Doug Hawkins visited Cobar back in the early 80s but will be returning once again as the shire's Australia Day ambassador. 

Mr Hawkins is a surf lifesaver and has volunteered for over 20 years with Coogee Beach Surf Lifesaving Club, he is looking forward to sharing the safe swim message to the community, as they spend Australia Day at Cobar Memorial Swimming Pool. 

As the ambassador, Mr Hawkins' role is to work with the shire council to provide an opportunity for the community to come together and share stories. 

"I'm looking forward to sharing the Australia Day message of reflect, respect and celebrate. There is a lot to reflect on and there is a huge amount of respect for the community and we've got an amazing country to celebrate," said Mr Hawkins. 

Working for Westpac bank in his early 20s, Mr Hawkins visited Narromine and Trangie for work and visited Cobar on the weekend. 

"We had a great day back then. We went to the pub, had a couple of beers with some people and had a great steak for lunch. 

"It's a beautiful town, and a very hard-working town and obviously very unique," Mr Hawkins said. 

He follows last year's Australia Day ambassadors, Katryna Robinson the founder and CEO of 'Every Little Bit Helps' a national charity working to provide homeless Australians access to care packages. 

However, Mr Hawkins is not new to the role. Two years ago he visited Gunnedah as the Australia Day ambassador. 

Growing up in Bondi and later moving one beach over to Coogee, Mr Hawkins dedicates his love of the ocean to his Grandmother who threw him into the sea at three-years-old. He has been in the waves ever since. 

He is a dedicated volunteer, and starting out assisting the Nippers program led him to travel overseas to share his valuable 'safe surf' knowledge. 

On 26 January Mr Hawkins will travel almost 700kms west but will still spend the day by the water. 

"I'm hoping to see some fantastic competition, we've got the triathlon on in the morning and we will be spending the day the along the pool." 

Cobar's Australia Day event will include swimming relays, the 'Great Aussie Duck Race' and the local Australia Day awards ceremony. 

Award categories are: 

The Citizen of the Year Award. 

Young Citizen of the Year Award. 

The Bossie Mitchell Service to the Community Award. 

Environmental and Sustainability Award. 

Community Event of the Year Award. 

Mr Hawkins is looking forward to making new friends and celebrating what it means to be Australian together. 

"For me, it's about experiencing what Cobar and its people have to offer."