Marion Wilkins OAM

ABERDEEN resident Marion Wilkins has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for her “service to the community through charitable organisations.”

Ms Wilkins is 77 years old and has spent 38 years volunteering for the Red Cross and most of her life volunteering in the community though helping on the fire brigade, establishing a neighbourhood watch, helping with Aberdeen Treasures, proof reading the Aberdeen Whisper and being on the primary school parents and friends committee.

“I wish my mother and father were still alive to see that I have won this medal, I can’t even believe it myself at the moment to be quite honest,” said Ms Wilkins.

“My daughter couldn’t believe it she had to keep re-reading the letter to make sure she was reading it right, a bit like me,” she laughed”

Marion Wilkins OAM said receiving the award is still sinking in.

While Marion is still very active in the community she is concerned about older people in our community being isolated and encourages others to join a volunteer organisation or just check in with older people for a chat.

“Visiting older people who are living on their own at home, we used to do that with the Red Cross because often they didn’t get to see anybody and it is also why they loved the Avon lady calling because they had someone to chat to,” she said.

“I used to take a lot of people shopping, or do their shopping.

“We need more people to volunteer because as the older people are getting too old to do things we haven’t got many young ones coming on.

“My advice is to give it from the heart; everybody can join the Red Cross or the CWA and they help other people and raise funds to advance things,” Marion Wilkins said.

Now in her late 70’s herself Marion said she is disappointed she can’t do all of the activities she used to in the community.

“I am disappointed I don’t still do the bus trips, I organsied them for more than 35 years but we all got 35 years older,” she laughed

“But it was lovely to go away and it raised money for the Red Cross,” she said.

Ms Wilkins has lived in Aberdeen for 45 years, she was born in Boorowa and her father worked on the railway, so they moved to Werris Creek, Barellan and then Blandford.

With her husband and young daughters she lived in Sydney and worked for Pye, but decided to move to the country to give her daughters a better education.

“My parents still lived in Blandford and the closest place my husband could get a job was Aberdeen and there was only one house available in Aberdeen, so that’s the one we’re in and I’ve been in the same house ever since,” Marion Wilkins said.

Marion will receive the medal in April at government house in Sydney, she plans to take her daughter, her daughter’s partner and the lady who nominated her from Berrigan Red Cross, where Marion sends clothes and continues to volunteer.