We as a family moved to Lismore 25 years ago at Easter in 1991. I’d never been here but my husband was an Organisation Development Human Resource Manager for Victorian Railways. While he was working he was studying his Masters in this ‘new’ emerging industry called Tourism. We had two young children at the time and he applied for two jobs wanting a change. We applied for one in Tasmania doing HR and out of the blue a new Tourism lecturer job at SCU in Lismore came up. He got interviews for both so we flew up to Lismore in 1990. I’d looked up the map and saw there was a river, Lismore Heights, etc. but knew nothing else. He rang me from Lismore airport and said, ‘They’ve offered me the job’. At the time we were living in a two storey terrace house in Sth Melbourne, such urban life for us and I told him I’d wait up for him. He arrived home very late! Georgie was 10 and Tim was 7. We sat up for ages going over the pros and cons and as we walked up to bed that night, there, blu tacked to the door was a sign from our daughter ”I am not going to that place, you can go without me, I’m going to live with Chibby.” Chibby was her Cambodian friend. So we dragged her kicking and screaming to Lismore.
We arrived at Easter and I felt like a fish out of water. The kids had school, Ron had his job, we were renting and I had nothing to do apart from canteen. That first week I heard an interview on the radio about Community Transport so I rocked up and said ‘I’ll be your driver,’ knowing nothing about where anything was. I threw myself into volunteering. I started teaching because my background was teaching deaf children. I taught at Wilson Park casually for 18 months. During that time we bought a house in Goonellabah. Our daughter trained as a chef in Brisbane and moved back to Melbourne. She never really settled here and our son went to Uni in Canberra and stayed on. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else though. This is home to me. I was putting the bin out one day and the neighbour across the road introduced herself. Long story short she offered me a job with Aboriginal kids so I worked in that role part time for 14 years and loved it until I stood for mayor.
I’ve had mammograms since I was 30 because I’ve always had lumpy breasts. So in August 2008 I’d not long had my mammogram which I always found very painful. I received a letter saying, ‘You need to come back and that was 2 weeks before election day which was Sept 13th, 2008. I made the appointment for the following week after the election as I was so busy and thought once again that they just couldn’t get a clear image.
I was handing out at Pre Poll down in Carrington St when the phone rang, this was one week before the election and they said, ‘We have a cancellation, can you come in earlier’. I’m holding the phone and handing out leaflets ‘Vote for Jenny Dowell’ at the same time saying, ‘No, I can’t come in tomorrow’…’Vote for Jenny Dowell’ It never occurred to me that this was a sign that it was urgent. I said no, next week is fine. They knew and they told me later that they knew. The election was the Saturday, The Monday night I got the news that I was Mayor and on the Wednesday they broke the news that it was cancer.
I didn’t call Ron, I had more tests including a biopsy right on the spot and I remember sitting on the side of the bed and you know people talk about that out of body experience, it was as if I was up in the corner looking down on me. Debbie, who did the ultrasound said ‘you want to know straight up, don’t you? This is cancer!’ I took a deep breath, no tears, talked to a surgeon and as I left the Receptionist at Breastscreen asked me if I was ok and I cried, Nooooooo and she hugged me. I got in my car, shaking and the radio came on and it was Richard Feidler, 11.30 am and he was talking to a man who’d faced some challenges. Richard said ‘What did you do? How did you cope with this terrible situation? the man said ‘I told myself, just get on with it! and it was my mantra from that day on. I called Ron and said I need to tell you something. I drove home and told him and I had to work out how to tell my kids, my mum and dad. I had to wait for the biopsy results before I told the General Manager. I wanted to tell people.,. I didn’t want it covered up and misinformation and rumours so from then on it was managed.
The week after I wanted to tell staff and community at the same time. I arranged a pizza night with Councillors, all staff and their families. We had a party, no-one knew at this stage. I called the Northern Star and The Echo editors who were both women. I wanted it all out on the same day. I told the Councillors and called them all in to the chambers on the Tuesday night away from the party and told them, Ron was beside me. People still think I knew that I had cancer before I stood for mayor but I didn’t. Breastscreen knew and I was so pleased they didn’t tell me till after as I wouldn’t have coped. It never crossed my mind that it was serious.
I had surgery 7th Oct. and then late November had Chemo for months, lost my hair, was so sick, mouth ulcers and weight loss. I lived on ginger! chrytallised, ginger tea, ginger beer, ginger everything. I went home for little nanna naps daily because I was so tired but I only missed 2 days of work and that was when I was in surgery. The photo in the foyer of me I had all the drips and drains under those robes. I look back but it was my saviour and work was my saviour. I had a job to do which I wanted to do.
I’ve been Mayor for nearly 8 years and about to retire so I want to travel, do some volunteer work and probably at Caroona. I really like Caroona, the feel, the ethos of inspired care. They don’t know this yet but you can put this in. Lots of organisations have asked me to join them but I want to fade into the background. This may sound odd but I’m much more a private person than this job indicates. I like my solitude, I like my privacy and I’ll happily step back into a much more private role. I’ll do some things for me. I have one secret thing that I’m not going to share that I want to do and Ron and I will travel.
I will miss this terribly and I think I’ll miss it more than I think I will so it will be hard. Reading the comments on FB this morning I shed a tear, I got really emotional and that hasn’t happened before. I’m cleaning out the cupboards, the office, the car for the next person. The artwork is all mine so the walls will be a bit bare. I hope that the job goes to one of the existing councillors because I think to come in as Mayor the learning curve is so steep and I’m not going to endorse any of them as it’s up to the community to select. I’ve had the luxury of being a full time Mayor. I haven’t needed to have another income. It’s not enough to live off. You pay tax on it. I have to buy all my own clothes but thank you to our local op shops. My favourite jackets are all op shop buys. It’s a different wardrobe to if I was still teaching or down on the floor with kids. You can’t walk passed anyone selling raffle tickets in the street. I always budgeted that in. I never ever went to anything where there was entry fee and didn’t pay. I used to say If you don’t let me pay I’m going home. I would always pay. There are a lot of expenses and you certainly don’t do it for the money. You get a phone and car for work.
I reckon I had a day off with no appointments and it was a Sunday about every 4 months. That day Ron would say to me ‘Do you want to go out for lunch?’ and I’d say, ‘I don’t want to get dressed, do my hair, put lipstick on, lets just have a sandwich on the verandah’. Those days were so precious and we’d work in the garden together and relax. Two things that I’ve hung onto that are important to me, I’ve been in a book club for 18 years with women and unless there’s an emergency I will go to that on a Friday night. I worked in the canteen at Kadina and was president of the P&C and there’s a group of women that did canteen together around 2000 and every school hols we get together for lunch. There’s been marriage break-ups, grandchildren and lots of stories but those women are important to me and we share food and wine and talk. These things are important to me. You need to invest in your family and friends.”