Mrs Smith - pictured at the polling booth with father James Pirie who was helping out on Saturday – moved to Anna Bay around five years ago where she and her husband own a restaurant. 

The independent candidate is one of a number of new faces on the Port Stephens Council, which includes young mayor Ryan Palmer.

“I’m very excited to join council,” Mrs Smtih told the Port Stephens Examiner.

“These past few days have been a little crazy but I’m excited to get my teeth into it, meet some people in Medowie and Tilligerry and start working closely with Ryan.”

Mrs Smith said she didn’t know what to expect going to the polls.

“I was confident in this immediate [Anna Bay] area but what I’m really pleased about is holding my own in Medowie against Chris Doohan and Steve Tucker at Tillgerry,” she said.

“I can only put it down to hard work and the time spent talking to people during pre-polling, where you can spend a little more time talking to people.”

Mrs Smith attended Mudgee High School and St Catherine’s in Sydney where she also worked for a number of years.