ANGE Davidson was born in Port Fairy on Gunditjmara country where she spent her childhood by the beach and then later at Phillip Island. She shifted to the country with her family as an eight-year-old to a little place called Terip Terip. Ange lived in Melbourne to study and work and has moved around Victoria for various work opportunities. Having lived in the King Valley for a few years and experiencing the gems that the North East had to offer, Ange then moved from Geelong to Beechworth 15 years ago.
What do you do workwise?
I currently work as a sexual health nurse in a nurse-led sexual health clinic, supported by a GP specialising in sexual health in Wodonga. I previously worked as an adolescent health nurse at Beechworth Secondary College and had numerous nursing and social work jobs prior to moving to Beechworth. I have a very small flower business as my side hustle which is fun, creative and very different to working in a sexual health clinic.
What brought you to your role/career?
After working as a social worker with young people in homeless and drug and alcohol services, it became very clear that a lot of young people didn’t want to or didn't feel comfortable going to their GP for their sexual health and many had missed out on education in schools, or the education was not hitting the mark. Young people were missing out on good information to have safe and respectful relationships.
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What do you love about your work?
It is never boring, it can be funny, challenging, heart-breaking and interesting. I work in a great little team of other nurses and GPs, the refugee health clinic, and other programs within the organisation I work for. I am an executive member of the Australasian Sexual Health and HIV Nurses Association and get to hear about different sexual health services all over the country, the challenges and the innovations and I enjoy advocating for better rural sexual and reproductive health services as well as access to – and better – sexual health education in schools.
Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing?
Impacts of climate and the inequity in rural health services compared to metropolitan areas are really important community issues that individuals, communities, local, state and federal governments need to work together to address. I think we are seeing the impacts of climate change on access to or interrupted healthcare when we have severe weather events.
What do you see as one of the most important current world issues?
Climate emergency with impacts of this on our food supplies, our land, our waterways, oceans, healthy bush and our health.
If the person you would most like to meet came to Indigo Shire or was already here, who would that be, what would you show them, and why?
Aboriginal elder from Nauiyu and renowned artist, activist, writer and public speaker, Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann. She was Senior Australian of the Year in 2021. She is wise and calm, and I think we as a nation can learn a lot from her. I think we would wander to the rocks at the Gorge and go to the Chiltern-Mount Pilot National Park and visit the Yeddonba Indigenous Rock Art site. They are old and beautiful places to walk, sit, listen and share stories.
What book are you reading?
I have just finished ‘Edenglassie’ by Melissa Lucashenko and I am re-reading Trent Dalton’s ‘Love Stories’ – this book should be owned by all.
