Brother and sister from remote SA town receive King's Birthday Honours

Two siblings from the remote town of Lock on the Eyre Peninsula were surprised to see each other receive honours in the King's Birthday awards. Marie Elizabeth Shaw KC AM was honoured for her significant service to the law and community, while her brother, Michael Stephen Roberts AO was awarded for his work in pharmaceutical science research. What's next? The siblings say they are proud of each other, and that their rural upbringing had a big influence on their careers and lives. It's not often two siblings receive prestigious honours on the same day. But for Eyre Peninsula locals Marie Elizabeth Shaw KC AM and her brother, Michael Stephen Roberts AO, the discovery came as a pleasant surprise. Ms Shaw's work in the legal profession spans 50 years, and she was honoured for her significant service to the law, the legal profession and the community. Her brother, a pharmacist and emeritus professor at Adelaide University, was also honoured for his distinguished service to pharmaceutical science and medicine, to the advancement of topical drug delivery and clinical toxicology research. Ms Shaw said she rang her brother on the Saturday before the King's Birthday to wish him a happy birthday, neither knowing they were both receiving honours. "We were both pretty chuffed when we learnt that exactly the same day we received a King's Honours award," she said. Ms Shaw and Dr Roberts grew up in Warrachie, a remote region near Lock on the Eyre Peninsula. "We always speak to our upbringing at Warrachie whenever we speak to other people," Ms Shaw said. Making a difference on ice In 2005, Ms Shaw created the Ice Factor Program, utilising the Thebarton Ice Arena in Adelaide. The program has helped thousands of at-risk high school students learn team values and build self-esteem, and in 2017, established the first Indigenous ice hockey team — the Kaurna Boomerangs. She said that between herself and her siblings, they have all tried to "give back". "What I do in my program is give kids the chance for a secondary education that they're not getting in Adelaide or the surrounds because of their circumstances, whether it be family issues, drugs, bikies, lack of motivation, mental health is the big one nowadays," Ms Shaw said. Honouring decades of research Dr Roberts said he was "very humbled" to receive the AO. "These are not something you get yourself personally; it's a result of a team effort," Dr Roberts said. Dr Roberts is a pharmacist by training and became a professor at the age of 35. "I decided my future wasn't actually in academia, but actually in medical research," he said. "What I've been looking at is really across the board in all types of diseases. My interest in recent times has been very much in terms of how you deal with poisoning, and better delivery of medications. "I've probably been doing research now for close to 50 years." Dr Roberts is working with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), creating guidelines for drug approvals and evaluations. "This is trying to reduce the massive cost that occurs with clinical trials and the time it takes to do clinical trials," he said. The two siblings said they are very proud of each other. "My eldest brother is the brains of the family," Ms Shaw said. "He is recognised internationally for his research into the impact of drugs and indeed was among the top 5 per cent most cited scientists in the world. "He tells me he puts his success down to growing up on a farm at Warrachie where he learnt problem solving — because that's what you are faced with on a farm. "You have to work it out yourself and when he gives talks at conferences, he always shows a photo of our farm at Warrachie and makes that reference."