White Pages Covers Program

Courageous Australian Paul Featherstone on Sydney's Business/Goverment White Pages®

July 22, 2010

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Each year, local people are featured on the covers of the White Pages® directories in recognition of the contributions they make to their communities. Under the theme Courageous Australians, this year directories producer, Sensis, is recognising courageous people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to overcome adversity and help others in their time of need.

After receiving nominations from community members for the annual honour, Loftus resident, Paul Featherstone has been selected to appear on the cover of this year’s Sydney Business/Government directory.

Paul has been a paramedic for over 35 years, and during that time has attended many large scale disasters and numerous tragedies. Throughout his career, Paul has championed the Ambulance Service of NSW’s acclaimed paramedic system and in 1986 he pioneered the Special Casualty Access Team (SCAT), which provides high quality care to patients in any location prior to their arrival at hospital.

As a Senior SCAT Instructor, Paul is highly trained in providing premium care to patients in hostile and difficult environments, where technical skills such as survival, mountaineering, roping, caving and canyoning, to name a few, are required.

In 1977, Paul had only been working as a paramedic for three months when he was called out to the Granville crash scene. He worked 38 hours straight with other civilians and rescuers to help the injured and limit further fatalities.

The situation was an eye opener for Paul and helped him play an instrumental role during the rescue of Stuart Diver in the Thredbo landslide in 1997, where Paul courageously risked his own safety to stay with Stuart until he was rescued. Despite the danger of sliding concrete beneath him, Paul went above and beyond the call of duty to give Stuart the best possible care and support during the rescue. 

In 2006, Paul was part of a team that was involved in the critical rescue of the Beaconsfield miners. Paul’s role was to assist in the treatment and evacuation of the victims, but firstly he had to access them trapped deep in the unstable mine – a risk that he and his team all took on without hesitation.

“I have attended many accidents and unfortunately, seen a number of major disasters in my role as paramedic. I have always given 100 per cent to ensure a safe outcome for the victims involved and given the best possible care during the situation. I’ve never thought of what I do as courageous, so to be recognised for it is really humbling,” said Paul.

Paul has received a number of awards over his career including two Distinguished Service Medals, the Ambulance Services’ highest award for bravery and the Australian Bravery Medal.

Distribution of Sydney Business/Government White Pages® is planned to start on 24 July 2010 and it will take approximately nine weeks for the directories to be delivered to all households. This year, White Pages® will be trialing a smaller version of the Book to selected areas. The compact White Pages® Books contain all the same information in a smaller and easier to use size.

Yellow Pages® and White Pages® print and online directories are now carbon neutral under the government’s Greenhouse Friendly™ program. Sensis will offset the carbon emissions of its directories through Greenhouse Friendly™ accredited providers and projects in Australia.

Sensis encourages residents and businesses to recycle their old directories. In most areas, Yellow Pages® and White Pages® can be recycled as part of normal kerbside recycling services. Visit www.recyclingnearyou.com.au to find out about recycling services in your area. 

Residents and businesses can choose not to receive a copy of the White Pages and/or Yellow Pages® by calling Sensis on 1800 008 292.

Did you know? The last three local people who appeared on the Sydney Business/Government Yellow Pages® and White Pages® cover were:

2009/10: Prominent arts enthusiast, Neil Balnaves, appeared on the White Pages^® Business/Government directory cover, ‘Creative Australians: Inspiring our Communities’. Neil is the founder of The Balnaves Foundation, a charitable trust which provides young people and Indigenous communities the chance to develop their artistic skills.

2008/09: Neil Perry, one of Sydney’s leading chefs and Rockpool restaurateur, graced the White Pages^® Business/Government cover, recognised for helping to attract food lovers to the city. 

2007/08: Charles Perry, from community organisation Pyrmont Progress Incorporated, appeared on the White Pages^® Business/Government cover for his work developing training programs for youth.