A DUBBO woman who has made a contribution to NSW through politics, aero-medical organisations and the education of isolated children is honoured to receive an Order of Australia AM award.
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Judith Jakins was the first woman elected to represent The Nationals in NSW.
She was a member of the Legislative Council from 1984 to 1991 and served on Dubbo City Council from 1991 to 1995.
She was a driving force behind the formation of the Isolated Children's Parents' Association (ICPA) and the founding chair of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) in Dubbo.
"I'd love to know who nominated me for this award," a curious Mrs Jakins said.
"I really don't think that I am a terribly interesting person."
Mrs Jakins grew up 50 km from Enngonia, just south of the Queensland border, and worked as a nurse and grazier before taking over 'Eureka', a property that had been in her family since the 1920s.
She was involved in a range of rural and agricultural groups, including the local farmers' and graziers' association.
Mrs Jakins served as secretary of the Bourke branch of The Nationals from 1976 to 1982 and was chairwoman of the state electoral council for the seat of Broken Hill from 1980 to 1982. She was on the Central Council of The Nationals from 1980 to 1984.
Mrs Jakins sold her property during severe drought in the early 1980s and moved to Dubbo in 1982.
"I stood for the Legislative Council when I was still living at Enngonia but had no chance of getting in," she said.
"In 1984 I decided to have another go and was successful. A lot of people say I was the first woman in the Legislative Council in NSW. I wasn't - I was the first National Party woman in NSW altogether, federal or state, upper or lower house.
"I can't say that I ever set the world on fire as a politician but when I was so involved in the formation of ICPA I thought more could be done if I was in parliament."
Mrs Jakins said ICPA was established to help remote families struggling to educate their children.
"I knew all about it because I taught my sons by correspondence," she said.
"ICPA began as a state group in Bourke in the early 1970s. Wally Mitchell was president and Pat Edgley was secretary. I took on the role of treasurer.
"We later formed a federal council with the same three office bearers.
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"ICPA sparked an interest in politics. After I left the Legislative Council I was elected to Dubbo City Council. I didn't stand for local government a second time because I realised I could achieve more with voluntary work.
"I was on a lot of boards and committees and when the RFDS wanted to put a base in Dubbo I was elected chairman at a public meeting.
"It took six years to get the base established."
Mrs Jakins appreciated the necessity of an aero-medical service to assist people in rural and remote locations.
"When I was living at Enngonia the RFDS had clinics at Louth and Tilpa but didn't come as far as Bourke," she said.
"I lost my third son out there as a newborn. The matron of the Bourke hospital was going to fly out with him on the next commercial flight but he died before the plane got there.
"I am sure my son would have survived if we had been in a RFDS area."
Mrs Jakins said her story was just one of many sad experiences from far western NSW.
Another involved a friend whose son sustained serious injuries in a motorcycle accident.
"His mother drove him 150 km to Bourke where medical staff recognised he was bleeding internally," Mrs Jakins said.
"The doctors didn't know if it was his liver or spleen and weren't game to open him up.
"By the time the air ambulance arrived he had been bleeding for 12 hours. If the RFDS base had been in Dubbo we could have got him to hospital in less than three hours."
Mrs Jakins said the expansion of the Dubbo base and the installation of a flight simulator was "big news" for Dubbo.
"Pilots will no longer have to travel overseas to train," she said.
"They will be coming to Dubbo from all over Australia."
Mrs Jakins has decreased her community involvement in recent years and now concentrates on the RFDS and Rotary.
She has been a member of the Rotary Club of Dubbo Macquarie since 1995 and was president from 2003 to 2004. She was a Paul Harris Fellowship recipient in 2000 and has edited the Rotary bulletin for 12 years.