Teresa Nowak has been to Government House many times, but is planning a special visit

After all, she has visited the ceremony venue - Government House in Adelaide - many times while involved in multicultural affairs.

Ms Nowak, of Whyalla Norrie, received the Medal of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours List at the long weekend.

Despite having been a regular at Government House, she said it would be "very, very special" when she accepts the honour from Governor Frances Adamson later this year.

Ms Nowak migrated in 1964 as a teenager from Poland under the family reunion scheme. She went on to amass a huge list of achievements in multiculturalism and ethnic affairs as well as in other sectors of the community.

She is a former South Australia Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commissioner, member of the Filipino Cultural Association of Whyalla, member of Club Italico, member of the Croatian Social and Football Club and former interpreter and bilingual worker with the Immigration and Ethnic Affairs Department. Other milestones include:

Ms Nowak said she had been "terrified" when she arrived in Australia as a young migrant because of "culture shock".

"You know I am now 75 and I have been doing things for close to 50 years," she said.

"I came voluntarily as a migrant. I had time to prepare psychologically and physically.

"We could take with us a limited amount of money and belongings.

"With refugees, there is not even time to take a photograph of your belongings.

"There is a huge difference - emotionally - between migrants and refugees."

As an Aussie newcomer, she spoke no English, but had her parents to help her with language as well as some "fantastic mentors".

"I contacted people from the welfare department, once I had learned English. Some of the government departments needed interpreters," she recalled.

"Everything started from that. I later got the job with the Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission in Whyalla."

She helped to set up a migrant resource centre - the first in South Australia - and an ethnic community centre in Whyalla.

'I worked closely with VIetnamese refugees. Now the refugees are coming from Latin America and Eastern and Southern Europe," she said.

"We had 80 nationalities in Whyalla in the 1970s. We had a lot of contact with the English migrants. There were many dances in that era and it was an exciting time.

"Now the children have left to either study or work somewhere else."

Ms Nowak wants to keep contributing.

"My next challenge is that I want to stay working for another year as a co-ordinator of the aged care community service with Uniting Country SA," she said.