Passions & Interests

Can you tell us about your venture into genealogy?

When my son was in Year 10, he was set a project to do on family history, and my interest began then. However, being a single mother and working in a very demanding job, I didn’t have the time to even think about it. When I retired at the end of 1994, I wanted to do something that would keep my brain very active, and genealogy was what I decided to do.

Over the years I’ve built my own comprehensive family tree and put together some very interesting stories about individuals, one of whom was either the first or the second female flying doctor in Australia in 1938.

I joined a group called RootsChat online and worked on cooperative challenges including:

• The ANZAC Challenge where we tracked down present-day family in Australia and England from old postcards and photos from WW1.
• Tracking down present-day family members for Australian soldiers buried at Fromelles.

Some other things that made me feel very happy were:

• Reuniting a lady who was evacuated from her family during WW2. She was so happy to be in contact with an older sister and a brother who was born after she was evacuated. He actually came to South Australia to meet her.
• Initiating and conducting a project to correct and collect obituaries and reports of death for residents of the Encounter Bay area from Trove Newspapers. The collection has been published and put on the library computers as a searchable database.
• With a friend, purchasing an old family Bible that contained four names, one of which had been erased. Together we traced the name of the unknown child, and the families of the two parents, and traced the family forward until we found direct descendants. With great joy we returned the old Bible, together with the history we had put together, to the great granddaughter of the original owners.

Have you always had a passion for writing? What form of writing do you write? 

Writing is just something I do at times. I had an English pen friend with whom I corresponded over many years until she sadly passed away. But it was after I retired that I started to write things for the family history I was doing. I have put together several booklets about family members, and one for my elderly parents called ‘Memories’ which I gave them on their 60th wedding anniversary. They lived to celebrate 71 years of marriage. Over the past twenty years I’ve tried to write a monthly newsletter to send to various family members and to friends that I have made overseas. I also scribble poems. I call them my ‘Scribbles’. I usually just write poems when I get an idea or I want to express myself.

Life, Lessons & Memories

What do you enjoy most at Warrigal Bundanoon?

• Having visits from my family, including my daughter, who drives alone from Adelaide to Bundanoon and back several times a year.
• Doing jigsaw puzzles with a resident friend.
• Observing the kangaroos and the plovers through my window.
• Visiting the café on Mondays and Wednesdays.
• Chatting with the lovely caring staff.

Over your life, what’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt and the best piece of advice you have?

To be able to be as independent as possible and to not depend on other people. That is a lesson that is now hard for me to always follow these days, but I try to be as independent as possible still.

The best piece of advice I have for others is to keep your brain active with challenging activities.

Is there a standout memory over your life that you’d like to share?

One winter when living in Edithburgh, a yearling sea lion decided to make its home at the tidal swimming pool for just over six weeks. I kept an eye on him and took my students down to see him. I contacted the South Australian Museum, and they asked me to take notes on his behaviour. We named him Smoochie because he loved attention and loved to roll over like a dog and have his belly rubbed. If he was swimming within sight of the pool, he would respond to his name being called.

At Warrigal, we treasure the stories and achievements of our residents, and love to share these stories with our wider communities. To find more inspiring stories and stay connected, follow us on Facebook here.