MARTIN Sayers, a Bunyip man who has carried the banner for Australia’s protea-growing industry for 30 years, was honoured on the Queen’s Birthday.

Mr Sayers was surprised and thrilled to receive a Medal of the Order of Australia, recognising his service to the floricultural industry.

The honour was a tribute to his work as a plant propagator and advocate for the development and growth of the protea and native flower sector.

Mr Sayers helped develop the burgeoning protea growing industry and his business Marindale Proteas produces 50 tonnes of native flowers each year for sale across Australia.

But, perhaps surprisingly for somebody who has become a leader in his field, Mr Sayers fell into it more by chance than design.

“It was just something that happened,” he said.

“I’ve lived in Bunyip almost all my life but had moved to Melbourne for a while. The opportunity came up to buy the farm next door to my parents and we decided we needed to do something as well as raise a few cows.

“We were initially going to grow waratahs but couldn’t get them and it was suggested we think about proteas.

“At that time they’d never been grown on a commercial scale, but we liked them and so the idea grew.”

Mr Sayers credits the late Monbulk grower Peter Mathews as being the real father of the industry and sees his OAM as a reward for all involved in the production of Australian wildflowers, not a personal honour.

He and wife Mary live beside rows and rows of beautiful proteas on their property, but business is not all about bouquets.

“It’s a wonderful thing to walk around the paddock surrounded by flowers but you still have to pay the bills at the end of the month,” Mr Sayers said.

Mr Sayers has been a contributor to displays of Australian wildflowers at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show several times over the past 15 years.

He was a founding member of the International Protea Association and chaired the Victorian branch of Protea Growers Australia, now known as the Wildflowers Australia Network.

He still harbours a deep passion for his star product.

“Proteas are a very striking flower, they are durable and quite a hardy species. I think they’re great.”

Labertouche woman Valerie Armstrong received a Medal of the Order of Australia for community service through the Cann River Pony Club. She is also a religious education teacher at primary schools at Bunyip, Garfield and Longwarry.