By Victoria Stone-Meadows
A Beaconsfield man has had his long years of environmental work with the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens and other groups recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia.
Alex Smart has been involved with preservation of the Australian environment for most of his life and said it is a great honour to receive this award on Australia Day.
“I was a bit stunned and when the letter came from the Governor General but it certainly was a very pleasant surprise,” he said.
“I was thrilled to bits to think I am getting recognised for my work on the environment and natural history on Australia Day because that’s really what motivates me; I am passionate about natural heritage, plants, animals, and the environment.”
Mr Smart, now 78 years old, first became involved with environmental volunteer work when he was a teenager and would regularly visit the Grampians from his home in Yarraville.
“I got involved with some friends who were interested in the Grampians and walking and looking at the plants and the animals,” he said.
“That was what initiated my interest and my friends would point things out and ask how things work.”
Since that time, Mr Smart has been involved as a volunteer with many environmental groups across Melbourne but was most heavily involved with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Cranbourne.
“The Australian Plants Society and my friends from there were involved with the Royal Botanic Garden in Cranbourne and it is an absolute gem,” he said.
Mr Smart first became a committee member for the Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne in 1994 and has held many volunteer roles with the gardens since.
“I have been involved with that for over 20 years now, the collection of Australian plants there has won many awards and it is just wonderful to go there and help people see things and have a look.
“It’s more than just the Australian Garden, though, there is a wonderful indigenous section and rare and threatened plants – it is just a thrill to see them and photograph them.”
Through his involvement in the gardens and his tireless volunteer efforts, Mr Smart received the honour of having one of the plant growing houses named after him; the building is now known as Alex’s Shed.
Mr Smart said he was unaware his friends had nominated him for the award but is grateful they did.
“My friends nominated me and the bastards didn’t tell me,” he said.
“I don’t know who all the nominations were from but it is good and I am lucky to have friends I have worked with over the years who have probably embellished what I have done.”
Although stepping back from his official duties at the Cranbourne Botanical Gardens due to his age, Mr Smart’s passion for environmental preservation shows no signs of slowing.
“Even in my local environment here at Beaconsfield I have things going like an attempt to reintroduce the Helmeted Honeyeater along the creek,” he said.
“We are at a stage where the federal Helmeted Honeyeater Recovery Committee has agreed the Helmeted Honeyeater should be introduced to the Upper Beaconsfield area.”
Mr Smart received a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to conservation and the environment and will join other awards he has won such as a Centenary Medal in 2001 and becoming an Honorary Fellow of the Metrology Society of Australia in 2003.
