Millers Forest-Duckenfield Rural Watch will mark three decades of service later this month - and it's still as relevant as ever.

The group, which was modelled off Neighbourhood Watch and given a rural slant - has created a united front against crime.

The homes might be much further apart than in a residential setting, but the community's power has been just as significant.

"It has built a sense of community here and it has brought people together. We do a newsletter that goes out to everybody once a month that lets them know what is happening in the district, or if there is something happening like a suspicious car hanging around or a certain activity going on," president Gloria Green said.

"I have an email list - and not everybody is on it - but for the ones that are they get an email if something is happening. It might say 'keep an eye out for this car' or it might say 'keep an eye out for this happening'.

"I think it has prevented a lot of crime because people do keep an eye out for each other.

"We don't live on each other's door step, and we're not living side by side so this arrangement works for us."

There are 175 homes on the monthly newsletter list - and the list has grown over the years as new people have moved to the suburbs.

Mrs Green said there had not been much crime since the group began.

"We've had very little crime - we've had some thefts and I suspect that will increase as the town moves closer to us," she said.

"There was a big drug bust out here one year when the police did a big operation and arrested a person who spent some time in jail.

"Other than that it's just been about building a sense of community."

The group meets at the Millers Forest Popular Hall - an iconic feature of the suburb that is in pristine condition as a result of strong community support and some grants from the state government and Maitland council.

The group has held an annual guessing competition in recent years to help pay to keep the hall's doors open and manages to raise up to $8000 a year, which goes towards the cost of the rates and insurance.

In the past year the hall has received solar panels, thanks to the state government and a rate rebate from Maitland council.

"It costs us about $10,000 a year to keep the doors open, so that's quite a lot of money for a community to raise each year," she said.

"It's a way of getting to know the newcomers - some of them like to drop in and say hello at the meetings and others like to keep to themselves."

Mrs Green said Pat and Bill Munton had been instrumental in helping to keep the group running. Mr Munton was the inaugural president and Mrs Munton is the current secretary.

"In the beginning we had correspondence to the Millers Forest Progress Association asking for some representatives to join this community committee that the council and the police and the local high schools and citizens were involved in," Mrs Green said.

"[My husband] Selby and I went along and the police came and spoke to us about it.

"And so we decided to set up the rural watch here and Pat, Bill and I have been in it since the beginning."

The celebration will be held at the Popular Hall at 6.30pm on May 17. A supper and celebratory cake will be served. Anyone who would like to attend is asked to bring a plate for everyone to share.

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