Nobody ever told Lake Cargelligo resident Barry Orr he’d been nominated for a Public Service Medal (PSM) in 2011.
“The first thing I knew of it was a letter from the government saying I was in the running to receive it and then next thing I know I received another letter saying the medal had been awarded to me,” Barry said.
“I felt very happy when I got that letter; turns out my senior officer nominated me.”
Barry was awarded the PSM for a lifetime of work helping State Water deal with floods and drought along the lower Lachlan River.
“Mainly my job was working as a Senior Assets officer,” he said.
“Basically that means I was looking after all the structures along the lower Lachlan.”
As for recommendations for the future of the river, Barry champions an argument that’s often unpopular for many living along the Lachlan.
“I think the river is being managed very well at the moment,” he said.
“For the region to go through a drought like the one we’ve just experienced and for hardly any towns to have run out of water, you know somebody’s doing a pretty good job.”
Now retired, Barry said he plans on making the trip to the awards ceremony to be held in Sydney.
“There was a function for the recipients earlier this year but I couldn’t go,” he said.
“I’ll definitely be making the awards ceremony though.”