Guide leaders past and present from across the region joined Mrs Gruber at Sporties in Dubbo to look back on more than half a century of her involvement as a leader in the organisation.

Born at Tottenham, where her parents operated a farm, Mrs Gruber was boarding at high school in Parkes when a friend introduced her to Girl Guides.

From there she went on to be a Guides leader at Parkes, Boorowa and Moura in Queensland before she moved to Dubbo in the late 1990s and became a leader in the city.

Much had changed since Mrs Gruber first became involved in Girl Guides, she said, including that the programs and awards were more flexible, and technology such as computers could be used as part of completing some challenges.

The uniforms had also undergone several transformations.

"My favourite was the navy skirt and light blue blouse," she said.

"When I started it was a navy dress buttoned up the front and a leather belt.

"For a while there were ties that were a folded triangle bandage that could be used in first aid."

While Mrs Gruber had been able to help pass on knowledge to many young people, she said she also learnt so much during her time in the organisation.

"Craft, knots, cooking, things you use in life," she said.

Camping was also something Mrs Gruber had done a bit of.

"I have a few things like a little tent and a primus and gas light and gas stove and they still come in handy when there's a blackout," she said.

Mrs Gruber said a highlight of her time in Guides was meeting Lady Baden-Powell, wife of Scout movement founder Robert Baden-Powell, when she visited Parkes in 1968.

"We formed a guard of honour at the airport and the next day we went to Forbes and the we lined the footpath around the park," she said.

"I had a new camera and she stopped and gave me a lovely smile so I could take a photo. I thought I did but unfortunately the film had not been put in properly so I never got the photo.

"Another time she was at the showground in Sydney where we had gone down by train, it was a project of hers where we had all given up the cost of an ice cream, with the money going towards setting up guide halls.

"We formed a map of Australia for her with the brown uniforms being the land and the blue uniforms being the sea."

Another recent highlight for Mrs Gruber was when Dubbo girl Laura White recently earned the Queen's Guide Award.

"You don't get many, they are a special type of girl, very reliable and able to do things for themselves, I'm very proud of her," she said.

Mrs Gruber, who remained in contact with several people she had met in the organisation who now lived near and far, said she would definitely recommend Girl Guides to youngsters and their parents.

"It can be a real advantage when you go for employment, I remember one of my guides in Queensland went for a job and got it because the man who was doing the hiring was impressed she had been a Girl Guide," she said.

"It is internationally recognised and opens doors."

While Mrs Gruber had retired as a guide leader, she said she planned to maintain links with Girl Guides through her involvement in the Trefoil Guild, the adult section of Guiding which links members and former members; female members of the Scout Association and women who have not been Guides but who are prepared to make the Guide Promise.