Mrs Cowie, 88, will retire from the position on Sunday.

The former Dunmunkle Shire asked her and her husband Bill to take on the caravan park in 1980.

‘‘Bill was a handyman and could do anything really, so we worked together until Bill died nine years ago,’’ she said.

‘‘But I kept on looking after the caravan park.

‘‘I think 35 years is really good going.’’

Mrs Cowie said the park had changed in her time but always had visitors.

‘‘The park used to have about 20 powered sites and 12 unpowered. There’s not that many now because caravans have been getting bigger and take up more space,’’ she said.

‘‘People like the quietness because it’s right by the lake. We have quite a few people coming from Adelaide – they like it better than noisier parks in Horsham.’’

The Cowies’ home is across the road from the caravan park and Mrs Cowie opened it up to visitors, using her kitchen as a make-shift office to take bookings.

‘‘We’ve seen many many people come into my kitchen to book in. Quite often people from Melbourne would be shocked I was using my kitchen to take bookings,’’ she said.

Mrs Cowie took on most of the responsibilities at the park from cleaning to taking bookings and watering the trees.

She said one task she would not miss was cleaning the barbecue when visitors neglected to do it themselves.

Mrs Cowie said meeting new people was what she would miss most when she retired.

She said she met a range of people from across Australia and overseas.

‘‘I will miss talking to people,’’ she said.

‘‘When they came and stayed for several days, I would give them the lowdown on things to see in the town.’’

Mrs Cowie said despite retiring, she would remain busy.

‘‘I’m involved in about eight organisations in the town. I’m a Legatee, I’m in a writer’s group, Probus, I’m involved in the Bible society and I have a prayer meeting at my house once a week,’’ she said.

Mrs Cowie said she also planned to spent time on crosswords and sudoku puzzles.

Yarriambiack Shire Council congratulated Mrs Cowie for her efforts at a meeting on Tuesday.

Council presented her with a gold watch, flowers and a book about birds – another of her passions.

Mrs Cowie said five of her six children visited Murtoa this week to celebrate her retirement.