After completing 4th form (year 10) at Bentleigh High School, I left and attended Stotts Business College for the next 12 months. I did very well at Stotts as I was studying subjects I was interested in and obtained my Leaving Certificate at the end of the year (today's equivalent would be first year of V.C.E.). As I have said before, I obtained my first job through Stotts earning $27.50 a week at a finance company. I stayed there for approximately 15 months and then got a job at a well known Melbourne legal firm as the senior partner's junior secretary. I eventually became his "first" secretary after the girl in that position left to get married. I stayed with this firm for approximately 5 years leaving there as I wanted to move to Adelaide which I did, and shared a house with my cousin Wendy (or Mindy as I've always called her) and another friend Christine. (Wendy now lives in Canberra but sadly Christine passed away last year.)
I stayed in Adelaide for 6 months, until October 1977, when I returned to Melbourne to take up a temporary position for one month at the law firm where I had previously worked. This had been arranged before I left to go to Adelaide. I fully intended to return to Adelaide at the end of the month but as fate would have it I met this guy named Ron Simpson while in Melbourne and never went back to Adelaide. Ron and I were married on the 15th September, 1979.
At the time we were married I was working for another law firm in the city and when our first child Lana was born, I gave up day work and started night shift with that firm. I continued working nights with law firms until 1992 when I fell ill with a very rare sickness, Adult Stills Disease (similar to lupus and rheumatoid arthritis) and had to stop work. I was extremely sick and this illness kept me from work for aproximately 3 years, I even spent 6 months in a wheel chair. Luckily I made a 90% recovery. When I was well enough I obtained a job with a law firm in Cranbourne - (at last a job close to home) - where I stayed for nearly 2 years after which I again returned to night time work in South Melbourne doing typing for the police for close to 3 years. I left that employemt 2 months ago due to ill health and am currently not working.
Here are some photos from various times over the years
Age 7 at Woodside, 90 mile beach
Aged 16
Aged 20
More photos on the photo album page in the photo archive
