“Absolutely amazed and thrilled.”

That was former Numurkah local Donald Alchin’s reaction to receiving the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the General Division for his service to swimming.

“It’s extremely exciting, it’s something I never ever expected to receive,” he said.

The youngest of six children, Mr Alchin was born in Deniliquin and moved to Numurkah when he was just 12 months old — and he stayed for 44 years.

His love of swimming began at a young age, spending countless hours at the local creek in Numurkah.

During his time in the town, Mr Alchin was deeply involved in the community.

He served as president of the school council for many years, was elected warden of the Church of England and served as parish secretary for 23 years.

He was also a member of Rotary for 15 years.

Mr Alchin met his wife, Jill, in Numurkah, and the pair married at the registry office in the Shepparton courthouse.

"She was a school teacher and lived in Congupna, and I worked in the local grocery store," Mr Alchin said.

"She used to come in and buy biscuits to eat on the drive home."

The couple later built a home in Numurkah with an in-ground pool and taught their two children to swim.

Both children went on to swim at a national level, while Mr Alchin’s involvement in the sport took a different path.

“I didn’t intend to become an official, but I can never sit still,” he said.

“When the kids were swimming in Melbourne, one of the officials said, ‘Your kids have got potential. Why don’t you become an official?’

“Because I couldn’t sit in the stands, I said yes.”

That decision launched a long and distinguished career as a swimming official.

“I’ve now been overseas with swimming five times, I’ve done 17 nationals and a couple of Commonwealth Games,” he said.

“I received Swimming Australia’s Official of the Year, and that was the biggest shock of my life,” he said.

Mr Alchin is a life member of Swimming Australia, has served as council chair of Swimming Victoria since 2000 and was national assessor of officials for seven years.

He is also a former committee member of the Numurkah Swimming Club and a former board member of the Goulburn Valley District Swim Association.

In 2013, he received both Swimming Australia's Official of the Year award and the Swimming Victoria Meritorious Service Award.

His other honours include the Swimming Victoria Service Award in 1998, the Australian Sports Medal in 2000, the Swimming Victoria Bill Slade Award in 2006 and the Herb Jeffrey Award for Services to Country Swimming in 2011.

Mr Alchin remains involved in the sport. He continues to officiate at school meets and is part of a group of retired officials who meet once a month for lunch.

Mr Alchin said what he loved most about being an official was seeing the smile on a swimmer’s face when they reached the end of the pool and looked up to see their time.

“It’s just incredible,” he said.

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