The local lady is one of those people you can rarely reach at home on the telephone as she is barely there, always busy racing around the Upper Hunter volunteering her goodwill to others. 

Ms Hollow is a local lass as she was born in Scone and grew up on her family’s property at Crawney, near Timor with her brother and sister. 

Despite moving away for periods of time to complete her studies and to fulfil her rewarding career, Ms Hollow returned to her home roots in 1999 to take over one of the family properties, a 100 acre block just west of Parkville where she still runs a few head of cattle of her own. 

As a youngster, Ms Hollow and her siblings were educated through correspondence lessons until she was 12 when she packed up and started her adventure of boarding school at the Presbyterian Ladies College at Croydon. 

After completing her secondary education, at 17 years of age, Ms Hollow embarked on her career as a nurse starting her four year training on-the-job course at the Royal Alexander Hospital for Children (now Westmead) at Camperdown. 

Ms Hollow said she absolutely loved her nurses training as it was very hands on and practical.

“We worked as we trained and did our lectures in our own time, so it was very busy and very different to nurse’s education today,” she said. 

Once finishing she worked for six months at the Prince Alfred Hospital before moving to Brisbane in 1964 to complete her midwifery training at the Brisbane Royal Women’s Hospital.

“Back then it was the thing to do, to go interstate to complete your training, so I went to Brisbane for 12 months,” she said. 

With her midwifery certificates and badges firmly in hand, the young woman made the move back to Sydney to do her 12 month tresillian training to allow her to work in clinics and with mothers and babies who suffer from feeding problems at the Willoughby Tresillian Hospital. 

Once she had finished this block of training, Ms Hollow felt the surge and pull to move home to the family property with plans to work in clinics, however soon after she landed back in the Upper Hunter she heard that Murrurundi Hospital was looking for registered nurses.

Having always lived in nursing homes while working at the other facilities, Ms Hollow said the idea of being able to work at a hospital and still live at home appealed to her.

So in 1965, at 24-years-old Ms Hollow started at the hospital as the only registered nurse, and after two weeks the matron and deputy left so she was left in charge. 

For the next three months, Ms Hollow continued holding the place together while higher authorities waited for another nurse to apply, but as she was in charge she couldn’t leave the hospital as there was no one else to administer drugs.

Ms Hollow said they finally got another registered nurse, which was a big relief and massive help, however she became the matron within 12 months.  

“Gradually more nurses started working there and I started a small training school to train the numerous nursing aids as enrolled nurses. 

“Some of these nurses are still working there today,” Ms Hollow said. 

After starting work at the hospital with intentions of staying for six months, matron Hollow stayed for 13 fruitful years.

In 1974, life changed as she married Jo Walker and then beared three children who they raised along with one step daughter.

Life didn’t change too much however, as Ms Hollow said when she had her first child she only had three weeks off work, taking her daughter to work until she was three. 

“Most of the time I was there we didn’t have a resident doctor, an ambulance or a vet, we had a doctor visit twice a week, but the rest of the time I was in charge.

“It was terrific experience I can tell you,” she said. 

The move south to Scone came in 1979 when Ms Hollow started work at the Brancaster Nursing Home where she stayed for the next two and a half years before moving to Scott Memorial Hospital. 

While working at the hospital she completed a course in              nursing administration, but in 1984 she was off again gaining an appointment as the director of nursing at Mudgee District Hospital. 

Ms Hollow’s husband passed away from illness at the end of their first year in Mudgee, but she stayed for 15 years before moving back to the family property to help her brother who had suffered life changing injuries in a bad accident. 

It was straight back to Scott Memorial Hospital as a registered nurse and midwife, which is where Ms Hollow stayed until she retired in 2008, closing the chapter of a much loved 50 year nursing career. 

“Nursing was always a really good job, I loved it.

“It was interesting, challenging and a I liked helping people.

“It allowed me to get to know a lot of people, and a lot of people still call me matron,” she said. 

Since retiring Ms Hollow has thrown herself into the world of volunteering, first starting out with Family Insight.

Throughout the past four years she has been linked to two families in Muswellbrook and one in Scone and she said she really likes it. 

“I love children, I have two grandchildren of my own, but when I heard they needed volunteers I thought it was something I would like to do,” she said. 

Every second weekend Ms Hollow mans the Murrurundi Historical Museum, which she first started doing in 1999 due to her local connections with the history and people of Murrurundi and district. 

She said she enjoys helping people find out there family history and learning more about the area. 

Soon after moving back to the Upper Hunter, Ms Hollow had joined the Murrurundi Country Women’s Association and she is now the cultural officer.

In Scone, she is a member of the Anglican Church Parish Council which is responsible for the management of the parish, and Ms Hollow is instrumental in helping to run the church  programs for children. 

She was also one of the key organisers behind the memorabilia display currently on show at Scone Library celebrating the 175th anniversary of the parish.

A keen member of the Rotary Club of Scone, Ms Hollow has been the president three times throughout the years and is currently the community officer. 

Ms Hollow said one of the projects she has been strongly involved in is raising funds to purchase multi-use swings for local parks that are suitable for all children, including those with a disability. 

“The swings, which are located at Elizabeth Park and Scone Park playgrounds, were purchased with funds raised by street stalls.

“One is dedicated to my  brother, Donald Ireland, due to my involvement, which I am really touched about,” she said. 

Being a talented sewer, Ms Hollow is also a member of a sewing group in Scone and is an avid poet, being a member of Poets Corner in Murrurundi with some of her work published in their Anthology of Poetry.

Ms Hollow said she enjoys volunteering to keep occupied and she feels people have supported her throughout the years.

“I like to give back to both communities, Murrurundi and Scone,” she said. 

“I love the country and I’ll do whatever I can to help.