It’s been an unpredictable, nomad gypsy life Ive led with a CV which includes selling Lightening Ridge black opals in the USA, owning/running a T-Shirt printing factory in Cairns, being Promotions Officer of the South Australian Jockey Club, a travelling saleswoman in the western Queensland mining country, a tour operator, for many years running a used car yard on Parramatta Road, Five Dock and managing a three storey Tibetan Buddhist temple (Tara Mandala Retreat Centre) in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
And whilst in amongst my heroes of Chips Rafferty, Mahatma Gandhi, Germaine Greer and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, little did I expect to meet one of them!
Additionally in the late 70’s I built a fishing vessel (30 ft by 11 ft 2) with a 1000 kilo freezer, and for 8 years was a professional fisherwoman in the prolific Torres Straits bout 20 kls south of New Guinea (Spanish Mackerel by hand line) and down into the Gulf of Carpentaria in amongst the Wit Mughan aboriginal country around Aurukun (Barramundi by nets)… where I fought crocodiles, sharks, cyclones and men – the crocs being the easiest!
I am also a poet, and an Author including my book, Somewhere Down a Crazy River, an autobiography, which came out through Pan MacMillian some years ago now.
Finally am now gladly residing in Leura for the last few years, where I am both honoured and delighted to be weekly host of two brekky radio shows and one tourism show on 89.1FM Radio Blue Mountains.
Sooooo … shall share some of my background, especially the fishing years and the extraordinarily stunning Gulf country, and most importantly talk about the crucial role community radio plays (including being recognised as Secondary Emergency Broadcaster) in our society.
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