Lucy was born in Vienna and spent the early years of her life as a gypsy traveller, with her circus-performing family.

"My father was a clown (among his many other talents) and my mother was the 'fat lady' in the circus. I was somewhere in the middle.

"We spent our summers travelling and our winters in Vienna," Lucy said.

Life in the circus meant that Lucy attended a different school every two weeks.

"I quickly learnt to take what I needed from each place, because when I got back to Vienna in the winter, I had to pass exams to go on to the next level," Lucy said.

The challenge of assimilating into each new place meant Lucy was well equipped to make the adjustments required to create a new life on the other side of the world.

Lucy married at 17 and together the young couple migrated to Australia in 1962. In those days if you came from Europe, the Australian government would pay for your fare, as long as you promised to stay and work for at least two years.

When they arrived at the Bonegilla migrant hostel near Albury on New Year's Eve, neither of them could speak much English. But Lucy said it wouldn't have helped them anyway because the Australian dialect is so strong.

"We had to adjust to the Aussie way of speaking very quickly. G' Day sounded like Good Die. It was hard to understand what anyone was saying," Lucy laughed.

Although they made the most of it, the tough times eventually took their toll and Lucy and her husband went their separate ways.

In 1984, Lucy moved to the Manning Valley with her second husband. They were married for 30 years before he passed away in 1995.

"After my husband passed away, my neighbour suggested I help with the Flair Fashion Awards, to give me something to do," Lucy said.

This proved to be a major turning point in Lucy's life. Since that first night of unpacking gowns 18 years ago, she has volunteered for dozens of organisations.

Nowadays, Lucy insists she has scaled back a little. However, she is currently vice president of Taree's University of the Third Age (U3A), president of the Manning Valley Senior Citizen's Association; a member of the Multicultural Network and Manning Hospital's Multicultural Access Committee; on the board of Taree Community College; a presenter at 2BOB Radio; and a member of the Greater Taree Social Development Committee.

For Lucy, being a founding member of the U3A holds a special place in her heart and she fondly recalls some early advice given to her by Ern Hollebone (current president of U3A).

"When the U3A steering committee first asked me to be president, I said no way, because I didn't think I would be politically correct or academic enough. Ern encouraged me by saying that being politically correct was not needed.

"But he also said something to me which I have always treasured. He said, it is not what you know, but what you want to know that counts," Lucy said.

Lucy has carried that advice with her ever since and credits it with giving her the confidence to join in and contribute to the many organisations of which she has been a part.

"I am honoured to receive an OAM, but really I've gained much more than I've given.

"Being part of all these things gives me so much joy. I've been accepted by my community, and by the country I chose, and that means so much to me," Lucy said.