The octogenarian is the daughter of the late Bill Flanigan, who was a foundation member of Country Rugby League (CRL) and a prominent figure in Kempsey civic history.

The family treasure is the shield named in honour of Norma’s father, which served for 30 seasons as the coveted trophy for winners of the senior football competition in the district.

The whereabouts of the Bill Flanigan Shield had been unknown for more than three decades, until it turned up among the trophies of a CRL group secretary after he died.

It was passed on to former CRL Group Three president Greg Mayhew, who brought it for Norma to see again before it moves to a prestigious location in Sydney.

“I was wondering where it got to,” she says.

“I just wanted to know it was safe, I didn’t want to keep it.

“I’m very glad to see it again and pleased it’s going to its new home.”

Greg has arranged for the shield to be presented to CRL and it will take up residence at its Rugby League Central headquarters in Sydney.

There are plans for a formal ceremony to acknowledge the return of this elegant piece of football history.

“Rugby league was revitalised in 1950 through Bill Flanigan,” Greg said.

“Prior to 1950, rugby league in Kempsey was the Lower Macleay District Football League, played up and down river.

“Bill was a foundation member of CRL and Kempsey CYM (Catholic Young Men’s Football Club).

“They played in CRL Group 3 with Central Kempsey, Smithtown, Camden Haven, Wauchope and Port Macquarie, until 1966, when the boundaries were changed, with the Macleay clubs playing in Group 2 and the Hastings clubs staying in Group 3.

“The Bill Flanigan Shield was the CRL trophy from 1950 until 1979.

“It was only when sponsorship came in that a tobacco company wanted the naming rights and a new trophy.

“God only knows where the shield went in 1979 after Macksville won it.”

Bill - who arranged the visit of the Great Britain team to the Verge St Oval in the first year of Group 3 during the side’s 1950 tour of Australia - was honoured by having the trophy named after him.

“I remember him telling us it was going to be the Flanigan Shield,” Norma recalls.

"It was a big thing for him.

“We were very proud of dad.

“He wasn’t the sort of man who wanted recognition, he just loved doing it.”

Sadly, the death of his wife, Norma’s mother, in hospital coincided with a dinner function for the match between North Coast and Great Britain and Bill was called away.

As well as playing a part in rugby league history, Bill contributed to the improvement of the town, particularly following the great flood of 1949.

He had moved with his family to the town as a district postal inspector and became deputy mayor of Kempsey Municipal Council.

His legacy includes his work in getting open spaces - Service Clubs Park and an area at Sydney St, where buildings had stood before the flood - transformed into parks.

Bill died in 1977, aged 83, but the recovery and presentation of the silver and wood shield bearing his name, and its imminent presentation to CRL, has ensured he will remain a Macleay rugby league immortal.