After moving to Portland just over a decade ago, Helen O'Reilly has come to fall in love with the local community.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"Everyone's so friendly. You go down the street and everyone says hello to everyone," she said.
"It is such a friendly town with a sense of community.
"I just love the country. My husband and I always wanted to move to the country. I have lived in country on and off all my life, but with my family."
Portland residents may recognise Helen for her work with 'The Portland Quilters.' The Quilters are a community group that use their hobby to support the community and beyond through their goodwill.
"We make them for anyone in Portland that's sick or unwell, for hospitals or other charity groups like Barnardos," she said.
"We actually sent a big pile of quilts up a couple of years back to the fire victims north. We just do it as a charity type thing."
Helen grew up in a large family as one of 10 children, and was brought up by her single mother after her parents separated.
"It was a very tough life. We had to do our share, and we moved very often," Helen said.
"In those days, there weren't pensions. And if you didn't know where the father was, you never got child support. It was basically up to my mother.
"As the older ones got older, they went out to work and they supported the house as well, until last ones basically were gone."
Due to the size of Helen's family and the struggles, it would mean that meals would be missed at times.
Despite this, Helen said her family was always close and full of love.
"As far as love and attention, we didn't really miss out on that, we only missed out on meals at times, because there wasn't enough food there to feed all of us. Always the babies were fed first," she said.
Despite the struggles Helen faced, her family has always been the most important thing in her life.
She married her husband just before he would leave to fight in the Vietnam war, and they would go on to have three children.
Helen is the supportive wife of a Vietnam veteran, loving mother, grandmother and a dedicated quilter.
She continues to move forward with gratitude for the love she has been surrounded by.
"I don't look back, I always look forward," Helen said.
Helen's advice to women in the community is this:
"If you are bored or lonely, you need to get out there and join some sort of group. There's always something out there to do and always someone to talk to," she said.
"You don't have to sit at home and be lonely or be in your own little world. There are people out there that are quite happy to sit down and have a talk with you."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
Reidun Berntsen
Reidun is a Journalist and writer who lives in a country town 3 hours from Sydney, Australia. From a young age, Reidun has been in love with words and the infinite possibilities they bring. Stories, features and poems have been a major part of her writing career.
Reidun is a Journalist and writer who lives in a country town 3 hours from Sydney, Australia. From a young age, Reidun has been in love with words and the infinite possibilities they bring. Stories, features and poems have been a major part of her writing career.
