Former Armidale Mayor and architect, Antony ‘Tony’ Deakin OAM, has been granted the City’s highest honour – the Keys to the City – by Armidale Regional Council members at a special ceremony this week.
Mayor, Sam Coupland said he was “immensely honoured” to present Mr Deakin with the special award.
“The Keys to the City is a symbolic presentation to represent the highest offer a city can confer on an individual or organisation and it recognises outstanding achievement in the area of sport, community or humanitarian work by a resident of our local government area,” said the Mayor.
“The award by Council at this time pays tribute to Tony for his contributions to the community life of Armidale as well as to its architectural form and appearance.”
Mr Deakin designed many of the city’s buildings and public spaces, including the Armidale Lookout, Hanna’s Arcade, NERAM, the Michael Hoskins Theatre at TAS, The Armidale Mall and The Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place.
“These amazing buildings are part of our city’s architectural identity and heritage, and loved by the people who live here,” said Mayor Coupland.
“He has also had a wider influence on the features of the City, designing over 100 houses and renovating schools, churches, the hospital, the police station, and many other projects, including the Guyra Bowling Club in 1966.”
Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce; Member for Northern Tablelands, Adam Marshall and Mayor Coupland all spoke at the ceremony, praising Mr Deakin’s incredible contribution to Armidale.
Local historian, Graham Wilson also spoke highly of Mr Deakin’s capacity to design buildings which were complimentary to the existing heritage architecture, such as the St Peter’s Cathedral. A colleague at the architectural firm Magoffin & Deakin, Michael McPhillips, spoke about Mr Deakin’s ability to remain calm and kind under pressure and of how he returned to work after retirement to support them with further projects.
After the speeches, Mr Deakin was presented with a plaque with a golden key, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the community. Mr Deakin thanked the Mayor and Council, saying he was humbled by the Keys to the City honour.
Mr Deakin was elected Mayor in 1987. In 2000, he was awarded the medal of the Order of Australia General Division for Services to the community, particularly in the field of architecture. He has also been a Rotarian and volunteered his time and expertise to the community over decades.
