FORMER Inverell teacher, Jim Haynes, has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the 2016 Australia Day Honours List for his service to the performing arts. Jim said he was surprised, proud and humbled by the award and was grateful to all who had helped him on his way.
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“There are a lot of memories, and there’s a lot of gratitude for a lot of people who’ve been part of my journey right back to the Inverell days,’ he said.
He thanked his friends in Inverell, Tamworth, Wagga Wagga and 2UE as well as his wife Robyn.
“Behind every successful man, there is a very surprised woman,” he joked.
Jim got his start in the entertainment industry here in the 1970s. As one of the original staff at Macintyre High School when the school opened in 1974, he passed his love of storytelling onto his students, initiating film study, a wide screen cinema and film festivals. He also started the first senior drama courses at Inverell High School during his time there.
Along with some fellow teachers, Jim formed the group Bandy Bill and Co. Haynes, finding success in the 1986 Tamworth Country Music Festival. He left teaching to become a professional entertainer two years later.
Jim now has dozens of books and numerous albums to his name. He was awarded the OAM for his work as an entertainer, songwriter, recording artist and author, with many of his books focusing on Australian social history and verse heritage.
He was also recognised for his broadcasting career, which began with weekend shifts on 2NZ during his teaching days.
"Greg Kachel gave me the hour between the football and the gospel show. I don't know if anyone ever listened," Jim told the Times in 2010.
Jim was inducted into the Country Music Hands of Fame in 1997 and was on the board of the Country Music Association of Australia for 15 years.
He was made a life member of the Australian Country Music Association last year and his original iconic green and gold suit is in the ACMF museum. Jim joked that maybe that’s where he should be now.
Despite all his success, Jim has never forgotten Inverell and credits fellow local performer Melanie Dyer as “partly instrumental” to his nomination. Melanie hosted many of Jim’s Tamworth shows and stayed with his family while she was getting her start with the Talent Development Project.
“I’d love to thank Inverell for being such a big part of my journey,” he said.
