She will share her experiences when she appears as the special guest speaker for Canowindra's Australia Day celebrations to be held from 6pm in Memorial Park on Saturday.

Mrs Roberts grew up in Canowindra and went to primary school and high school here, but wasn't sure what path to take once she left school.

"I didn't know what I wanted to do so I thought I'd join the navy and get some life experience," she said.

Mrs Roberts worked in the gunnery area as a bosun's mate, traditionally a male-dominated field.

"I got treated like one of the boys because I held my own," she said.

"It probably helped being from the country and being able to do a man's job as good as them."

It wasn't all smooth sailing, and Mrs Roberts said the biggest challenges were being away from her family and adjusting to life at sea.

"There's 300 plus people living in a small boat, so you learn to get along with people who have different views, and to respect those views, because you can't just get away from them," she said.

During her time in the navy Mrs Roberts visited Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Dubai, Kuwait, New Zealand and the Solomon Islands.

Her role required her to descend by rope from helicopters onto illegal fishing vessels in rough seas - which eventually led to her injuring both her legs and leaving the navy.

But she says the experiences she had were everything she had hoped for.

"I did eight years and served my country in four different war zones," she said.

"I accomplished what I joined for, to serve my country and see how other cultures live."

Mrs Roberts left the navy in April and has recently moved to Canowindra with her husband Nigel, who is originally from Tasmania, and their two children Felicity and James.