Hi Ruth. What a brilliant view you have from your loungeroom overlooking beautiful Harcourt Valley! How long have you called this view your own?
Two-and-a-half years.
And where are you from originally?
Last stop was Melbourne. Before that was Tasmania.
Are you originally from Tas?
Yes. North west coast and there’s still family in Wynyard where I come from.
Beautiful! What brought you and your husband, Phillip, here to Harcourt Ruth?
I was force-retired early and no-one wants to employ an older strong-willed woman in the industry I was in. So we moved out of the huge McMansion we’d had with four children having grown up in. We moved into a new estate into a brand new house which was easy-clean, no back yard. This was Melton… No garden really. I had a vegie garden. That was it. And within two years I was going around the bend. I said ‘I can’t do this. I can’t live here’. We had lived in Melton for 37 years but I found I’d never actually lived there. I’d slept there. But I’d never actually lived there. And it had changed so much in those 37 years since I’d had children. I had got my university degree at 30 and went straight into the workforce.
And what’s your area of work and expertise Ruth?
I’ve got a Bachelor of Arts but I ended up, through a series of weird turns, to be a graphic designer.
Who did you work with?
I worked for large printing companies. And when I was at university at 30 it was when computers were just coming in to the industry and so I learnt everything on a Mac and suddenly everything was being done on Macs and I had the skills. The computer skills. I went in and taught the people with design skills the computer side, and they taught me the design side. I worked for a pre-press company for nine years and that was taken over by a printing company. And then I was head-hunted by an American world-wide company and I was put into offices like Heinz and General Mills and Kraft, Cadbury’s… and I was what was called their packaging expert… I would have to work the design to match the printing press.
So here you are now, you and Phillip, in Harcourt, and you’ve very quickly become part of the community here. Can you tell me a bit about what you’re involved with here?
Applefest. Nordic Pole Walking. We also volunteer for Gather Harcourt. We do a lot with that, mainly the set up and preparing, and helping on the day.
Well I know you and Phillip were Queen and King of this year’s Applefest.
Yep. We’re still on the committee of Applefest and we plan to stay there.
And can you tell me a little more about your role as a volunteer Nordic pole walking instructor?
Well I started doing that down in Melton when I got very ill and I had to do something because I was also allergic to the medication they put me on. So I could do that. I could Nordic walk. And I just fell in love with it because it’s an easy way of getting a lot of exercise through your body and it makes a huge difference.
So, you’re now actually one of the local pole walking session leaders aren’t you?
Correct. I came here and we were in lockdown as you know, and I had bought a sandwich to have in the Castlemaine botanical gardens. I looked up and there were some Nordic pole walkers! And I just joined straight away. I was walking with them the next week. That was through the community house and CHIRP combined, and then I got asked to be a volunteer, a helper. I did that for nearly two years and then the council paid to put us through a class which was wonderful so now we’re trained Nordic Pole Walking leaders. There’s seven of us out in the community.
Any other community involvements keeping you busy Ruth?
I do a lot with the Harcourt bowls club. I don’t bowl. I’m a social member. It was a great gateway for us to come into the community. That was really good. We were there the first Friday night we moved in, having drinks with them.
OK, change of direction Ruth. What are you reading at the moment?
It’s a very sexy novel (chuckles). I think it’s called The Lost Pirate or something like that. It’s not a Mills & Boon. It’s a next step up from a Mills & Boon… My BA is actually in professional writing and I’d love to write a novel… It’s one of those where you look at the front and think ‘Oh yeh! I’ll read that!’
What’s your musical genre of choice?
That’s a tough one. I’m actually a timpani player, a tuned percussionist. I played in a band in Melbourne and in Tasmania. I was in a band in Melbourne for over 30 years. I was going to join Thompson’s Foundry Band. Had teed up to go along and that week we went into lockdown. I’m missing the arts side of what I’ve always done. I’ve got a ukulele in there and I’ve taught myself that. All of my family play. My children. My daughter is in the Australian Women’s Choir. All of my children and their partners play musical instruments. It’s very much part of our lives.
Wonderful. Do you have any personal philosophies by which you like to lead life Ruth?
Just embrace it to the fullest. Don’t sit back and expect everything to come to you. Go out and find it. If you want something. Go out and grab it. Too many people sit and wait for life to come to them!
I think that’s a great philosophy. Thanks. OK then – any pet peeves?
American politics.
If you had to invite three dream guests to dinner, Ruth, who would they be?
This is going to be very controversial … I’d like Johnny Depp. To find out the truth. I’d just like to know the truth. Stevie Nicks. I’m a huge Stevie Nicks fan. And Mick Fleetwood ’cause he’s the drummer and I’d like to hear their story too. Their story is fascinating.
Our final question Ruth … what do you enjoy most about living here in Harcourt?
Have you looked out the window!? (chuckles)