When I called in at the post office and asked the lovely lady behind the counter where Win (short for Winifred) Linnett’s address would lead me, part of the direction was that she would be on the porch, on the couch.

It’s heartening to know that everyone knows everyone in the charming town of Ivanhoe.

Win’s maiden name was Storm, making her Win Storm.

She was named after her aunt.

Her husband was named Albert, whose family had a farm outside of Ivanhoe, and long ties to the area.

Albert was one of 10 children, with the family having a total of seven boys and three girls.

“Albert’s family became my family, and we all got along well,” she said.

Win originally came to the Ivanhoe area in 1956, as a governess for the Danson boys.

They live close by her to this day, and she still has a strong fondness for them.

Win originated from the Condobolin area, where her parents had property.

She was very close to her parents. She was born on the land, and has had the land in her blood her entire life.

“I was always used to outside work, and I enjoyed it,” she said.

“When Albert and I were married, we practically lived out in the paddock, working on his parent’s property.

"When I was a governess for the Danson boys, I met Albert through their parents, my employers.”

They were not located far from Ivanhoe, but didn’t come into town a lot, as there was no need.

When Win noticed that I write with my left hand, she recalls Albert was left-handed too.

“He had a travelling teacher, who tried to make him write with his right hand, but that didn’t work,” she said.

Win attended boarding school, at St Mary’s Star of the Sea. She enjoyed school, and learning.

One thing she never enjoyed about school was that there was too much religion, and you were rarely allowed to speak, let alone say what you wanted.

The food was also pretty poor, and Win especially hated one regular dish, tripe.

She would slip the tripe under her cousin’s chair when nobody was looking.

“I was always pleased when the holidays came around,” she said.

“Every three months, we would be able to go and stay with my grandparents, who lived in Sydney.

"It was only a short trip from the school, in Wollongong, over to Sydney.

“One night, some of the girls at the school snuck out to meet boys.

“They snuck out by crawling up a drain pipe, and met the boys. I didn’t say anything, but they still got caught.

“Those girls were dismissed as they called it, expelled.”

Win and Albert married in 1957, Wyn being 20 years younger than her husband. The age difference never bothered the couple, however. “We went to a lot of balls back in the day,” she said.

“We really enjoyed the balls, and both loved dancing. “The balls were held in the community hall.” Abert and Win had so much in common, especially their affinity for the outback life.

“I loved always being in the paddocks.

We always had horses; my mother got around by sulky. “I really enjoyed mustering, although as I grew up, I would miss a lot as I was away at school.

“We would do a bit of everything, and everything the men did,” she said.

“We would walk behind the sheep, until the days when using motorbikes to muster came.

"I never learnt how to ride a motorbike.”

Living on their farm in the earlier years was interesting.

The road to Wilcannia was not finished at the time. “As we were located close by, we used to have a lot of people turn up for meals, they would often get bogged due to the road, it made things quite busy. “There was also an exchange running in the kitchen, which my mother-in-law operated, so that made life extra busy, with us all juggling visitors, the phones and other things.”

When Win and Albert started their own family, she was determined that none of her children would be heading to boarding school, reflecting on her time away with many rules and strict nuns.

Albert bought a house in Ivanhoe town, where she still resides today, so that the children could attend school in town.

He also bought the block next door, to the right.

The family moved into town, Albert travelling out to the family property every day, to undertake his role as property manager.

“This house used to be the old club managers' residence, in the days where you had to be 21 to get in to the club,” Win recalled.

Having two daughters and a son, Wyn is very proud of her children. One daughter had a long career in the correctional service in the area, and when that closed, she became involved in the mining industry.

Her other daughter works at Murdi Paaki Regional Housing Corporation in Broken Hill.

Her son is a boss on the roads. “They are all close by, and have good jobs and lives,” Win said. “They all keep an eye on me, and are always here if anything goes wrong.

“My nephew Clive is also really good.” Win’s husband Albert was great friends with Wendy Aves’ father.

“They would be the last to come home from the pub at night, they were good mates.”

When Win’s parents retired, they moved away, opening a boarding home in their home.

They would serve dinner at night, and had about seven people living there. Win has seen some big changes in Ivanhoe over the years.

“There were more shops in earlier years,” she commented. “A lot of shops have shut.

“There used to be a big shop on one of the corners, and that shop sold everything.

“My brother-in-law worked there for a while, before it eventually closed down.

“When they took the railway away, things changed a lot.”

After a time, Win came to work at Ivanhoe Public School, and truly enjoyed her time there.

Heather McGinty started work there the same day, and still works there as a teacher’s aide.

“I enjoyed working at the school,” Win recalled.

“The classes were smaller, and that meant that you could show each child more attention.

They still have a great school there, and still have the school bus, which is good.”

Win stopped working at the school when attendance numbers dropped.

Sadly, Win lost her sister Clare to cancer.

“Her name was spelled Clare, my mother always said she didn’t want a chair in her name,” Win chuckled.

“Clare used to come and visit me often on the A Train when we were younger.

“She was my younger sister, and was bright and happy, always getting the giggles.” Her older sister, Marjorie, lives in Lismore, and was a radiographer. “I remember when we were little, Marjorie would get into bed and shine the light up against the white sheets, so she could look at her veins,” she said.

“Things like that, medical things, always fascinated her.”

Her brothers, Tom and John are also located in Lismore.

Win loves to sit on the front porch with her Jack Russell, enjoy the weather and watch the world go by.

She is an avid newspaper reader, and loves completing find a word puzzles.

Wyn used to knit a lot, until her hands began to ache too much. It was such an honour to talk to Win.

She is the epitome of Ivanhoe and its people.

Friendly, happy and strong, Win is one of Ivanhoe’s inspiring people