![Deni McKenzie has been recognised with an Order of Australia OAM for her services to Armidale and Uralla. Picture supplied Deni McKenzie has been recognised with an Order of Australia OAM for her services to Armidale and Uralla. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/184392265/57e518ab-fe6a-4856-8a1c-18e4d15abe26.png/r0_0_1374_772_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Deni McKenzie was "gobsmacked" when she found out she had been recognised with an Order of Australia for her services to Armidale and Uralla.
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"I was a bit gobsmacked and I didn't expect it," Deni said.
"I'm very conscious of being involved in a lot of community things that I've been doing for the last 40 years in Armidale.
Australia Day honours for the Northern Tablelands:
"So, it was a great honour for someone to have put my name forward."
After life in Melbourne and a stint in the UK, Deni settled in Armidale about 40 years ago where she became president of the New England B&B Association for about six years to 1998.
During that time she also received a NSW Tourism award for establishing the Beambolong Children's Farm Holidays, which gave young people the opportunity to spend time with animals.
In 2006, she organised the Uralla Markets which stayed open for six years from 2006, donating the entire proceedings to local groups such as Mcmaugh aged care, the Vegetable Garden and wildlife rescue service WIRES.
During the 1980s she campaigned for seatbelts on buses after a trip to Sydney left her reeling with anger for being "thrown around" on the passenger vehicle.
And when the HIV Grim Reaper-type ads appeared on TV during the 1980s, Deni got active and involved in the community by holding student talks at the University of New England college campuses in Armidale.
During the 1980s she also founded Baby 'Elf, a subscription magazine that gave readers access to donated goods such as car seats, cots and clothes, and Rent a Granny.
"There were a lot of people in Armidale without grandparents, and they were very important at the time for little babies, to help mothers," Deni said.
In 2017 she turned her experiences as volunteer editor of the Billboard section in the former newspaper known as The Independent, covering issues such as film, art, exhibitions and concerts, into a book titled Jewels of New England.
She has been a past contributor, editor and columnist at local newspapers, founded a magazine called Progeny, and helped bring SBS broadcasts to Armidale.
Deni has also been credited with helping to bring tourism to the area via her efforts with the Longhouse Medieval Society.
She is currently a volunteer visitor at McMaugh Gardens Aged Care, a committee member for Armidale Care for Seniors and a member with Climate Action Armidale.
And with many local Indigenous Australian friends in the area, she is proud to say she is the former chair of the Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).
She is also a coordinator of Progressive Cinema, showing documentaries on Indigenous Australian issues, Climate Change and Saving the Franklin, at McCrossins Mill in Uralla and now in Armidale.
And after being notified of her OAM, Deni said she had booked a time to sit down with Armidale Mayor Sam Coupland to discuss improvements to the region, such as reopening the disused train tracks ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.
"If we can get the trains electrified by then, everybody can get access to the games from here because it's a hell of a drive," Deni said of the disused rail corridor currently under consideration as a scenic bicycle track.
Other issues on her agenda for discussion with the mayor include: cattle should be on trains, church and private schools should be paying rates, all carparks in Armidale should have solar panel covers to keep cars cool and make good use of that space to generate energy, and businesses should be relying on their own water not the council's.
She also said the area needs birdwatching and hot air balloon rides to draw in tourism, rent protection, a cap on the cost of taking rubbish to the tip, and a salary limit for local councilors.
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