Australia Day 2023 Honours: Kent Mayo awarded OAM for service to the community of Uralla

Mr Mayo, who was working as a teacher at the time, moved to Armidale from Bathurst with his wife Annie in 1973 after he was promoted to the Armidale Demonstration School.

The pair only lasted in Armidale for one year before Mr Mayo's love for Uralla won out and they moved to the quiet town.

Australia Day honours for the Northern Tablelands:

"I had fallen in love with Uralla," he said.

"It was so sleepy and hadn't woken up to itself and the charm that it possessed."

Mr Mayo continued working as a teacher before founding the Uralla Players in 1976.

"Uralla had no theatre group and I thought it was just the right environment for an old-time musical and that's how we created Mrs O'Malley's Magnificent Music Hall," he said.

"A lot of people in town thought it was a crazy idea."

Mr Mayo wrote and directed the popular theatre production, which became a huge annual event with a six-week season each year from 1976 to 1988.

"About 3000 people would come through each year to see the show," he said.

He remained the president of the Uralla Players until 1992 and during that time also directed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Wizard of Oz in 1983 and 1985.

From the community group that were involved in the Uralla Players, the Uralla Historical Society was born.

"When Annie and I first moved to Uralla, we were attracted by the number of charming Victorian buildings that had been virtually preserved by neglect," Mr Mayo said.

"There was only one real reason why people stopped in Uralla and that was to visit Thunderbolt's Grave."

Mr Mayo said there were three "derelict buildings right in the centre of town" that were built by the McCrossin's. There was talk that one of the buildings was going to be demolished.

"Us newcomers were horrified by that and that's how the Historical Society was formed, to save that building and make sure it would be used," he said.

"We restored the building and over the next few years we acquired the other two buildings and restored them to now have vibrant new uses."

Mr Mayo remained the president of the Uralla Historical Society from 1980 to 2000 and was a committee member from 1979 to 2020.

"The museum now houses some excellent exhibitions and is based on the principle of empathy," he said.

"That means the exhibitions have to touch the audience. When people walk out of our museum, they either have a tear in their eye or a smile on their face."

Mr Mayo also became a committee member of the Friends of the New England Regional Art Museum between 2002 and 2003.

He was the president of Arts North West between 2008 and 2009 and was a board member from 2003 to 2014.

He was also a volunteer reference committee member from 2010 to 2014 with Museums and Galleries New South Wales and became a program assessment panel member between 2010 and 2011.

He also became a coach for speech and drama at the Armidale Eisteddfod from 1987 to 2000 and was a volunteer with the Orphans and Urchins Choir from 1987 to 1998.

He was chairman of the Creative Village Committee with Uralla Shire Council from 1995 to 2005 and was a member of the tourism committee from 1982 to 1986.

He remains the honorary museum director of McCrossin's Mill Museum, a position he has held since 2004.

Stepping away from his historical and cultural interests, Mr Mayo founded the Sunny Jim Cricket Club in 1987, managed and coached the Armidale District Junior Representative Cricket Team from 1989 to 1991 and the Northern Tablelands Junior Representative Cricket Team between 1989 and 1991.

"I coached junior cricket and we had six or seven teams in the Armidale competition. It was quite impressive," he said.

"The kids were all good-natured and were very interested in improving their skills."

Mr Mayo said the incredible team of people he has worked with over the years made all of the positive changes in Uralla come about.

"I was just one of the people involved in these projects, everyone worked as hard as I did," he said.

"Having the support of my wife Annie is really what made it all possible."

Mr Mayo said he is honoured to receive an OAM for his work within the community.

"My brother used to have this saying and it's that this is a nice shock, and that's what this is," he said. "A nice shock.

"The most rewarding thing is that you have these visions of what might be possible and you work for it, then suddenly you have people on board and it all happens."

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