Val Anderson would eat the dirt she walks upon if it brought her closer to the history of our land.
That’s how passionate she is.
So it comes as little surprise that Mrs Anderson has received a Royal Australian Historical Society Certificate for her outstanding services to local history, including her unwavering dedication to the Paterson Historical Society.
Mrs Anderson, and her late husband Bill, became part of the fabric of the Paterson historical community 24 years ago when the couple bought a nearby property.
Today the society is widely acknowledged as one of the best rural museums in NSW.
“This society truly is a team effort and we all appreciate the support of one another,” Mrs Anderson said.
“What we’ve achieved through the museum is to create an awareness of the history of Paterson, we’ve more or less brought it to the fore. I mean, in 1811, people were farming here to feed Sydney.”
Then there’s the Dorothea Mackellar connection.
It was from Mackellar’s Torryburn homestead that the famed poet penned My Country.