“I was born in a town called Lake Grace in WA. People imagine a beautiful lake but it’s a salt lake so most of the time it’s dry. It’s almost like the edge of the desert. If you drew a line between Perth and Esperance on the South Coast it’s right in the middle. It can get water on it but mostly it’s a salt pan which usually has tourists bogged in it and the tractors pulling the tourists out. It looks pristine white and beautiful on the top but you quickly sink down into black.
My family were farmers, sheep, grain, wheat and barley mostly. I went to school there then I went to school down in Albany. My brother is still on that farm which was bought by my great grandfather and passed on to my grandfather, to my father, then to my brother and now to his son. My brother is still there and his son is on the farm also. My brother and his son are very good at what they do. The farm is now so much bigger than when I was a kid. It’s still sheep and grain. I think it’s grown to 16,000 acres now. It’s huge. Everything’s big, the sheds are massive, the tractors, the trucks are semi-trailers. I still love going to WA. It’s like a different country. It smells different, the vegetation’s different, the bush, it’s a different world.
When I left school I went up to Perth and rented a house with some school mates. I went to teachers college for a year and a half and worked for a catering company doing office work and helped run functions in the evenings. In 1986 my cousin Marty was going east for a trip so I thought I’d join him. We ran out of money in the Barossa Valley in a little town called Nuriootpa. We put up our tents and got work picking grapes. My now husband Kel was travelling west and stopped to do the same thing. He was with his mates in a Kombi and they put up their tents in the same camp ground. That was where we met. I was 21 and there about 20 of us backpackers in the camp ground. We all got along really well. We’d pick grapes all day then have drinks together at night, 20 of us walking to the pub. We had progressive dinners from tent to tent, so much fun was had.
Marty hooked up with a girl and continued to head east and I went north. I’d arranged with a girlfriend to go to Cape York Peninsular. Kel worked in Darwin and eventually we both ended up back in WA. We’ve been together ever since. We travelled for 11 years around Australia. We went to Europe and cycled through Europe. We flew first to London where we had mates. We were still thinking in Australian distances. We called our mates and said we’re getting on the bus so see you in a few days but of course we were there that afternoon. We realised on buses we wouldn’t get to see anything so we bought bicycles and Kel welded some racks on the back. We started off in the Netherlands and cycled all the way to Turkey and just kept going. It was in the winter too so it was cold but we loved it. We would ride into a village and the whole village would come out to welcome us and have a chat. We were in Turkey for 3 months and the people were friendly but we just couldn’t get away. We would put up our tent at night and the next minute the flap would open and some stranger was up for a chat. They were very curious. We ended up sleeping at the back of graveyards so they left us alone. Trying not to disrespect their dead but just needing peace.
We went to America, bought a car and drove up through Canada, spent a little bit of time in the Philippines. I loved it there. We came back to my Mum and Dad’s in WA and I remember dropping my backpack and saying, I’m not putting that on again! Kel was devastated but I just didn’t want to travel anymore. I didn’t realise at the time but it was my biological clock ticking. I was 33 by then. We headed up to Kununurra and bought a house there. Once that happened I thought, Yes, I want a baby. We had two children and stayed there for over 7 years.
We bought a caravan, left Kununurra and travelled for 12 months with the kids. My daughter didn’t really like travelling. She’s a real homebody. Kel had always loved Northern NSW so we came with our van to Shaws Bay Caravan Park and stayed there for 7 weeks. We spotted Clunes, loved it and bought a house. The kids went to school in Clunes and 18 months ago we moved to Ballina. We still have the house in Clunes. I just love living in this area.
I worked in Libraries in Kununurra. I fell into that job taking over story time when a woman named Rebecca had left. Everything is very community in Kununurra because it’s very isolated so things like story time were very social. I used that time to spot new people who may have needed help, where to find playgroups or things they needed to do. I noticed that after story time people would head off and poor Rebecca would be left with all the mess, so I started helping her clean up. When she left I started running story time.
I’ve been here in the Northern Rivers since 2007. I started in the Library in Lismore in 2008. That’s not such a long time in Libraries. Lucy has been here 40 years. There are many people who stay for 30 – 50 years, lots of very long term people. It’s so diverse. I do story time here, I also run a writers group which is 18 years old now. I’m also organising a youth expo. I go out to the Pre-schools. There’s so much happening in a Library. We have Orchid shows, we have cows at story time. A calf will arrive through the door in the library for story time. Last time it happened I had no idea. Lucy found out we were doing cows so she rang up and said Scott and a calf are arriving. The next minute in walks a calf for the kids story time.That’s what makes Lucy and her Library so wonderful. She is so open to everything. If you suggest something she says’ Yes let’s make it happen! If it involves the community she’s into it. That’s why I’m here and I have no desire to leave.
I love the people of Lismore, the diversity. There are hippies, people in suits, everybody just blends and we get all these different ideas. It’s incredibly varied input we have in our community which is so great. You very quickly learn not to judge people here. You might look at someone who doesn’t fit a mould and then they turn out to be the local Doctor. Don’t judge anyone. Lismore is a wonderful place.”
My family were farmers, sheep, grain, wheat and barley mostly. I went to school there then I went to school down in Albany. My brother is still on that farm which was bought by my great grandfather and passed on to my grandfather, to my father, then to my brother and now to his son. My brother is still there and his son is on the farm also. My brother and his son are very good at what they do. The farm is now so much bigger than when I was a kid. It’s still sheep and grain. I think it’s grown to 16,000 acres now. It’s huge. Everything’s big, the sheds are massive, the tractors, the trucks are semi-trailers. I still love going to WA. It’s like a different country. It smells different, the vegetation’s different, the bush, it’s a different world.
When I left school I went up to Perth and rented a house with some school mates. I went to teachers college for a year and a half and worked for a catering company doing office work and helped run functions in the evenings. In 1986 my cousin Marty was going east for a trip so I thought I’d join him. We ran out of money in the Barossa Valley in a little town called Nuriootpa. We put up our tents and got work picking grapes. My now husband Kel was travelling west and stopped to do the same thing. He was with his mates in a Kombi and they put up their tents in the same camp ground. That was where we met. I was 21 and there about 20 of us backpackers in the camp ground. We all got along really well. We’d pick grapes all day then have drinks together at night, 20 of us walking to the pub. We had progressive dinners from tent to tent, so much fun was had.
Marty hooked up with a girl and continued to head east and I went north. I’d arranged with a girlfriend to go to Cape York Peninsular. Kel worked in Darwin and eventually we both ended up back in WA. We’ve been together ever since. We travelled for 11 years around Australia. We went to Europe and cycled through Europe. We flew first to London where we had mates. We were still thinking in Australian distances. We called our mates and said we’re getting on the bus so see you in a few days but of course we were there that afternoon. We realised on buses we wouldn’t get to see anything so we bought bicycles and Kel welded some racks on the back. We started off in the Netherlands and cycled all the way to Turkey and just kept going. It was in the winter too so it was cold but we loved it. We would ride into a village and the whole village would come out to welcome us and have a chat. We were in Turkey for 3 months and the people were friendly but we just couldn’t get away. We would put up our tent at night and the next minute the flap would open and some stranger was up for a chat. They were very curious. We ended up sleeping at the back of graveyards so they left us alone. Trying not to disrespect their dead but just needing peace.
We went to America, bought a car and drove up through Canada, spent a little bit of time in the Philippines. I loved it there. We came back to my Mum and Dad’s in WA and I remember dropping my backpack and saying, I’m not putting that on again! Kel was devastated but I just didn’t want to travel anymore. I didn’t realise at the time but it was my biological clock ticking. I was 33 by then. We headed up to Kununurra and bought a house there. Once that happened I thought, Yes, I want a baby. We had two children and stayed there for over 7 years.
We bought a caravan, left Kununurra and travelled for 12 months with the kids. My daughter didn’t really like travelling. She’s a real homebody. Kel had always loved Northern NSW so we came with our van to Shaws Bay Caravan Park and stayed there for 7 weeks. We spotted Clunes, loved it and bought a house. The kids went to school in Clunes and 18 months ago we moved to Ballina. We still have the house in Clunes. I just love living in this area.
I worked in Libraries in Kununurra. I fell into that job taking over story time when a woman named Rebecca had left. Everything is very community in Kununurra because it’s very isolated so things like story time were very social. I used that time to spot new people who may have needed help, where to find playgroups or things they needed to do. I noticed that after story time people would head off and poor Rebecca would be left with all the mess, so I started helping her clean up. When she left I started running story time.
I’ve been here in the Northern Rivers since 2007. I started in the Library in Lismore in 2008. That’s not such a long time in Libraries. Lucy has been here 40 years. There are many people who stay for 30 – 50 years, lots of very long term people. It’s so diverse. I do story time here, I also run a writers group which is 18 years old now. I’m also organising a youth expo. I go out to the Pre-schools. There’s so much happening in a Library. We have Orchid shows, we have cows at story time. A calf will arrive through the door in the library for story time. Last time it happened I had no idea. Lucy found out we were doing cows so she rang up and said Scott and a calf are arriving. The next minute in walks a calf for the kids story time.That’s what makes Lucy and her Library so wonderful. She is so open to everything. If you suggest something she says’ Yes let’s make it happen! If it involves the community she’s into it. That’s why I’m here and I have no desire to leave.
I love the people of Lismore, the diversity. There are hippies, people in suits, everybody just blends and we get all these different ideas. It’s incredibly varied input we have in our community which is so great. You very quickly learn not to judge people here. You might look at someone who doesn’t fit a mould and then they turn out to be the local Doctor. Don’t judge anyone. Lismore is a wonderful place.”