The 86-year-old has a teaching career that spans four decades, covering painting and ceramic arts, while contributing to the preservation of Australian heritage and doing volunteer work.

Last week she was in the spotlight when she received the Medal of the Order of Australia.

Mrs Barnes taught art at MacRobertson Girls High School and Williamstown High School. She was also a tutor at the Warrandyte pottery school.

Her love of stoneware inspired her to bring ceramics into her art curriculum after World War II. "There were very few art materials postwar," she recalled. "We got clay from clay pits and made ceramics by hand before the schools were able to supply kilns for students."

Over the years her interests included the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors, the Victorian Ceramics Group and the Victorian Artist Society and Victorian Craft Council. To follow her passion for preserving Australian heritage, Mrs Barnes joined the National Trust of Australia in 1987.

Last week Mrs Barnes enjoyed the Australia Day celebrations with her son and four grandchildren.

"Of everything I have achieved, my family means the most," she said.

The news that she was on the Australia Day honours list came as a surprise.

"I couldn't believe it. I think it strange to think you can be rewarded simply doing something you love.

"When I told my son he picked me up in the air and danced around with me. All my grandchildren are thrilled to bits."