Rosemary has reignited a passion for golf .

by Greg Martin

His best friends were Johnnie Walker and Jim Beam and in the end living with those two “ guys ” ended his life far too soon .

Pat Farrell , who died in 1981 at just 54 , was my first editor on the now defunct Daily Mirror , a wonderful purveyor of words and a much-admired mentor to a young bloke just out of the ( then ) bush at Riverstone .

Two things he told me have stood me in good stead during my journalism career : “ if you sit on a bus and there ’ s 60 people on it , there ’ s 60 good stories ” and “ people love nothing better than reading about old things – old footballers , old animals , old buildings , old anythings ”.

And “ Sitting Pat ” was spot on , especially with his latter words of wisdom .

Thanks to folk like the remarkable Rosemary Phillis , future Australians will be able to learn about our past – sportsmen and women , Phar Lap , Sir John Monash , captains Cook and Phillip – everything that has gone before us .

Rosemary is a lifelong public servant and has also been a servant to the public in ensuring our history is not lost

to generations to come .

For nigh on four decades she has been an assiduous member of the renowned Riverstone and District Historical Society and since 1997 as secretary , she formed a formidable working relationship with the equally revered society president , Judith Lewis OAM .

Such has been her contribution to the society and her community in general , the then State Member for Riverstone , Kevin Conolly , had much pleasure in presenting Rosemary with the Local Woman of the Year 2016 award at one of her favourite patches , Riverstone Museum .

“ The Local Woman of the Year awards are something I look forward to each year because we get to share the inspirational journeys of a number of outstanding women in our communities ,” Kevin said .

“ It is the hard and often thankless work of women like Rosemary Phillis that make not only our communities great places to live but enriches us as Australians .

“ Rosemary is an exemplary community volunteer . She exudes a love of local history and a passion for service to

her local community . For well over 30 years she has been an active participant in organising significant community events . “ In 1983 , Rosemary was on the committee to organise the Riverstone Public School Centenary celebrations , has been secretary of the Riverstone and District Historical Society Inc since 1997 and has documented every local Anzac Day Dawn Service for decades , videoing the proceedings from the back of a truck .

“ Rosemary performs a similar role for the annual Riverstone Festival , with photographs and video recordings of these occasions for the local museum .”

( Thank you Kevin - that saved me a great deal of research for this story !).

Rosemary told Kevin and assembled guests at the ceremony that she was “ humbled to be recognised for the award ”.

Whenever there is a community event or good cause to be supported in Riverstone , Rosemary is always one of the first to put up her hand to offer her time and energy . And what energy ! Rosemary has also