Author Kate Grenville has been awarded an Officer in the General Division (AO) of the Order of Australia for her services to the literary arts. Grenville’s many novels include The Secret River, published in 2006, which is set in New South Wales during colonial settlement. Based on Grenville’s own convict ancestry, the novel was nominated for the Man Booker Prize. In 2013, The Secret River was turned into an award-winning stage play for Sydney Theatre Company by Andrew Bovell. Directed by Neil Armfield, it later played at the Adelaide Festival. The novel was then adapted into a two-part television mini-series for the ABC, and an opera adaptation is now being created. Other people working in the arts to be named Officers include Susan Provan, the Director of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, which she has led for more than 20 years, and Christian Thompson for services to the visual arts as a sculptor, photographer, video and performance artist.

Melbourne Chamber Orchestra Artistic Director, William Hennessy, was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant services to music. Hennessy has led the MCO for over a decade as well as being one of Australia’s leading soloists, chamber musicians, teachers...