I’ve been reflecting on the stories I wrote as a young journalist for a daily newspaper.
I used to think that getting a front page by-line was absolutely the best! Writing cutting edge front page news was my goal. So when I was put in charge of the Women’s Pages it felt like a demotion,
Yet I have never forgotten the interviews I did with some amazing women. When I look back through my archive of newspaper clippings, I can see all the wealth is in the stories of the women I interviewed.
Like the time I interviewed the Mayor’s wife, Halina. The editors thought that her having twins would make a great story. I was 21 and bored even thinking of it.
But it turned out that Halina was from Poland. And like another woman I interviewed from Slovenia, hers was a story of immigration and different cultures. I was totally hooked and loved sharing their stories in print.
Halina also told me about her childhood and being ostracised as a child. Not knowing English but learning fast and becoming the interpreter for her family. She arrived with her parents in Australia with only one suitcase.The fact that she won the town’s beauty prize as a young girl and then became the mayor’s wife who had twins was not nearly so interesting to me.
I focused instead on what I thought was the real story, the one about her strength, fortitude and resilience. Now when I look back on this time, I know how lucky I was to be able to peek into the intimate lives of the women in that town.
There were also some fun outings to places nearby, like the tin mine. I’ve kept that picture of me in a hard hat taken at the mine entrance. I had been sent to interview the 21 year old woman truckie who would rather drive 35 ton dump trucks than “do the housework”.
“I’d rather change a tyre than go inside and make the beds, she said.
YES!! This was the late 1970s and such things were unusual in rural NSW Riverina.
Here were people outside my social sphere, broadening my knowledge with endless possibilities of what life could look like when lived “outside the box”.
I feel incredibly privileged to have been able to write about such inspiring women. Sharing stories through art, music, performance and literature connects you on a heart to heart level. It’s something I embrace as a visual artist, writer and creativity mentor, knowing that all the stories I have listened to and told throughout the years, inform who I am today.
It’s why I know without a doubt that the creative arts empower people to use their voice. Stories are vital. They are what keep our human spirit alive and connected.
