Newcastle writer, historian and philanthropist Vera Deacon awarded Freeman of the City

She flows through the lives of Novocastrians almost imperceptibly but deeply, nurturing a community.

But on Wednesday, Vera Deacon's enormous contribution to Newcastle life was recognised when she was named a Freeman of the City.

Or, as she said when Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes handed her the medal, a "Freewoman".

"I don't cry easily, but I did when they told me," Mrs Deacon said before the function at City Hall. "I'm amazed, because I could nominate 100 people who should get the award."

Yet to the 200 or so people at the ceremony, Vera Deacon is one of a kind, a "treasure".

She was born in Mayfield in 1926 and raised on the islands in the Hunter River estuary, before they were subsumed by the Kooragang industrial precinct.

"I'm a Mosquito Island, Hunter River girl, although I can't claim to be a girl now, but you get my meaning," the 93-year-old said. "The river made me."

Vera Deacon has helped Novocastrians learn more about what has made them. She has helped promote and conserve the city's history, arts, and environment. She has also spoken up on social justice issues, with her values forged as a child growing up in Depression-era Newcastle.

The broad range of her interests was represented by the seven speakers at the event held in her honour.

Among the speakers was Gionni Di Gravio, the University of Newcastle's archivist. He recalled the first time he saw her, she looked like Scarlett O'Hara, from Gone with the Wind. He talked about her philanthropy, leading to the university establishing the Vera Deacon Regional History Fund.

"It's putting Newcastle's history out into the world and making sure our lives, for better or for worse, are not forgotten," he said.

Hunter Local Land Services estuary officer Peggy Svoboda talked about Mrs Deacon's volunteer work to help restore natural life to the Kooragang wetlands, and her "naturally elegant" manner.

Rod Noble, from the Hunter Broad Left, read excerpts from Mrs Deacon's ASIO file, which grew ever thicker as she was a member of the Communist Party of Australia. It was noted "Mrs Deacon, alias Vera Deacon" had written an article "in favour of free medicine" and she had been observed being "up late at night, typing".

Mrs Deacon's daughter, Daria Ball, said her mother's hallmark was "positivity".

"She befriends everyone she meets, thinks the best of everyone, wanting to share life stories," Daria Ball said.

At the function, Vera Deacon was keen to share her story.

"Who is the timekeeper?," the guest-of-honour asked.

"We're on island time today," replied Cr Nelmes.

Vera Deacon talked about her early years and family, about moving away from Newcastle to Sydney after she married then returning home in 1997. She referred to her passion for history and the environment, lamenting the mountains of coal on Kooragang that dust-coated her pale cream home at Stockton.

"You can see I'm a greenie too," she said.

And Mrs Deacon shared her father's last words to her, which she has used as her template for living: "Don't be greedy, do good and keep an eye on the river."

Doug Lithgow, the president of the Parks and Playground Movement and a fellow Freeman of the City, believed his friend had put those words into action.

"She's been a voice from the Hunter River, she's been a voice for the environment," Mr Lithgow said.

After the ceremony, Councillor Nelmes said Vera Deacon was deserving of the city's highest honour.

"Vera is a living treasure and an absolute trailblazer for women," Cr Nelmes said, the Lord Mayor referring to Mrs Deacon's advocacy for social justice issues and speaking out against inequality.

"At a time when it was unusual for women to be involved in that field of political activism, she was always standing up for what is right in such a diplomatic way, and at 93, she's no different."

Vera Deacon's talent as a writer was also celebrated at the ceremony, with the launch of a book, Singing Back The River.

The book includes a collection of Mrs Deacon's stories written over six decades, from her reminiscences of Hunter River island life and making do during the Depression to a tribute to steelworkers. And there's a paean to the river.

"We loved the river as we loved our mothers, those laughing, hard-working strong island women," she wrote in the story, "River Song".

The book was edited and published by Marilla North, who tracked down her long-time friend's stories.

"Vera's stories need to be collected for posterity and brought into the 21^st century so they can be widely disseminated," she said.

While the honour conferred on Vera Deacon may be called Freeman of the City, Cr Nelmes is fine with the recipient changing it to "Freewoman".

"She is absolutely - and she was very clear - a Freewoman, and if you ask me, I'm more than happy to go with that title," Cr Nelmes said. "She is a Freeman of the City and a Freewoman of the City at the same time."

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