Creative force in Canberra community

The 89-year-old said her recognition for service to the creative arts and the community of Canberra coincided with the 60th anniversary of her family's arrival in Australia.

''Coming from the Netherlands, I wanted to be involved in the community and to meet people in the area so I joined organisations and volunteered,'' she said.

''I have seen Canberra change very much since my husband and I arrived. We came at the time of Queen Elizabeth's coronation, travelling by boat because I was pregnant with my third child at the time.''

Born in Holland in 1924, Mrs Wensing and her husband Michael came to Australia with two young children.

The couple's third son was born the day they arrived and the family initially lived in a Russell Hill home without electricity.

A kind-hearted neighbour left the new arrivals a dozen eggs and a bunch of flowers on their doorstep.

A former president of the Canberra Lace Makers Association and the Australian Embroiderers' Guild, Mrs Wensing also served as an adviser to the National Gallery of Victoria.

A collection of clothing and textiles is named for Mrs Wensing at the Canberra Museum and Gallery and she has contributed personal creations of lacework to the the National Museum of Australia and to the collections of Parliament House and the ACT Legislative Assembly.

The former St Clare's College textiles teacher and judge at the Canberra Show said she still enjoyed lacework and embroidery as a pastime and creative outlet.

Mrs Wensing was a president of the Catholic Women's League and a member of the ACT Dutch Club.

She said a highlight of her 60 years in Australia was as a volunteer of the Department of Immigration Good Neighbour Council home tutor scheme.

''When we first arrived in Sydney, a priest told us that Canberra was a good place to come to live and to raise our children,'' she said.

''We came here and the community was welcoming to us and it has always been a good place to live. Australia is my home.''