Born and bred in Castlemaine, Mrs Beryl learnt to dance as a child and enjoyed it so much she declared: "this is what I want to do when I grow up".

She studied at the Ballet Guild in Melbourne and performed for the guild in The Nutcracker Suite and Coppelia.

She even danced on television in the early 1960s but it was passing on her techniques and experience to the young dancers of Castlemaine and Kyneton that has seen Mrs Beryl awarded an OAM.

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The Roma Ivetic School of Dance ran for 60 years until Mrs Beryl, now in her 80s, decided to retire in 2017.

"I still practice (dancing) at home to keep in good health," she said.

Along the journey, thousands of children have learnt to dance under Mrs Beryl.

"I like to think the students got a lot of confidence to go on to competition and into jobs and the way they go about life," she said.

"Every Christmas we'd put on a concert at the Mt Alexander Home for the Aged and to see the smiles on the faces of the elderly people was wonderful."

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As a dance teacher, Mrs Beryl trained debutantes for Castlemaine Hospital and mayoral ball and put on concerts at kindergartens, fire brigades and the high school as well as fundraising benefits for the Save the Children Foundation.

"That was always a special one because I told the children we doing this for other children," Mrs Beryl said.

Mrs Beryl is also a volunteer at Castlemaine Pioneers and Old Residents Association.

Receiving the OAM means a lot for Mrs Beryl and the children she has taught over the past six decades.

"It makes you feel a bit humble," she said.

"It's a wonderful surprise."

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