The Canadian who helped bring American fast food giants to Australia, Jack Cowin, is one of many high-profile Australians recognised in the inaugural King’s Birthday honours list.
The 80-year-old has been appointed a member in the Order of Australia for significant service to business and to philanthropic support.
Cowin may not necessarily be a household name, but most households would have eaten at his restaurants.
He opened one of the first Kentucky Fried Chicken (now KFC) restaurants in Australia before introducing Hungry Jack’s, with the first burger store Innaloo in Perth.
More recently, he has been the chair of Domino’s Pizza for the past nine years.
Cowin’s father reportedly told him Australia was the “land of opportunity”.
He took a leap with the money of 30 Canadians to invest in the fast food dream after seeing what was on offer in Australia in the late 1960s and reckoning that the American fast food could fill the gap.
“You didn’t need to be Einstein to know that the business could work here too,” he told the Australian Financial Review.
“Back then there was the fish and chips shop, the Chinese takeaway and the white-tablecloth restaurant. That was it in the food service sector.”
His company Competitive Foods Australia Pty Ltd (CFAL), is now reported to have a sales revenue of $1.4bn and employs more than 18,000 staff throughout Australia and New Zealand.
“Rule one in business is to stay in business, and the way you do that is by doing the right thing to your employees, (and) to the customers and I think we’ve done a reasonable job of that over the last 50 years,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2021.
Forbes estimates the fast-food mogul is worth $2.8bn, but his contributions in Australia have included community and philanthropic contributions across education, medicine, sport, Sydney Opera, the Queensland Ballet, the Royal Flying Doctors and youth support.
He is one of 1191 people to be recognised in the first King’s Birthday honours list, including 919 in the general division of the Order of Australia.
They include Dame Edna Everage creator, the late Barry Humphries, other entertainers, medical and science pioneers, politicians and everyday Aussies who contribute to their local communities.
More than 43 per cent of awards – 397 in total – recognised those selfless volunteers, such as Ebenezer Banful from the ACT.
Mr Banful, who came to Australia from Ghana more than 30 years ago, has received a for his service to the African community and to health.
“When I see positive results such as people successfully meeting some of the challenges of settling into a new country – like finding affordable accommodation and employment – it gives me a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment knowing I have helped some people,” Mr Ghan said.
“I hope this will inspire others to generously give of their time and resources to assist others.”
For the first time since the introduction of the Australian honours system in 1975, women (465) have received more honours than men (465) in the general division.
BARRY HUMPHRIES – AC
Barry Humphries died before he could be awarded with Australia’s highest civilian honour for his “eminent service” to the arts and the promotion of Australian culture.
The 89-year-old died at St Vincent’s Private Hospital in Sydney in April, following complications from hip surgery earlier in the year.
His death refocused attention on his long career as one of the world’s greatest satirists who took on the world without fear or favour as Moonee Ponds housewife Dame Edna Everage.
King Charles, who had been subjected to the Dame Edna treatment, passed on his personal condolences to the Humphries family.
Nine Entertainment Editor Richard Wilkins said Humphries spent his last days doing what he did best – making people laugh.
“Apparently in hospital he was still cracking people up. He’s saying. ‘No, I’ve got this new hip. You can call me ‘bionic Bazza,’” he said in the Today show’s coverage of Humphries’ death.
“That must have taken a lot of energy from him but he kept people entertained, the showman.”
The AC is not the only honour bestowed on Humphries. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2007 and an officer in the Order of Australia (AO) in 1982.
A total of six Australians were honoured with an AC, including former Premier of Western Australia Colin Barnett.
Mr Barnett, who was Premier from 2008 till 2017, was honoured for “eminent service to the people and Parliament of Western Australia, particularly as Premier, to economic and infrastructure development, to social welfare reform, and to the Indigenous community.”
Former federal Labor government minister Jenny Macklin was similarly honoured for her contribution to politics and to social welfare – particularly the introduction of paid parental leave and the National Disability Insurance Scheme – and to the Indigenous community.
JUDITH LUCY – AM
Acknowledged for her significant service to the performing arts and as an entertainer, Judith Lucy’s AM acknowledgment comes just months after she announced she was quitting stand-up.
Writing for the ABC in December, she said she had decided to walk away from her 35-year stand up career, and instead focus on writing and different types of performance.
“For years I’d beaten myself up about the habits I’d used to numb myself, whether it was drinking, smoking, dope or watching hours of mindless TV,” she wrote.
“But I’d never asked myself why I did those things.
“The answer was to cope with the anxiety of my job. I could turn off for a few hours and then get up and do it all again.”
Away from her stand-up achievements, Lucy has also written three books, written and acted in a number of TV shows, and has hosted multiple podcasts for the ABC.
She is also currently starring the Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of Happy Days, a play written by Samuel Beckett and directed by Petra Kalive.
MAXINE MCKEW – AM
In a career spanning decades, Maxine Mckew has taken on high-profile roles at the ABC, University of Melbourne, and as the federal MP for Bennelong after spectacularly ousting the then-sitting prime minister John Howard from his long held seat in 2007.
“I certainly feel they’re all organisations that add lustre to our national life and define who we are,” she said.
Whether it was her Walkey-and-Logie-winning stint at the public broadcaster, or her current governance role as a board member of Respect Victoria and the State Library of Victoria, McKew says a common thread connecting her career is her work safeguarding public institutions.
“I continue to be an advocate of strong investment for our cultural institutions, most particularly the State Library – we are the guardians of the state history,” she says.
“Even before we had public education legislation passed in Victoria, we had the people’s university, that is a library available to everyone.”
MARINA PRIOR – AM
Plucked out of obscurity as a busker on Melbourne’s busy streets, Marina Prior has played the leading role in a plethora of musicals from Les Miserables to West Side Story.
While her top accolade may be starring as the original Christine Daae in the Australian premier of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s The Phantom of the Opera, Ms Prior’s proudest achievement is more introspective.
“I’ve been lucky enough to work and evolve for the last 40 years,” she said.
“I feel proud of that on behalf of middle aged and older women – that you can still be presenting and not be invisible.
“I think it’s important for people, particularly for young women in my industry, to know you can change.”
Away from musical theatre, Prior has recorded albums and appeared in straight theatre productions.
Expanding her resume was a conscious decision on her part, to move away from just being the “pretty young thing who just stands there and sings,” she said.
“I would say to my younger self: Believe you can evolve and adapt. I think sometimes in my industry, but perhaps across a lot of industries, they tend to pigeon hold you,” she added.
“It took my a number of years to believe that in myself. I’ve learnt to know who I am and what I can do, and that takes time, and it takes a bit of guts and a bit of courage.
“You can be that at that period in your life and then you can move into this and then you can move into that and embrace every chapter.”
CURTIS STONE – OAM
A familiar face on MasterChef, a Coles ambassador, and chef and owner behind Michelin-starred restaurants Maude and Gwen in California, Curtis Stone has been honoured for his service to tourism, culinary, and hospitality.
The chef married US actress Lindsey Price in 2013, and the family live in Los Angeles with their two sons.
He is well-known in the US with regular appearances on prominent cooking shows.
On Thursday, Stone was announced as the official hospitality partner for the Flemington Racecourse’s Birdcage enclosure.
This means he’ll being his LA-based restaurant Gwen to the Birdcage this Melbourne Cup Carnival, where he’s expected to serve up to 200 guests a day during the racing extravaganza.