Tireless volunteers Ross and Pat Corner couldn’t have been more surprised and pleased when they were awarded the city’s highest honour at the Australia Day ceremony yesterday.

“It’s very overwhelming,” Mrs Corner said. “It’s a show of appreciation for what we have done and it’s wonderful to receive it.”

Mr and Mrs Corner were presented with the award in recognition of their amazing work with the city’s refugees, helping them settle into the community and rebuild their lives in their new country.

“There’s a lot of controversy about refugees but they are people just like you and I,” Mr Corner said.

“We have to remember that our forbearers came to Australia from other countries as well, so we all were refugees at one stage.

“They’re still human beings and they are lovely people.

They go through so much in their home countries and in getting to Australia and we try to help them where we can.”

Mr Corner, who has been working with St Vincent De Paul’s for 45 years, admitted he wasn’t big on speeches when he stepped up to the podium to accept the award, but was able to sum up exactly why his work means so much to him and countless others.

“I will share something about refugees with you,” he said to the crowd.

“Once we had a couple of refugees over for a barbecue and one of them came up to me and said ‘I’m an Aussie now, where’s my stubbie?’.”

The two deserving recipients were among eight other Griffith residents who were nominated for the award for services to the community.