“I’m here in Lismore to shoot a short film on Ageism, a topic that’s very close to my heart and something I don’t have to act for. I can just be me… I’m almost 67! I’ve lived in Mullumbimby for the last 12 years after coming out of a 38 year relationship in Victoria. I was 55 and it was my one and only relationship ever.
I am now living my new life. I happened to meet my new boyfriend at the Aussie Rules football in Casino. My son was the captain and my brother was there to watch the finals and Mark was there. He was talking to my brother and we ended up talking and had a lot in common. We discovered that he knew my brothers from Melbourne, we had the same yoga teacher in Melbourne, we both used to sell flowers in Melbourne. Marks best friend I had known since I was 16 and yet we’d never met. It was quite weird. We both have 2 sons and a daughter. Marks middle son is Noah and my middle son is Shem and Shem was Noah’s son in the Bible. I now live in Mullumbimby on an MO with my cows and my horse. I’m finally able to pursue my passion which is acting.
I had my first child at 19 so I always felt like I wasn’t ‘anything’. Back then motherhood was a bit derided and that’s all I’d ever done. I didn’t have a career or a title to hang my name on. I wasn’t ‘anything’. People would say to me ’Are you retired?’ and I would say ‘Well actually, I had nothing to retire from’ It’s always been a major issue for me.
I’ve constantly worked though. I worked in child protection. We had an organic fruit and veggie shop in Melbourne and I loved that.
I’ve always lived in the country which has been my passion since I was a little girl. I’ve always acted as well and that’s what nourishes me. I did Shirley Valentine for 2 different theatre groups which was pretty amazing as it’s a one woman show. I’ve done a lot of theatre. When I came here I persued it as I needed to make a living. Now as all my friends are retiring from their professions I am just starting. At the start of the year I landed a role in a new Netflix drama called Tidelands which will be out at the end of December. It’s an amazing role opposite Elsa Pataky.
At the end of the year I start a role in The Great Australian Outback Spectacular, the new show. The show is dedicated to people living in the outback, the trials and tribulations and difficulties of living on the land through drought and fire. It’s a story of how communities support each other through times of dire straights and we know about that here. It honours our original inhabitants and the convicts who came and did the back breaking work. It honours friendship and resilience. It’s 5 shows a week for 12 months. The good thing is I really don’t have to act because Ive always been passionate about horses so I get to ride. I’ve always had a house cow when the kids were growing up and I’ve just raised a calf. They needed somebody who could ride and was comfortable with cows so I was lucky. My face might be a bit familiar to some people right now. I’m on the new Crimsafe ad. I’m the old bird who’s terrified because I can hear someone breaking in.
I feel like I’m just starting my career as there will always be roles for old people and it’s something I can do. I wouldn’t move to the city to do it because this is what nourishes me, being in the country first and foremost. We had our first farm in South Gippsland when I was 21 and we had the 2 kids. I always said I would never live up here because of the heat and humidity but I’ve learnt to say never say never.
I have 5 grandchildren between the ages of 9 and 19 which is lovely. I’m on a community property which has some Charalais cows to keep the grass down and 18 months ago one of the cows gave birth to twins. She still had a 9 month on her. This cow is 32 years old. The little boy calf was very weak so I took him home and reared him. When he was 4 months old Cyclone Debbie came through and I was in Melbourne at the time. Because he had no mum in the paddock to lick him he was very miserable when I got home. I had to get him to the vet and he was more than happy to jump in the back of my Corolla. He had a bad throat infection so he slept on our bathroom floor for 4 days. His name is Jamie and he’s my boy. He’s 20 months old and he thinks I’m his mum. He still sucks my fingers so I have to watch my rings. When I groom the horse he waits for his turn. Princess is still going at 32 years of age. People have never really given cows the opportunity to live that long. Jamie is the main inheritance. That’s what I will be leaving my kids. They are going to have to look after him as I promised him he will never go to the butcher and that he is the family heirloom.”