Dawn Hollins said she was ‘flabbergasted’ to learn she was named Bega Valley Senior Citizen of the year and you will be too when you hear of her busy and varied 75 years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ms Hollins moved to the area 20 years ago and has since adopted a ‘yes’ attitude to community life.
With a young family of three based in Canberra, and leaving behind a teaching career, Ms Hollins and her first husband moved their family to America in 1965, returning home at around the time the Whitlam Government was sacked.
While in the US, she became aware of the needs of orphaned and abandoned children through Asia and thought she could help.
Ms Hollins said she had the capacity to love even more children beyond her own three kids, and launched her first of three overseas adoptions when the family returned to Canberra.
She adopted two more and has expanded her family to include Thailand, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Now as a mother of six, Dawn set about helping others adopt through the Adoptive Parents Association – eventually leading the organisation.
Skip forward to her life in the Bega Valley, where Ms Hollins is involved in the Bega Valley Loom Growers, first supporting women and families in China and, in more recent years, Afghanistan.
She has been an active member of the Rural Women’s Network and was a key member of the team that saw the Bega Valley host the 2005 Rural Women’s Gathering.
Her passion for learning and teaching has led her to the Bermagui and District Branch of the University of the Third Age – a group that looks to create and foster educational opportunities for people in retirement.
Ms Hollins has helped more people enroll and the school has broadened its variety of course, now with more than 80 subjects available through local presenters.
One of the most active groups is the “rug hookers”, who have created seven massive rug panels showcasing scenes from the beaches of Bermagui and Gulaga Mountain, which will soon be hung in the Bermagui Surf Club.
Members said Ms Hollins had “abundant enthusiasm” and an “all-encompassing effort”, describing her as a shining example of the ideal that one person can make a difference.
