Weipa Town Authority Chair Jaime Gane congratulates Community Spirit Award winner Judey Haeusler, Young Citizen of the Year Annabelle Slingo and Citizen of the Year Shayna Reeves at the 2025 Australia Day Awards in Weipa on 22 January. Photo: Polly Nash.
A community leader with a passion for finding forever homes for some of western Cape York’s most vulnerable four-legged residents is Weipa’s 2025 Citizen of the Year.
Weipa Town Authority (WTA) hosted its 2025 Australia Day Awards in sticky wet season conditions at the Albatross Bay Resort on 22 January, with a big crowd on hand to celebrate the contributions of a record number of nominees and congratulate the three category winners.
Cape Animal Protection Shelter (CAPS) president Shayna Reeves was crowned Citizen of the Year, with Annabelle Slingo continuing her family’s 2024 dominance of the awards to be named Young Citizen of the Year.
Judey Haeusler topped a strong field of nominees to receive the Community Spirit Award for her efforts to make Weipa a better place to work and play.
Ms Reeves told Cape York Weekly she had been surprised to hear her name read out as the township’s Citizen of the Year.
“I was extremely surprised – it was totally unexpected,” she said.
“It’s a really, really lovely feeling to be acknowledged for the work I do; to me, it’s just that next level of support seeing that your community stands behind you.
“I was very chuffed and honoured for the award.”
Weipa’s new Citizen of the Year thanked her CAPS team and said the success of the organisation and its contribution to the community required a full-time commitment that was often not completely understood.
“You volunteer every day,” she explained.
“It’s not just a couple of days here or there, it’s before work, after work, weekends, when you’re on holiday – it doesn’t stop; our team works really hard all year round.
“We’re quite a small committee and we volunteer to make a difference.
“Rescue can be very thankless and it can also pull on heartstrings, but having that recognition is lovey; it’s nice to see people see what we’re doing and that it is making a difference.”
Shayna Reeves was named Weipa’s 2025 Citizen of the Year at the Weipa Town Authority Australia Day Awards on 22 January. Photo: Polly Nash.
Annabelle Slingo was crowned the Weipa Town Authority 2025 Young Citizen of the Year. Photo: Polly Nash.
Judey Haeusler is Weipa’s 2025 Australia Day Awards Community Spirit Award winner. Photo: Polly Nash.
WTA Chair Jaime Gane praised the winners and said it had been a tough job for judges to separate the 21 nominees, all of whom have made significant contributions to the community. “It was my first time hosting the event as chair, and it was a real honour to shine a spotlight on some of the incredible people within our community who put so much time and energy into doing things for the enjoyment and betterment of others,” she said.
“These people are literally the fabric of the community, and their care and dedication make our town such a wonderful place to live.
“With a record number of nominees this year, all of which were deserving, choosing just one winner was a tough job; this year’s winners have continuously demonstrated such a high level of commitment and dedication to their causes and community, all in a volunteer capacity, that we really couldn’t go past them.”
A big crowd was on hand at the Albatross Bay Resort on Wednesday night to see which community members would be named the Weipa Town Authority 2025 Citizen of the Year and Young Citizen of the Year, and Community Spirit Award winner. Photo: Polly Nash.
