Salvo Named Melburnian of the Year

Major Brendan Nottle.

The Salvation Army’s Major Brendan Nottle has been named the 2013 Melburnian of the Year.

The honour was part of the Melbourne Awards, which celebrates and rewards inspirational people and organisations who dedicate their time and energy to help shape our city.

“Major Nottle has become the face of the Salvos, given them a higher profile and selflessly committed his life to help the downtrodden, especially Melbourne’s homeless people,” the citation said.

“Major Nottle oversees the daily operations of the Salvation Army in the central city, which sees him at work seven days a week helping diverse people with many challenges.”   

A father of three, he also manages to find time to serve as Collingwood Football Club’s volunteer chaplain.  He is a past Melbourne award winner, taking out the contribution to community by an individual award in 2011. He was also a Moomba monarch in 2012.

St John Ambulance Victoria was also honoured with a prestigious Melbourne Award, taking out the category of Contribution to a Community by a Community Organisation at the 2013 Melbourne Awards Gala Ceremony.

Held at the Melbourne Town Hall, the Melbourne Awards celebrate the inspirational Melbournians who dedicate their time and energy for the benefit of the city.

St John Ambulance Victoria was recognised for its long-standing service to the City of Melbourne, where it has provided vital community programs and lifesaving First Aid services at the City’s best known events and venues for over 130 years.

The Melbourne Award also recognised St John’s contribution to community health and wellbeing through key programs such as its Heart Start initiative, which gifted defibrillators to Melbourne and Victorian sporting clubs, as well as its partnerships with 13CABS and Metro Trains which ensure the safety of people travelling within the City of Melbourne.

St John Ambulance Victoria CEO Stephen Horton said the award was a testament to the organisation’s commitment to achieving First Aid resilience across the community.

“St John Ambulance Victoria is a self-funded Not for Profit organisation that works to ensure every person that visits the City of Melbourne is kept safe – our services are intrinsically linked with key events and milestones that have helped shape Melbourne’s unique history,” Horton said.

St John’s heritage with the City of Melbourne extends back to 1883, when it commenced the first ambulance service using hand drawn Ashford Litter stretchers. In 1908 St John established the original First Aid Volunteers Association which assisted in providing the first public First Aid duty in Victoria for 100,000 visitors who queued to view the Melbourne arrival of the Great White Fleet (US Navy Battle fleet).

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the individuals and organisations recognised in this year’s program have made an important contribution to Melbourne.

“The Melbourne Awards are reserved for those people and organisations whose work and deeds have helped shape Melbourne into the remarkable city it is today."