“Three of our four children live in Melbourne, and two of those will be within 10 minutes of where we will be living,” Noel said.
The Maughans said it was a bittersweet feeling to leave the town they had known as home for so long.
“It’s been a very difficult decision for us because we love living in Echuca,” Noel said.
“We love the area, we love the people, we have made a lot of very good friends here over the years, and it’s not just Echuca, it’s the surrounding areas, Kyabram, Cohuna and so on."
The highly-respected couple was given a series of send-offs last week, including a final coffee group catch-up for Dorothy, before a morning tea with Community Living and Respite Services (CLRS) personnel where Noel has been a patron for many years.
“I have enormous respect for Community Living and Respite Services and all the people who have been involved there,” Noel said.
“Suzanna Barry did a great job and Leah (Taffee) is carrying that on (as chief executive).
“It’s a team effort and a terrific group of people and the fabulous work they do for all sorts of people with a disability, and the fact they do it so well, is shown by the number of people that have come to Echuca simply because they are aware of the organisation.”
A former Nationals member for Rodney in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Noel later went on to serve on the Goulburn Valley Health board.
“Much the same as CLRS, it’s a great organisation doing terrific work, and I was honoured to be able to help and use my role and the contacts I had to advance the interest of the hospital,” he said.
The Maughans’ work over the years has helped influence the building of hospitals and schools across the region, though it is the construction of the new Echuca-Moama bridge that Noel credits as one of his proudest projects to be involved in.
“For all my years in politics, the bridge was the number one issue, so it gives me great pleasure to go down and see the bridge nearly completed,” he said.
“That’s one of those big projects, but I do get a lot of satisfaction from being able to help people, and individuals who came into my office were always given my best attention. For me it might have been a small issue, but to them it was a big issue.”
Dorothy said they had thoroughly enjoyed their time in politics, which came after running a big farming enterprise at Mount Scobie.
“We had 18 wonderful years in politics, we loved every moment of it, loved the people, the connections, the towns,” she said.
Dorothy said Noel’s impact as a member was grounded in the fact he was good friends with everyone regardless of their politics.
“We are all there for the same reason, and some play their politics a bit harder, but I have always taken the view you achieve more by being reasonable and that has worked for me,” Noel said.
CLRS life member Fran Galvin said Noel and Dorothy had undoubtedly added to the organisation’s profile during the years.
“They have given a real credibility to the service,” Ms Galvin said.
“Any service who has some key personnel and someone with a high profile in the community is a real asset, and Noel has been really generous with his time — he’s been great for our area.”
CLRS chief executive Leah Taffee echoed those sentiments.
“Noel and Dorothy have been incredible,” Ms Taffee said.
“They are a wonderful couple and beautiful people and we’re very sorry to see them go to Melbourne, but we know they will love it down there.
“They’ve been a great support, really invaluable both to me personally — Noel has a wealth of experience and has dealt with anything and everything that has happened in the universe I reckon,” she said with a laugh.
“He’s been a great person to go to for advice and support, and Dorothy equally is always caring and wants to make sure they are doing what they can to support us as an organisation.”
And while culling belongings has been a major task for the couple ahead of their move to the big smoke, it has highlighted just how many friends and connections the pair has made over the years.
“As we have been moving, I have been disposing of business cards and there has been literally hundreds of those,” Noel said.
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