The power of storytelling

‘At BGGS I was a Library Monitor given the task of keeping the literature shelves in strict Dewey order. 60 years on, literature and libraries have shaped my story.  

‘In 1967 I completed a BA (Honours in English) at The University of Queensland (UQ). Following this I was a Tutor in English at UQ, then at Flinders University from 1969 when I moved to Adelaide.  

‘Living at a postgraduate college, I met Tony, an academic biochemist, and now my husband of 53 years. I finished a Master’s Degree at Flinders in 1973 and a Diploma of Teaching in 1974.  

‘In 1975 and 1976 we lived in Madison, Wisconsin, where Tony was a research fellow. We explored America on extensive road trips to the east coast, Rocky Mountains and New Orleans. We returned to Adelaide in 1977 with a baby daughter, then had a second in 1979. When they were both in school, I began a primary teaching career and studied librarianship, earning my Graduate Diploma in Teacher Librarianship in 1987.  

‘Since then, I have been a teacher librarian in Adelaide schools, enjoying both the librarianship and teaching. My daughter’s interest led me to take up distance running in middle age, and I completed a marathon in 1999.  

‘Our daughters were educated in Adelaide, then moved away, one to Alaska and the other to Sydney, where they both have fulfilling jobs, partners and families. Visiting children and grandchildren is a joy. Since 2003 I have been to Alaska almost every year and look upon Ketchikan as a second home.  

‘After retirement in 2011, my husband and I turned historians. We researched and wrote a prize-winning history of his Cornish forebears. Family history has taken us to Cornwall and Ireland and we have visited other parts of the UK. I have also written about my Queensland family. Here in Adelaide, we are fortunate to have the annual Adelaide Festival and plentiful music and theatre. These, along with reading and volunteering at our local Toy Library all provide a satisfying life in old age.’