Last Friday (2/12/11) night a crowd of around 35 attended dinner at the Tarana Hotel as a send off two of OTHR’s most hardworking and long-standing members; Margaret & Bob Conners.

Bob & Margaret Conners pictured at the Tarana Hotel on 2/12 with the framed collage presented to them on the night.

The Conners are moving to Newcastle after they sold their property “Pomeroy Farm” which they have owned in Oberon for 19 years, and have lived on for the past 11 years. The Oberon-Tarana branch line passes through “Pomeroy Farm” on it’s way between Hazelgrove & Carlwood and this sparked their initial interest in the project. Neither of them confess to being train buffs, however a desire to see a project to light that will be of great, lasting and genuine benefit to the small town of Oberon has been their motivation.

Margaret signed on to be our Secretary and Public Officer at the general meeting in 2006 holding the position until March 2011, and Bob was our publicity officer, preparing monthly newsletters and all manner of media releases for four years.  As well as their roles serving on the committee, they could both reliably be seen at every working bee either weilding a pick or shovel, or a bread knife cutting sandwiches.

Margaret & Bob contributed much to the extraordinary progress that OTHR made in the first 5 years of it’s inception, with Margaret behind the wheel in the gaining of our accrediations, leases and licences.  All the ‘behind the scenes’ work which is many times heart-breaking with the ‘knockers’ out in force!

Margaret & Bob were presented with a framed collage of some of their time at OTHR (below), and thanked all those present for a night they will always remember.