She was the only mixed race child in an all-white family living in an Anglo Saxon dairy farming town in NSW.

But she was given scant details about her birth parents, most of which were incorrect.

She was told her father was half-Chinese, that he was born in Australia, and that he was probably short, like her.

In fact, her father was a six-foot tall Malay-born Chinese man, making her half-Chinese, and he was sadly unaware of her existence.

Her parents had met while he was studying medicine in Australia.

Her biological mother kept her birth a secret, assuming it would prevent him from returning to Malaysia to support his six brothers and sisters.

In fact, he never left.

When NSW adoption laws were changed, Ms Berzins, of the Central Coast, was in her early 20s.

She sought out her natural parents and met them both, at the same time. They hadn’t seen each other in more than 20 years but were clearly still in love, she said.

‘‘The meeting was really extraordinary,’’ Ms Berzins said.

Ms Berzins is one of 65,000 people helped in their search for family by The Benevolent Society.

The service, which helps families make contact and prepare for the impact of reunion, will host a meeting in Newcastle on November 27.

It will be open to adopted people, parents and any other family members seeking advice or support for connecting with lost family, as well as dealing with the emotional strain of adoption, says Service manager Janet Henegan. 

 “About one-in-fifteen people are affected by adoption in Australia and we’re finding more and more people are contacting us to ask for information, support or counselling; and for assistance with finding and contacting family members,” Ms Henegan said.