G’day Bronwen. What a top little energy efficient home you have here in Castlemaine. Can you tell me a bit about it’s features?
Triple glazed windows. It’s sealed and very well insulated and I can open it up and set up systems to get a draft through. It’s a passive house and it’s solar passive which means I get this beautiful northern light in. It’s very small, 40 squares. I have solar power and a battery as well, although I’m not totally off grid. I pay about $40 a month (for energy). And I deliberately don’t have gas.
How long have you called Castlemaine home?
Twenty years.
Where did you move from?
Brunswick.
Are you a Melbourne gal originally?
No. British North Borneo. Penny Wong and I were born in the same place.
British North Borneo! That’s interesting. How did that come about?
My parents were doing post war reconstruction. My parents are teachers. Originally Dad was going out there to test his vocation to be an Anglican minister and to do good works – and came back an atheist. So that worked!
That’s a great story in itself.
We went: Borneo-Northern Territory-Borneo-Northern Territory-Borneo-Sydney-Blue Mountains-Canberra. And then I married a soldier and ended up in Melbourne. In 1989 I went around the world. In those days you could do that. Travel was still pretty rare. It was the year of the mountains so we started off in Nepal… I ended up in Germany six weeks before the Wall came down. Came back six weeks after and there was no Wall… I went to Nepal, joined my partner in the New Zealand Alps.
Was your partner the soldier you mentioned?
No. I’d moved on since… I’m still good friends with my soldier-husband, but … no… It was a climber that I went around the world with. I was a rock climber at that stage… We went to the New Zealand Alps, The Andies, then to the Swiss Alps, the Pyrenees and ended up on New Year’s Day on Mount Kosciuszko. That (travel) divided my life. Before that I was a really good public servant in Canberra and after that I thought – Nah! So ever since 1992 I’ve been working or volunteering. I started off with Environment Victoria, spent quite a while there, and even when I was working in local government I was a sustainable transport planner. I think my life will span a lot of things including the first measurement of greenhouse gas emissions, and from IBM saying the world will only need five computers to … even in this house there’s numerous computers…
Well here in Castlemaine you’re well recognised as the former Mount Alexander Shire Council mayor. How long have you previously served on the council and spent as mayor Bronwen?
With a couple of breaks I was on council for eight years, and two-and-a-bit years as mayor.
And you also have quite a few other community involvements. Can you give us a snapshot of those?
The Castlemaine Community House where I’m chair and treasurer, I’m also secretary of the Regional Association of Neighbourhood and Community Houses, Castlemaine-Maryborough Rail Trail committee secretary, and I’m the Castlemaine-Maryborough Rail Trail Representative for Mount Alexander Cycling. I’m doing a Certificate of Community Governance. It sets you up to be on committees and to do it well, and to recognise that there are real risks, real responsibilities, and how you keep focussing on what the objective of that committee is – not on your ego…. and I’m trying to learn Spanish but that’s not a community interest.
Any philosophies by which you like to lead life?
Part of living is giving. I’m a stoic. Stoicism is a philosophy which holds the belief that ‘remember death is just around the corner. It will happen so therefore what do you do now?’ It’s also about recognising what you have control over and what you don’t have control over.
Sounds a worthwhile philosophy. OK, moving on …Three dream dinner guests?
Maybe Marie Stopes one of the first female doctors in England who was very concerned around enabling access to contraception, Caroline Chisholm, Enid Lyons, our first female Parliamentarian, and Jacinda Adern…
That’s four and will no doubt make for some lively and political conversation around the table. OK, next question for you Bronwen… Any pet peeves?
Why would you put energy into a pet peeve?
That sound’s like an answer. What are you reading at the moment?
I’m reading a book I’ve just started which is fascinating – ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer who’s a botanist, scientist and Indigenous northern American. I’ve just got into the bit where she’s comparing and contrasting the creation stories… Beautiful writer. Every word sings.
OK. Music. What’s your musical genre or artist of choice?
If it’s just background music I’d probably have Spanish guitar. If I’m doing the vacuuming I’ll be singing along, and hoping no-one hears me, to I don’t know… I love Eartha Kitt, Ella Fitzgerald…
Last one Bronwen, What do you enjoy most about living in Castlemaine?
Just all the amazing people. Everyone has a story that’s fascinating.
