On Australia Day, 1981, director Mike Mullins was arrested during a performance art political protest called The Lone Anzac.
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On Australia Day, 2016, he will be awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his service to theatre and the arts.
Mr Mullins grew up at The Rock and started his career as an actor and director at the Wagga School of Arts.
He furthered his career in Sydney in the early 1970s with The Old Tote before spending a year in Poland with director Jerzy Grotowski.
Grotowski’s advice was to find out what it is that he was good at and Mr Mullins found his niche in performance art.
In 1984, he spent three weeks in a cage at Taronga Zoo and in 1981 he was arrested for his political protest on Australia Day.
“On Australia Day, 1981, they arrested me for my artwork and on Australia Day this year, they are giving me a medal,” he said.
“It’s a terrific compliment that my peers have thought to do this.
“I’m a proud Australian.”