And now, she's among the nominees for NT Senior Australian of the Year for what she describes as a normal part of her everyday life - helping people.

Mrs Short, now 84, said she was "somewhat stunned" to have received the nomination.

"Mainly because one does these things because one does," she said.

"You don't necessarily expect to be recognised for them, it's just part of what I do."

Born in Sydney, she moved to Katherine in 1966 with her husband and two children during her husband's medical residency at the Katherine hospital.

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Without intending to, the family ended up staying for thirty years.

In 1974, Mrs Short founded the Embroiderers' Guild of the Northern Territory in Katherine, sharing her love of embroidery with the rest of the community.

The group went on to create works to go on display in the local courthouse, schools and the council building before guilds around the country joined forces to create a piece to hang in Parliament House in Canberra.

"That took a considerable amount of time and effort, [but] it was well worthwhile," Mrs Short said.

"It was very much a community effort."

She said the group was a place where everyone was welcome.

"So long as you were interested in learning, it was there to encourage people."

Mrs Short applied the same philosophy to her own home in Katherine, saying the house she shared with husband and four children became known around town as a place of refuge, a place to have something to eat or just have some company.

"My house was always open. You couldn't lock the doors on my house anyway," she said.

"The kids just came as they needed to and if they needed to stay a few nights that was fine.

"I didn't ever really know how many people I was going to have for tea but there was always enough in the pot if someone called in.

"It was a place of refuge if they needed to come and just sit for a while.

"That was how I liked it."

In 1984, Mrs Short was elected for the first of three terms on the Katherine Town Council, two of which she served as Deputy Mayor.

"I felt there were things that needed to be done and I thought I might get in and see if I could accomplish those things," she said of her choice to run for council.

"At the time I was there we did some good things to improve the life of the town."

She said she was only able to help the community as much as she did because of the support of her family.

"I couldn't have done any of those things without the generosity and understanding of my husband and my children," Mrs Short said.

"They had to make sacrifices because I wasn't always available when they needed me.

"In lots of ways, they were part of it."

Although she lives in Darwin now, Mrs Short said she still works everyday to help those around her.

"For me, the important thing is to be able to help somebody," she said.

"It might be a little thing, it might be a bigger thing and we don't always succeed but at least we should try.

"And if we do, this is going to be a better world."

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