Pakenham’s Barbara Grove OAM has earned a Medal of the Order of Australia for her lifelong service to Girl Guides that has influenced generations of young women.
Ms Grove has been a part of Girl Guides her whole life, the significance of her contribution is evident as she has earned both the Emu and Grey Kangaroo medals guiding.
However, she didn’t quite believe the email notifying her welcome into the Order of Australia.
“It has such a strange title I nearly flipped it to spam,” she said with a laugh.
“It wasn’t until I scrolled down and saw the Governor-General’s crest I thought, oh my gosh this is serious.”
Proud of her accolade, she still had to keep tight-lipped about it until Australia Day.
“I just spent three weeks with my sister and cousin and haven’t been able to say a word,” she said.
“It’s a surprise and it’s good to feel that years and years of work had been acknowledged.”
She grew up in Ballarat, where she would do all her youth guiding all the way up to earning her Queen’s Guide Award in 1967.
Her involvement never stopped, only transitioning into leadership roles for the next generation of young women.
Read the full story in this week’s Gazette.
