Richard Morgan has been recognised with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the King’s Birthday honours, acknowledging a lifetime devoted to supporting Australian youth, strengthening communities, and preserving the nation’s history and culture.

The honour also reflects a period of significant contribution in Forbes, where Mr Morgan served as Forbes Shire Council’s Director of Tourism, Community and Cultural Development for more than four years, concluding in 2017.

During that time, he worked closely with a wide range of local organisations and initiatives through an exciting time for Forbes.

“It was a real highlight working with everybody,” he told The Advocate.

Among the groups he remembers fondly is the Forbes Aboriginal and Community Working Party.

“I learnt so much from them,” he said.

“I really learnt a lot about the culture but also Dave Acheson was teaching me Wiradjuri language, it was great.”

Mr Morgan’s time in Forbes coincided with a number of key cultural and tourism developments.

An organist himself, he played an instrumental role in relocating Paul Coles’ pipe organ into the Forbes Town Hall, helping secure this piece of local history for the community.

The formation of the Galari River Arts Festival in those years gave new opportunities for arts and music.

“I have great memories of that and working with the team,” he said.

It was in those years that the sculpture competition that would lead to the sculpture trail were formed, along with the Find it In Forbes and eventually Amazing Forbes tourism campaigns.

Another milestone during his tenure was being part of the council team that first walked over the former Lachlan Vintage Village site prior to its purchase.

Mr Morgan has visited the tourist attraction as a university student himself.

“Last time I visited Forbes the visitor information centre was out there – it’s great,” he said.

Looking back, Mr Morgan said it was wonderful to see how projects from that time have continued to grow - with a planned concert featuring the pipe organ for this year's Galari River Arts Festival, new bird hides at Gum Swamp and sculptures along the trail to Condobolin among them.

“That’s what’s so exciting: you lay some decent foundations, people build on that,” he said.

Captain Richard Morgan with the with the cadets and staff of Training Ship Sydney.

While working in Forbes, Mr Morgan was also serving at a national level with the Australian Army Cadets, taking annual leave to travel to Canberra for his duties as National Assistant Commander.

That dual commitment forms part of an extraordinary record of service that has now been recognised with the OAM.

Mr Morgan has given 47 years of continuous service as a volunteer officer of cadets - 43 years with the Army Cadets and the past four years with Navy Cadets.

He has served as Head of Corps and National Assistant Commander of the Army Cadets, holding the rank of Colonel, and currently serves in the equivalent role with Navy Cadets as Captain from January 2026.

He is the only person to have been the senior cadet officer in two of the three cadet services.

Beyond his military youth leadership, Mr Morgan’s career spans senior roles in education and local government, including as principal of The Pittwater House Schools on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and positions within Newcastle and Forbes local government areas.

His broader contributions also include directorships of museums and participation in international archaeological projects in Jordan.