Emily Read, a Year 9 student at Bellerive's Clarence High, received the title of Young Historian of the Year at a ceremony in Canberra.

The 15-year-old said she was both astounded and thrilled.

"I had seen the other entries and they were all so good -- so I was very surprised when I was chosen," she said.
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She won top honours for her outstanding essay on the Snug District Disaster Appeal Committee.

The committee was formed two years after the 1967 bushfires to help raise money for other natural disasters around Australia.

The group gave to the Canberra bushfires in 2003.
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She wins a Commonwealth medal and plaque as well as $500.