DAVID WALTER,
CSC Naval commander
It's a long way from country Victoria to the command of the navy's flagship, and Commander David Walter still sees his job as "the coolest thing ever". 
The Commander has been awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross for his work on the HMAS Canberra, the vessel he has overseen since it arrived in Williamstown in 2012.
"I spent three years with HMAS Canberra as Commander Engineer," he said. "I was the first member of her crew to board."
Born at Hamilton, Commander Walter grew up on a property at Dunkeld in the shadow of the Grampians.
He said the name of a ship meant a great deal to its crew.
"Being named after the national capital ... you get an elevated sense of pride and links are forged between the crew and the community whose name the ship has taken."