Audrey Drechsler receives OAM on for services to agriculture and community

Mrs Drechsler has been a member of the Country Women's Association, the school committee and the committee for Bendigo's technical college as well as a long involvement in Landcare of which she is a life member.

Now 86, she tries to avoid office bearing roles. But she still sometimes just feels like she has time to turn around at home before she's out again.

Mrs Drechsler gets up every morning at 5am, a lifetime habit. When she was a child she helped her father in his bakery, then as an adult there was always cows to milk or sandwiches to cut for the shearers.

Now Mrs Drechsler writes letters or reads. She enjoys biography, and travel tales, and writes to her many friends all over the world, in Holland, England and Vienna.

Her life of community service began as a child in Warrandyte.

"My parents were very involved in Warrandyte," Mrs Drechsler said.

"We had the women's Hospital Auxiliary in our lounge, and Dad was the captain of the fire brigade, and we've always been civically minded people."

When her father's health began to fail the family moved to Middle Park in Melbourne. There Mrs Drechsler was a stenographer for the Democratic Labour Party, where she met her husband.

It was during this time she fell in love with cows, while helping on a farm at Leongatha.

Mrs Drechsler moved to Sedgewick when she married, where she has lived ever since.

With her husband she farmed sheep on about 560 hectares.

Mrs Drechsler loves to travel. She likes to meet interesting people and see interesting things. It's taken her all over the world.

In her 20s it meant travelling through Western Australia and the Kimberleys with a group of other young people.

Ten years ago she went to India, for the second time.

Mrs Drechsler plans to keep up her community involvement as long as she can.

"I love life, I enjoy myself, and I've got wonderful friends," Mrs Drechsler said.