International Women's Day 2023 Lifetime of service for Molong's Mary

BY JENNY WATTS

When Molong local Mary Mulhall was nominated for 2022 Central West Mums Angel of the Year, it was yet another acknowledgement of her life and service to family, community and sport. Working hard as a volunteer, everything she involved herself in benefitted Molong and its community.

Her involvements grew with the years, starting with voluntary work with her church. As a founding member of the Molong Playgroup and district Pre-School, her interests moved to the health and welfare of young children as her own children moved though school and into more adult interests.

Mary and her husband Mick ran the Molong Pool for many seasons, Mary manning the kiosk, while Mick patrolled the perimeter. There was rarely an incident – (reflecting the patrons’ respect for the couple) and swimmers behaved accordingly.

Molong kids also benefitted from Mary’s interests and work with Molong Swimming Club, Molong Hockey Club, and later Molong Magpies Rugby Club.

Community work continued as Mary moved through the ranks to active presidency of both St Vincent de Paul and the Molong RSL.

It was from these positions that she took on the Australian Treasury, leading an assault on the Commonwealth Bank of Australia when it closed the Molong branch.

She was feted by Molong’s community in 2015 when it awarded her with the Molong Citizen of the Year, and by the wider central west community in 2022 with Central West Mums’ Angel of the Year, winning a tough competition against a number of young women with impressive credentials in their fields.

Her most impressive humanitarian rescue in 2022 involved wrangling government agencies, red tape Australian and foreign governments, grant submissions, directing operations and volunteers. The first objective, now successfully completed, was to

Remarkable Annie drives home country life

BY Helen Haynes

Anne Marie Ingham was a remarkable woman and we especially remembered her for the creation of the Molong and District Servicemen and Servicewomen's Portrait Gallery at the Molong RSL Club.

She decided to paint 60 portraits as her way of thanking all those who served Australia in wartime.

Several of her paintings, also at the Club, commemorate men and women in the Navy, Army and Air Force and the Women's Land Army. renovate the abandoned convent at St Lawrence O’Toole Catholic Church in Molong. The second was to install a number of Ukrainian refugee families, airlifted from the war zone. Success, and Mary’s vision was complete.

Anne Marie cared for her family, loved cooking and gardening, and then found time to tell stories, publishing three books set in Northern Australia.

She loved life and who but Annie,would have used her vehicle to advertise her book, The Boss Drover and his Mates?

When, in November 2022, catastrophic floods hit much of Molong, Mary leapt into action, spearheading the humanitarian, in opening the RSL for evacuees, providing accommodation, hot meals and necessary items from the Vinnie’s shop. She took on the role of spokesperson in the media, calmly presenting the community’s response to the catastrophe.