I attended St Aidan’s from 1954-1955. Whilst attending the school I boarded at a hostel in Corinda, run by Mr and Mrs Dance. There were about twenty girls boarding, including three from overseas, two from Jakarta and one from China.

It was a ten-minute walk from the hostel to St. Aidan’s.

Each Sunday we attended at St. Matthew’s Church in Sherwood.

At that time St. Aidan’s was a small school. The Senior School was a small wooden building. The Junior School was in the Administration building, as was the Assembly Hall. We had two tennis teams. I captained the second team. The tennis court was situated between the two buildings. Another small wooden building housed the pre-school boys, headed by Sister Freda. Sister Lois was the Principal of the school ‘in toto.’

Overall, it was a happy time. There was a great deal of friendship between the students, and respect between students and the teachers, who were well liked.

After completing school my mother and I opened a bespoke dressmaking shop in Blackall, and I completed a course in ‘Complete Dressmaking and Drafting and Pattern Designing’ with the Institute of Domestic Arts.

Blackall at that time was a thriving prosperous town with a railhead, and there were numerous shops and services, including two large department stores.

In 1958 I met my future husband Bill who was a Police Officer in Blackall. We were married in 1959 and eventually moved to our large property at Sheldon. We lived there for over fifty years, where we raised our three sons. Like us, they have all been blessed with happy marriages. We have seven grandchildren, and five great grandchildren, and now live in the Renaissance Retirement Village at Victoria Point, which we love, and lead an active life, walking, swimming, and travelling widely.