Former Albany MLA Peter Watson receives OAM in Government House investiture ceremony with family at his side

Former Albany member Peter Watson received his Medal of the Order of Australia in a Government House investiture ceremony last week, rewarded for his decades of service to the Parliament and people of WA.

Mr Watson attended the ceremony at Government House in Perth with his wife Dianne, daughter Kristy, son Justin and granddaughter Amelie, and was one of 27 recipients to receive their medals on September 17.

“My family were all very proud, and it was really special for me that they could to be there to see me receive it,” Mr Watson said.

“The first thing I did after I went up to get my medal was turn around and show them, I walked back to my seat the long way so I could go past them and they could see.”

Mr Watson was named on the King’s Birthday Honours list in June, alongside fellow Great Southern recipients Philip Patterson, Professor John Olynyk, and the late Antony Smith.

Mr Watson served as the member for Albany for 20 years from 2001 to 2021 and spent the last four years of his tenure as speaker for the Legislative Assembly.

He said his family had been his rock throughout his working life, and was happy to have them by his side at the investiture ceremony.

“It’s a special thing, to know your family are proud of you. It makes you walk a bit taller,” he said.

“It was also great for them to see me receive the medal because they played such a big part in the work that I did.

“When I was the local member I was away a lot and I wouldn’t have been able to do the job the way I did it without their support, and without the community’s support.

“I was very proud to stand up and receive it for myself, my family, and also for the people of Albany who I represented.”

Mr Patterson also received his medal on September 17 for his service to primary industry in WA, while Mr Olynyk attended the September 16 ceremony to receive his Order of Australia for service to health sciences, and Mr Smith received the OAM honour posthumously as a pioneer of WA’s wine industry.