The honour was given at the Outback Ball on July 30 by Burke Mayor Ernie Camp who presented BlazeAid Vice President Brian Carr with an engraved camp oven and a framed photograph of a sole mangrove tree growing out of the sand at the mouth of the Albert River.  The ball was attended by 160 guests.

Started by Kevin and Rhonda Butler from Kilmore East in Victoria, BlazeAid is a volunteer organisation that repairs infrastructure on farms and rural properties affected by natural disasters.

“BlazeAid has tapped into the spirit of the outback, with volunteers spread far and wide helping farmers and graziers to return to normal operations after fire and flood. Through dogged determination, Kevin, Rhonda and their network of volunteers have gone above and beyond in giving a helping hand when it’s most needed,”  Cr Camp said.

BlazeAid was one of three  organisations  nominated by residents of the Burke Shire for the 2016 Order of the Outback. The others were the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners and the Who Got the Rain Facebook page. 

It joins previous Order of the Outback organisations including Dr Don Bowley from the Mount Isa base of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Ian McNamara from Australia All Over, The flying ministries of the Salvation Army and the Uniting Church, The Burke Shire Emergency Service groups, author Colleen McCulloch, snake expert Ram Chandra and Aussie Helpers.

To ensure the sustainability of the award and the accompanying ball, the Burke Shire received financial and in-kind support from several corporate partners including Telstra, Ergon Energy, the Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, Queensland Rural, Regional Express Airlines, Partners in Business, Civica, Booth Rural, George Bourne and Associates, Lagoon Creek Resources, Preston Law, Hastings Deering and Floraville Downs.

The next Order of the Outback Ball is scheduled to be held in 2018.