sunshine Coast University planning committee, and the Sunshine Coast Hospital Board.

He said he loved serving the community and getting thing done. 

“I don’t drive past stuff and say, ‘That needs doing’. I like to be the driving force behind seeing what’s needed and getting it done,” he said.

His OAM follows another great achievement: he and his wife, Helen, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. 

Cr Winston Johnston: “The way I look at it, I was just doing what I love doing.”