An autistic researcher and advocate who spent decades being misdiagnosed and in mental health institutions has been named the 2027 Victorian Senior Australian of the Year.
Associate Professor Wenn Lawson, 74, was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager and spent years in and out of mental health institutions before receiving an autism diagnosis at the age of 42.
Since then, he has worked as an educational psychologist and social worker, while becoming a prominent autism researcher, advocate and author of 30 books.
He is among four Victorians recognised in the 2027 Australian of the Year Awards, joining recipients honoured for their work in cancer awareness, youth health and supporting disadvantaged young people.
The Victorian Australian of the Year award went to pancreatic cancer advocate Cherie Dear, who established the national awareness and research platform Dare to Hope with her husband, former Hawthorn footballer Paul Dear.
Paul died from pancreatic cancer in July 2022. Four months later, Cherie’s father Don also died from the disease.
Since their deaths, she has helped establish the annual Dare to Hope AFL match between Hawthorn and Geelong on Easter Monday. Her volunteer-led organisation has also funded three research scholarships.
National Australia Day Council chief executive Carrie Leeson said Dear had “turned personal loss into a determination to find answers to pancreatic cancer”.
The 2027 Victorian Young Australian of the Year is Ryan Brigham, who founded charity Health in Focus at the age of 21.
The organisation delivers healthcare initiatives and education programs in Australia and overseas. It has helped more than 800 young people become volunteers across Australasia, south-east Asia and Africa, and raised more than $500,000 for health initiatives, including free heart health assessments in Victoria.
Wimmera man Gavin ‘Bear’ Hynam was named Victoria’s Local Hero for his work helping disadvantaged young people through his Cars 4 Youth program.
The 65-year-old uses his automotive skills to repair pre-loved cars and gift them to young people in the Horsham area and also mentors learner drivers.
Hynam began the initiative after the death of his eldest son, Preston, in an accident shortly before his 21st birthday in 2008.
Last year, he told the ABC the work had helped put “a little bit of spring back in my step”.
Leeson said all four Victorian recipients were “inspiring examples of how personal experience can drive change”.
The four will join recipients from other states and territories for the national Australian of the Year awards, to be announced in Canberra on January 25, 2027.
The Victorian announcement follows the recent unveiling of New South Wales’ 2027 Australian of the Year recipients, led by Senior Australian of the Year David Cooke, an 84-year-old flying doctor who has spent more than six decades treating patients in remote communities.
Image: Australian Of The Year Website
