A production designer, an Emmy nominee, a world traveler, a Maasi Elder and now an OAM recipient, Kyneton's Leslie Binns has lived quite an extraordinary life.
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Mr Binns is one of a number of Australians who has been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia this King's Birthday weekend.
Despite having lived in Central Victoria for more than 20 years, Mr Binns has lived and worked across the world in various roles in film and television.
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Now, more than 50 years after first joining the industry he has received an OAM for service to the performing arts through production roles.
To top off the honour, Mr Binns said it came out of the blue after an anonymous submission led to him receiving a letter asking if he would accept the award.
"I didn't hear anything from them for a week then I finally got a letter from the Governor General's secretary saying I had succeeded," he said.
"So it was a bit of a surprise for me, a lovely surprise.
"My father would be very proud, he had an OBE he had the British one so I got the Australian one."
Mr Binns said he first was introduced to the industry after moving to Sydney from Queensland.
It was in Sydney he began working on the set of Riptide, an Australian show which first aired in the late 1960s.
After first getting a taste of production design during this show he went on to work in a number of Australian series and shows where he honed his craft and skills before moving to Melbourne.
"I started working for American companies (in Australia) and then I got a green card and went and worked in America," he said.
"Eventually I ended up working in London, Prague, Italy, I have worked twice in Africa which I really enjoyed."
Not only being handy as a production designer Mr Binns said he was also a passionate artist and painter which allowed him to wear multiple hats during while working on any project.
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The 77-year-old said he has had the pleasure of working on a great number of Australian and international classics including The Man from Snowy River and Moby Dick.
But, Mr Binns is not content to just sit around and is still working to this day albeit in a capacity where less travel is involved.
He said he was only able to achieve this recognition because of the hard work of all the people he has worked with over the years.
"I am thrilled about (the OAM) but I fell like a lot of other people are responsible for me getting it," he said.
"You know it is not just me standing there doing it, it is all of these people around who help me."
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