Elphinstone resident Linn Maskell has received a Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2025 Australia Day honours for service to the community of the Brighton region.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Australia’s honours system, which aims to recognise Australians making a difference in their communities.
Linn has been living in the local region for a couple of years now but has a longstanding connection to the Brighton area and has also made wonderful contributions in the fields of education, local government and volunteering.
Linn said her family was the second to settle in the Brighton area in the 1850s and had had a connection ever since.
“They initially had market gardens and then moved into plumbing,” she said.
“I served on the City of Brighton council for four years and I have been connected with the Brighton North Rotary Club for about 35 years and various other clubs and organisations,” she said.
Some of these include the St Stephen’s Anglican Church Gardenvale where she was a parish councillor, op shop and youth group volunteer; Bright’N Sandy Festival; Sandringham Yacht Club; and Alfred Hospital Mental Health Unit.
Linn said some of the highlights in her time with the City of Brighton were breathing new life into old mansion Anzac Hostel through tenants Star of the Sea, the development of the surrounding gardens and grounds, and the construction of modern new units for veterans; and also the installation of eye-catching aquatic signage on drains to remind community members that anything that went into the stormwater drains would end up in the bay.
“I enjoyed my time on the council until we were ‘sacked’ by the Kennett government and replaced with commissioners as part of the amalgamations across the state. It was the first time I ever lost a job!” Linn said.
Linn trained as a teacher and worked in primary schools and Special Education for numerous years before going on to become a lecturer in Special Education Melbourne University.
“We had a strong focus on working with young people with autism and our ‘Circle of Friends’ initiative saw students work regularly with autistic young person Claire on a range of games and enjoyable hands-on learning experiences before ever setting foot in a classroom.”
Linn also speaks fluent Arabic as her former partner was Lebanese and was embraced by her local Arabic community for her dedication to family, education and volunteering, particularly as part of the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot program.
As part of her involvement with Rotary, Linn has also fund raised to help tackle polio and leprosy and for ‘Busy Feet’ dance and movement for disabled children.
She has also supported various other fundraising initiatives under her own steam to support literacy programs in Arnhem Land and the Philippines, and education and maternal and child health in Cebu, Indonesia, among other things.
Linn and a friend also founded the Urban Life Savers (2016-2023) to raise funds and install eight defibrillators across the Brighton community following the tragic death of her friend’s husband following a cardiac arrest.
In recognition of her efforts, Linn has been awarded Rotary’s Paul Harris Fellow on three occasions.
Linn is also a published author having written the book, Maths at Play: Fun Ideas for 5 to 8 Year olds (1990).
On top of a successful career spanning 48 years and her volunteerism, Linn also raised four children — two girls, a boy, and a foster son Bassy.
“Bassy was one of my grade five students. He came to live with us at age 11 due to his family circumstances and quickly became part of our family,” Linn said.
“My son Ron actually works for Mount Alexander Shire Council and my foster son went on to become a doctor training as an OBGYN and in the area of mental health.”
Linn said she was incredibly humbled to receive the OAM honour.
“It’s lovely to be recognised, particularly for my work in the Special Education sphere,” she said.
