Myself about 3-4yrs at Manifold st, home in Camperdown. My mother had just unwrapped my new cane basket which had arrived in the mail from my father who was away on an adventure restoring an historic property on Norfolk Island.(Supposed to be Fletcher Christian’s House). The presents he brought back were exotic, silver and Chinese-inspired design along with huge shells I could blow into and feel the lustous pink insides from a Pacific world far from Camperdown. They were exciting and interesting and fed my imagination and taste for adventure.

The Spare Room…. Making …Sewing …..Concocting …Perusing…It rained often..lots of spare time. Lots to imagine….

The Dress-Up Room at Leura Farm, abundant with jewellary to die for and fabulous trunks of clothing and furs… Could be aboard a  glamorous Ocean ship dressing up for dinner and parading around -Wandering through the Blacksmiths forge and other outbuildings and up on Mt Sugarloaf  past the cows, onto land covered in yellow daisies.  The Butter factory produced Leura Butter at the time. The milkie delivered our bottles of milk to the door as he clipclopped down Manifold st past our house. 

Wandering through old bluestone  mansions featuring Colonial murals and earlier way of  way of life such as “Purrumbete Homestead” and “Meningoort” and it’s outbuildings with coaches literally fit for the Queen’s visits. “Talindert” was where the Queen and other Royalty stayed when they travelled through here on visits to Australia. Eugene Von Geurard went between properties like “Meningoort” sketching and painting the countryside and the huge properties that had been settled. 

The Botonical Garden with monkeys and ducks and the occasional “swaggie”. I loved going up to the old garrdens when the big ponds held the green and brown ducks that scooted and glided in the watters there

Visiting the old Indian hawker when he arrived in town in his covered wagon to buy exotic curry powders and other things.

My Aunty Nell was the manager of Eckt’s Drapery Shop in Camperdown and we were always kept in the best and fresh toff the rack dresses which were beautiful. Going to melbourne was always with hats and gloves and bags to match. LOL

Riding bicycles along hedgerows and picking mushrooms with my mother and sister.

Being picked at school to do Correspondance Art with two other friends  because we were good at Art and the nuns couldn’t teach us what they couldn’t do themselves. 

Choosing to go on and transferring to Camperdown High School because of the Art education it offered . Brilliant Art and Literature teachers. “Chips” Colvan and David Bradshaw and Barry Breen -the poetic guru. Loved French too!

Designing and making a new outfit each fortnight with the help of Mrs Salau to go to the local dance and dance your heart out.

Hours of listening to music like “Chatenooga Choo Choo” from our parents to “Surfer Girl”, dancing and creating concerts, entertainment afternoons, swapping stand-up lines laughing till we dropped and climbing Mt Leura at the weekend .

Avid Love of Art Design Nature Stories.

St Pat’s and Mercy College

Developing a love of language-French, some Greek and a far bit of Latin. Three of us chosen to do Art by Correspondence  in higher forms. The nuns gave us entrance to Joy. Pat Toohey, John Simmonds and myself. We all went onto creative lives beyond Camperdown. 

Camperdown College

High School for Yr 11-12. Stilled loved languages and history and driven by a thirst for Art and adventures. Terrific teachers which Inspired. 

Teachers’ College, Geelong.

Teaching Allansford, Warrnambool.

Beginning art activities, theatre productions. Warrnambool

Irymple, Mildura. Living on houseboats, teaching, begin Diploma of Art at Mildura Tech (night school). Scholarship in Art. Worked part-time, relocated to Melbourne.

Set-up first Art Room ($100) for Eltham East Primary School. Ran the Art program. Completed Art Diploma with Psychology at P.I.T. (Preston Institute Technology), Bundoora.Promotion grade. Shift to work as Illustrator at Remote Learning Education Centre, Melbourne Central.Promoted to Art Advisor working in schools in the Whittlesea area.

Started a Bachelor of Education at Latrobe University, with mainly Art and Film modules with quite a bit of Anthropology thrown in. I certainly wasn’t interested in educational statistics but I always was interested in developmental psychology.

My son born and my husband had a breakdown. Nursed 2 babies for a while.

Worked with Dr Warren Lett at Montmorency P.S. in an innovative Arts in Schools program with  artists, dancers,musicians,as well as educators in conjuction with Latrobe Uni.

Shifted locations from city to country as Art Adviser in schools both Primary and Secondary. Worked in Colac Inspectorate which was huge to Otways, Geelong and Skipton. My base school at Alvie Consolidated School and I lved with my son at Tandarook schoolhouse outside of Camperdown. There was a deserted old schoolhouse in the paddock net door and that became my studio as “Who Paints the Cows?” Exhibition came about. I also set up a design Co with another couple of teacher friends in creating local calanders andd cards. Name of the small business based on the ladscape and called “Cloud and Cow” House. 

I resigned at one point to spend more time with my son as I travelled quite extensively thrroughout theweek, when I received a letter of welcome to visit Israel from Avi, my friend and the Department send me some money they owed me. 

We travelled to Thailand, then Athens, onto Tel Aviv to Avi’s. Travelling later into Eygpyt. We returned via Singapore and Perth where we were able to drop into the Perth Arts Festival and catch up with my sister there, then back to Tandarook and a change of teaching career. 

I taught Graphics at Cobden Tech which was much of building graphics and challanging .

Appointed in new position at Warrnambool High then. teaching Ancient History ,English and Art. Began painting theatre sets for the school performances.

Taught Art and Graphics and turned Craft classes into “Wearable Art ” class. 

I was friendly with the woman teaching Women’s Studies at Warrnambool Institute and from lunches at home in Merri St ,Splash Studios emerged. I wrote the submissions to establish the group and negotiated a very cheap rental with Mr Alan lane who owned beautiful property down near the river and then wrote another submission for a Touring Exhibition of Women Artists which featured in a book put out by Judith Brooks  of all the shows put on by the Womens Art Gallery in the 80’s