Now, more than 30 years later, she is Bathurst Regional Council's manager of strategic planning and has had her long service, passion and dedication recognised with an Australia Day honour.

She is the proud recipient of a Public Service Medal (PSM), a meritorious award for outstanding service, in her case awarded for recognising and maintaining the Aboriginal cultural heritage of the Bathurst region.

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While Ms Bingham was aware she had been nominated by council's general manager, David Sherley, she never expected to actually receive the PSM.

"I was extremely flattered to be nominated by our general manager.

"I never actually thought I would get the medal. I just thought I'd be nicely flattered that I'd been nominated, so I'm extremely humbled and a little bit embarrassed.

"Truth be told, it's just really nice to be recognised for the amount of time I've been in Bathurst and, I guess, the commitment I've made to the region. I'm super proud of my career."

Ms Bingham's desire to go into town planning started a long way from Bathurst.

She grew up in Canberra before moving to Armidale to attend university.

After graduating, she spent a few years living and working in Sydney in her first job for the government agency now known as Transport for NSW.

In 1991, she made the decision to go west to Bathurst.

"I wanted to move to local government and a job came up at Bathurst. I was only a young planner. I was lucky enough to get the position," Ms Bingham said.

"I thought I would only be here for a couple of years and move on, but I loved Bathurst, I loved the Bathurst region and when my job in 1996 started to take on the responsibility of council's heritage management program, well, that was it for me.

"That was the part of the role I loved the most, and so I've been here ever since."

She has continued to shape council's heritage management program, which more recently has evolved to include Aboriginal heritage investigations.

Ms Bingham said this was something council didn't do a lot of in the early days, but around the time Evans Shire Council and Bathurst City Council amalgamated, things started to slowly change.

"In 2015 was when we were able to secure some funding through the council to do the Aboriginal heritage study for the Bathurst region," she said.

"That was really the first time the council had studied the Aboriginal heritage of the region. It was a great project and that was the beginning of it all really."

Ms Bingham has played a critical role in helping council to develop policy and commitment in working with the Aboriginal community and particularly the custodians of the Bathurst region, the Wiradyuri people.

In addition to the Bathurst Aboriginal Heritage Study, she oversaw the development of the Aboriginal Heritage Interpretation Strategy in 2017 and the delivery of projects, including interpretive signage.

Bathurst's interest in Aboriginal heritage is one of many changes Ms Bingham has seen since coming to Bathurst in 1991.

Back then, the city's population was a little bit more than half of what it is now, which in itself is a huge change.

But, she said, there has also been a change in the city's attitude towards heritage, with more people interested in it and keen to preserve it.

"When I first came here, heritage, I think it was always important to the Bathurst community, but I think in the 32 years I've been at council I've seen that community interest change and there's a much greater appreciation for the region's heritage, inclusive particularly of its Indigenous heritage," she said.

There's also more support within council itself, from both the staff and the councillors, to embrace and protect heritage.

"The support that you get from the council to manage and maintain the region's heritage is considerable and council's budget for heritage management is one of the largest in the state," Ms Bingham said.

"That's testament to the importance council places on the region's heritage and the range of work that we as planners ... put into making sure that it sits high up in that pile of things we have to consider when making decisions."

When you speak to Ms Bingham, it's clear that she is passionate about both the city of Bathurst and her job.

She said there is nothing else that she wants to do and, when the time eventually comes to enter retirement, she is confident it will be straight from her job at Bathurst council.

Reflecting on her PSM, she said the award is not representative of her alone.

"It's not just about me. It's about the team that I have worked with," she said.

"It's about those above me. You can't achieve anything in your career unless you are supported by those above you: the general manager, David Sherley; the planning director, Neil Southorn; and David Shaw before him.

"And it's about the team of planners that I've worked with over 32 years.

"... It's not about just what I've achieved, it's about what we've achieved."

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