Born in the 1920s and raised in country Victoria (Natya) during the depression and war years, Eileen went on to become one of the area's longest-serving teachers. Respected for her sporting ability, Eileen was invited to join the Victorian Hockey Team and was champion of the local golf club three times. Recently she has turned her hand to publishing short stories for children aged 10-14 years. For the past 30 years Eileen has been involved in recording, compiling and researching Australian social history and, together with Tony Scott, produced the book, "And Then There Was One", a history of 28 schools in the North West Victorian area. She is also the Editor of "A Story of the Settlement, Development and People of Ultima and Surrounding Areas", which she dedicated to the memory of the early settlers and residents, about whom she writes: Pioneered the Mallee against the extreme odds of a harsh environment, unreliable rainfall, isolation and distance - all with very little to make life easier, on the farm, or in the homestead. The Pioneers of the Mallee are unique in the world, insofar that they battled against the continuous difficulties of drought, dust storms, mouse plagues, extreme heat and water storage - none of which was life threatening, but were ever-present and continuing. The Pioneers possessed a wonderfully optimistic outlook on life; were quietly determined and philosophical; were self-reliant; and above all, were eminently adaptable and able to improvise. They were usually a happy people, beset by many problems, but displayed the strength of character that built a great nation. Humbly we salute them all.