The Cross of Valour was established in 1975 as the highest Australian Bravery Award. The awards were established as part of the institution of the
Australian Honours System
The Australian honours and awards system refers to all Order (distinction), orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarchy of Australia, Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister a ...
. The Cross of Valour has been awarded to five Australian civilians and, although there has been no Australian military recipient, they would be eligible in situations where normal honours to the military do not apply.
The Cross of Valour is awarded "only for acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril". The award carries the post-nominal initials CV; awards may be made posthumously.
Description
* The Cross of Valour is a gold, straight-armed
cross pattée
A cross pattée, cross patty or cross paty, also known as a cross formy or cross formée (french: croix pattée, german: Tatzenkreuz), is a type of Christian cross with arms that are narrow at the centre, and often flared in a curve or straight ...
with diminishing rays between the arms. It is ensigned with the
Crown of St Edward.
* The obverse has the shield and crest of the
Commonwealth Coat of Arms surmounted by a
Federation Star
The Commonwealth Star (also known as the Federation Star, the Seven Point Star, or the Star of Federation) is a seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia which came into force on 1 January 1901.
Six points of the Star represent ...
. A suspender bar is engraved with the words 'For Valour'.
* The ribbon is 38 mm wide, magenta with a central 16 mm blood-red band. The two reds in the ribbon represent the colours of
venous
Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated ...
and
arterial
An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pu ...
blood.
List of recipients
To date, the Cross of Valour has been awarded to five recipients.
;1989
* Mr
Darrell Tree, Captain of Mount Damper Fire Brigade,
SA – Rescued a 3-year-old child from electrocution.
;1995
* Mr
Victor Boscoe,
Qld – Pursued and apprehended armed robbers at Strathpine.
;1998
* Senior Constable
Allan Sparkes
Allan John Sparkes, (born 1958) is a retired detective senior constable of the New South Wales Police, serving from 1977 to 1998. He is one of the five recipients of the Cross of Valour, Australia's highest bravery decoration, which was awarde ...
,
NSW – Rescued a boy from flooded underground storm water drains.
;2003
* Senior Constable
Timothy Britten
Timothy Ian Britten is a senior sergeant in the Western Australia Police. He is one of the five recipients of the Cross of Valour, Australia's highest civilian bravery decoration. He was awarded the Cross of Valour for his actions in the imme ...
,
WA – Entered the
bombed Bali nightclub to rescue a badly injured woman, and then continued to search for survivors despite personal injury and ongoing explosions.
[
]
* Mr
Richard Joyes
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
, WA – Entered the bombed Bali nightclub to rescue a badly injured woman, and then continued to search for survivors despite personal injury and ongoing explosions.
Decoration allowance
The Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs may grant an allowance, called decoration allowance, to a veteran who has been awarded the Cross of Valour if the veteran is in receipt of a pension under Part II of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (VE Act) and the award was for gallantry during a war to which the VE Act applies or during warlike operations. So far there have been no awards of the Cross of Valour during wars or warlike operations as required by the VE Act. The allowance has been
A$2.10 per fortnight since the Goods and Services Tax in Australia commenced on 1 July 2000.
[
]
See also
*
Orders, decorations, and medals of Australia
*
British and Commonwealth orders and decorations
This article concerns the orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms awarded by the sovereign in right of each nation.
Awards are listed by order of wear.
Antigua and Barbuda
* Order of the National Hero
* Order of the Nation
* Order of Me ...
*
Cross of Valour – Canada's counterpart
*
George Cross
The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...
– United Kingdom's counterpart
*
New Zealand Cross – New Zealand's counterpart
References
External links
Cross of Valour Association of Australia– official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross Of Valour (Australia)
Civil awards and decorations of Australia
Courage awards
1975 establishments in Australia
Awards established in 1975
*