But the grandmother, community volunteer and working woman wouldn’t have it any other way and encourages others to also take part in the community they love. 

Mrs Orman considers herself a local in Murrurundi as she has been living in the historical town for 43 years this May. 

It was love that drew the young woman to the Upper Hunter as her husband lived in Murrurundi so after they wed, the city girl transferred to the country. 

Although Mrs Orman was born at Goodna in Queensland, she grew up at Carrs Creek, just outside Grafton until she was about nine-years-old when she moved to Granville for two years.

A few more moves were experienced, from Granville to Blacktown, then  Hillsdale and then Brighton Le Sands.

School was at Granville Public and Marayong Public, before the young lass attended Blacktown Girls High School for her secondary education. 

In 1963, the young woman left school and worked for her uncle in a mixed business of a newsagency and general store.

After a few months she was fortunate to gain a position at Allen Allen and Hemsley, a solicitor’s firm in Sydney where she worked for the following nine years. 

Mrs Orman said she really loved that job as she was able to learn so many skills.

In 1972, she met her husband to be, Michael, and a year later they married and set up their base in Murrurundi. 

The couple’s beginnings were living on the old Caravan Park with six other permanent residents, before they built their own place and a truck Changeover Station in Mayne Street.

The duo set up the station for TNT Transport and provided an overnight stopping station for truck drivers, a home away from home where Mrs Orman cooked cakes and slices for the drivers.

Together Mr and Mrs Orman operated the station as a family business for 22 years with Mrs Orman doing the                cooking, cleaning and servicing the rooms and Mr Orman managing the night shifts.

Changes to the trucking industry saw that business opportunity come to an end, so the Orman’s took over the franchise of the Caltex service station at the northern end of the town for the next five and a half years. 

During this time they had produced two beautiful daughters who also used to help out at the service station. 

After the franchise closed, Mrs Orman worked at Pat’s Café for about two years before she started the cleaning at the Murrurundi CTC in 2005. 

It was then that she also started volunteering at the centre, which later led to her gaining employment as a CTC officer for the Upper Hunter Shire Council. 

Visitors are spoilt when they walk into the centre as they are met with an abundance of smiling faces and informative women, and Mrs Orman is one of these.

This year marks 12 years since Mrs Orman first started working at the centre and she still loves working Monday to Friday and spreading her love for Murrurundi. 

Always a volunteer and happy to help, Mrs Orman first became involved in the community when her daughters attended Murrurundi Public School.

Throughout the years she was heavily involved in the school’s P&C being president and also instigating the school markets as a major fundraiser for the school. 

Being a talented cook specialising in boiled fruit cakes, Mrs Orman was well aware of the many different talents people had in town and believed markets would be a great way to showcase these skills and also raise money for the school. 

The markets were held twice a year with about 22 stall holders from across the district and out of town for about 15 years, before they started as a community event. 

The markets are now run by Murra County and held every month.

As the girls were keen equestrians, Mrs Orman has travelled many miles to Pony Club events, helping out as all            parents do. 

Mrs Orman is president of Murra County – a community based home cooking, sewing and handcraft group who support events in town. 

As well as the markets, they organise the annual Christmas Lights Competition and were strongly linked to the Adopt A Spot program. 

A keen gardener, Mrs Orman is also a major part of the Landcare and Tidy Towns groups, which saw her also join the Pages River Warriors when it formed three years ago. 

Mrs Orman said she enjoys being able to beautify the town with signage, weed eradication and re-vegetation. 

She said the group, which meets twice a month for a working bee, are working on updating the walking trail and maps at Paradise Park, and hope to one day establish a walking trail along the Pages River between the two bridges. 

Her newest volunteer commitment is the Murrurundi and District Historical Society where Mrs Orman started volunteering about 12 months ago, as she is interested in getting to know more about the history of the town. 

She is also a member of the Murrurundi Australia Day Working Party and was involved in the inaugural Back to Murrurundi Festival, which won the Murrurundi District Community Group of the Year in 2011.

While working at the CTC, Mrs Orman did also run her own gift shop for about five years – ‘Watties Cottage’.

Mrs Orman said it has been an interesting journey, but she likes to be busy doing something all the time. 

“I love being involved in the community and seeing the improvements we have made to the native habitat of Murrurundi. 

“The people here are such lovely people to be involved with too,” Mrs Orman said. 

“I love Murrurundi and I feel I have become part of this town, I could never imagine going back to the city.”