Nambour’s charity queen honoured with posthumous Australia Day award
June Upton, born and raised in Nambour, was posthumously honoured with a 2026 Sunshine Coast Australia Day Community Award for a lifetime of fundraising and volunteer service.
June Upton was born in Nambour in 1941, raised her family in the town and spent more than six decades quietly shaping the fabric of community life there and across the Sunshine Coast. On Friday, that lifetime of service was formally recognised when she was posthumously awarded a 2026 Sunshine Coast Australia Day Community Award.
Affectionately known for generations as the “Sunshine Coast Charity Queen”, Ms Upton helped raise more than $4 million for local causes, championed women’s involvement in community life and turned personal tragedy into lasting public good. She died peacefully on August 30 last year, aged 84, surrounded by three of her daughters and her granddaughter.
Accepting the inaugural posthumous award on her behalf, daughter Kourtney Upton told the ceremony that her mother’s commitment to Nambour ran deep, stretching back generations. Ms Upton’s grandfather, George Lands Bury, played a pivotal role in the Moreton Sugar Mill, with Bury Street named in his honour.
Ms Upton herself was still a teenager when she first stepped into community fundraising. At 15, she entered her first quest, later being crowned November Fair’s Miss Personality and Miss Surf Girl Mooloolaba. She went on to establish the first Nambour Marching Girls team, creating opportunities for young women to build confidence, discipline and pride in their town.
Her work took Nambour briefly onto the international stage in 1968, when her entrant Helen Newton was crowned Miss Australia and represented the country overseas.
But it was a devastating loss in 1970 that shaped the rest of her life’s work. Ms Upton’s infant son Kent died just 11 hours after birth due to respiratory difficulties. In response, she set out to raise funds for Nambour Hospital, determined that other families would not face the same loss.
“After this unimaginable experience, June made it her mission to raise much needed funds to purchase the first humidicrib for Nambour Hospital so no other family would experience a loss like that again. This impact alone on a personal level, was the beginning of the rest of June’s life identifying needs of the community,” Kourtney said.
From there, her fundraising and volunteer work expanded relentlessly. She was deeply involved in the Miss Australia Quest, Miss Personality, Girl in a Million, the Leukaemia Foundation and Mater Little Miracles, alongside countless local initiatives. Her events ranged from baby shows and charity auctions to seniors’ mornings, film nights and fashion competitions.
Businesses across the Sunshine Coast became familiar with the sound of her heels and her unmistakable laugh as she moved through shopping centres, radio stations and community venues selling tickets and gathering donations. “Nobody could say no to June Upton and her worthy charities,” Kourtney said.
The awards, presented by Sunshine Coast Council, recognised 113 nominees this year. Mayor Rosanna Natoli said the recipients embodied the values that made the region strong. For a woman who never sought recognition, June’s family said the honour would have left her humbled. “She would say there are far more deserving people,” Kourtney said. “Then she’d give you a wink, a cheeky smile, and say, ‘Gee you look nice, I love you darling’.”
Kourtney said the family wished for June’s Legacy to continue for many years to come.
“On behalf of June, thankyou. Mum, we could not be more proud of your recognition and celebration today, we love you.”