Defence a common theme in Shoalhaven Australia Day honours
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SANCTUARY Point’s Lynette Rolfe has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia.
Her dedication to the community and to veterans and their families has been at the fore of her life “for aeons”.
Her husband, Barry, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after he served in the Vietnam War in the Royal Australian Air Force.
As a result Mrs Rolfe learned the importance of support networks, not only for those suffering from PTSD but also their families.
When her family moved to the Shoalhaven in 2010 there was nothing. She worked to co-found the Shoalhaven Nowra Sub-Branch Partners of Veterans Association of Australia and said she would continue to volunteer her time for others until it was no longer possible.
“To be announced on the Australian Honours List is absolutely astounding. I am very honoured and humbled,” she said.
“Volunteering for me goes way back to when I was a child. I was taught it is always better to give than receive.
“These groups are so important when we’re feeling stressed because the average person in the street doesn’t understand exactly what you’re going through, but to relate to someone in the same situation helps.”
Mrs Rolfe said support systems needed to start targeting young soldiers coming back from war.
“I’m talking about those who come back from Timor and Afghanistan et cetera. They are really suffering, but they shy away from these groups because they see us as too old,” she said.
“We’re working to change that.”
Mrs Rolfe was also recognised for her extensive work with the Country Women’s Association (CWA), Freemasons United Grand Lodge of NSW and the ACT and the NSW Air Training Corporation.
“It was so rewarding to work with these teenagers who would start with the Australian Air Force Cadets and watch them bloom and make something of themselves,” said.
“I still run into some of the children I taught every now and then and they always go out of their way to say hello. It’s just lovely.”
Mrs Rolfe is also a skilled quilter and has made and donated many quilts in her time as part of her veteran work, one of which was given to the governor general.
She was also the first woman to receive the Freemasons Grand Master’s Community Service Award, was CWA NSW Country Woman of the Year in 1979, a finalist for the Shoalhaven City Awards for community service in 2012 and received the Partners of Veterans Association of Australia NSW Branch 10-year service certificate.