Q and A with Lyn Stephenson OAM, a beloved Scout and Pakenhamite

Lyn Stephenson was recently awarded an OAM for her services to the Pakenham community over the years. Pic: STEWART CHAMBERS 240445_02

What is something people don’t know about you?

I joined the Cardinia Civic Concert Band when I was only eight years old. I started playing a bugle and the Band Master heard this and he told my Mum to get me up to him and he would give me a cornet and lessons to learn properly.

What are you most passionate about?

I love Scouting as it helps boys and girls learn things they may need in their future, and I also love being in the Cardinia Civic Concert Band.

What would your last meal be?

Roast lamb with roast vegies and lemon delight pudding. Mum made a great lemon delight pudding, she put so much lemon in the pudding that your eyes would water!

What’s the best thing about the Pakenham community?

That the community is always ready to help people when there is a need or a disaster, e.g Ash Wednesday.

What was your most memorable moment?

I worked at the Pakenham Bush Nursing Hospital for over 13 years and I was present at the birth of my sister’s children. It was a privilege to be there with them.

What kind of music do you like to listen to?

As I play in the Cardinia Civic Concert Band, I love music from musicals. When I joined the band at the age of eight, it was a brass band then and I love a good brass band march.

At school I…

…kicked a football through a window of the school. I was taken up to the Headmaster’s office. The Headmaster had to phone my parents and they were not surprised.

What event past or present would you like to witness?

I would like to go to Wimbledon in England and witness Ash Barty play in the final of the ladies singles. That would be great!

Which six dinner guests, dead or alive, would you invite to dinner?

Mum, Dad, my husband Keith, friends Kay and Margaret and Princess Diana.

What’s your favourite book?

I love ’The Jungle Book’ by Rudyard Kipling. Cubbing in Scouts was based on the stories out of this book, and the leaders names in Cubs are named from this book too.

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go and why?

I love the Australian outback and I would like to visit the Kimberley and the Bungle Bungles. This area of Australia is beautiful and the scenery is wonderful.