Betty Koellner has lived her life, 94 years, dedicated to seeing Tathra survive and thrive

At 94, Betty has witnessed and been the catalyst of a lot of the change in the area.

"I was one of those people that wanted to see Tathra go ahead. Didn't want to see it going backwards.

"And there were a lot of people here, blow-ins, and they wanted to do it their way, but I thought that we should have it the way we want it - we live here," said Betty, as she stood among an array of framed photographs.

She's served the community in a range of volunteer and presidential positions, but her heart has always remained with Tathra.

Betty helped save the wharf through money raising and letters to parliament.

She helped establish the first Nippers and Nipperettes at Tathra SLS club after receiving a phone call at eight one evening.

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She worked as a chocolate dipper for Darrell Lea.

"Darrell and Maurice Lea would come and sit and talk about what we did on the weekend. We'd go to the races or go to the nearest beach in Bondi or Maroubra, but I couldn't wait to get back to Tathra."

From five years, Betty who lived by Bega River, would ride her blue and white Malvern Star bicycle, a gift from her uncles, and which matched her blue pleated tunic and white shirt, to school along the corrugated road, hiding her bike in the bushes.

Betty's grandfather was the longest serving ferryman, Jim Preo, who'd occasionally catch Betty "borrowing" his punt - her own makeshift diving platform.

Other times, Betty said, "He would row out a bit from the shore, then I would swim back to the shore, then he would take it a bit further, and I'd swim back."

Betty also had her own small vessel.

"I had my own little boat, a row boat, and I used to go up the river. And I had my own bit of net, and I would put the net over the back and go around in a circle."

After frightening blackfish into the net, she would head back and sell her catch to her fishermen uncles.

During WWII, in the same house overlooking the mouth of Bega river, Betty remembers having "to take the taps off our water tanks" because she had been told that the Japanese would come over and pinch water, "take our eggs and chooks".

"So we had to take all those things out so that they wouldn't get anything off us," she said.

In 1942, a loud explosion at 5.30am startled 12 year old Betty as she lay in bed and the foundations of their house shook.

"I didn't know what it was," recalled Betty, "I got up and ran out to the patio."

The 126.8m long, steel SS William Dawes cargo freighter, which held upwards of 285 vehicles, had been torpedoed off Turingal Head, just south of Tathra.

"This ship was up and there was a submarine alongside of it and there was smoke coming out of it. A plane came and the submarine went down," recalled Betty.

With a bright smile, Betty said, "I've lived a very exciting life!"

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