LESLEY Baker was born at Albury Base Hospital during the Second World War when Blackie House was a new addition to the health facility. She lived in Albury until 1952 when at the end of her primary school days moved to Urana in 1953 followed by a later shift to boarding school in Melbourne. After she married, with many years living in Melbourne and her husband's wish to live in the country, the couple moved closer to family and found their home at Yackandandah in 1986.
What's your job?
As a retiree, my job at the moment is being a grandmother and friend.
What did you do in your career?
After my school days I worked in various roles until I commenced my hospital–based general nursing course at Footscray and District Hospital. Three years later and with my staff year completed in the fourth year, I started midwifery at Queen Victoria Hospital in Tasmania.
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What do you do in the community?
Presently I do not have any role in the community as such. I am the Holy Trinity Anglican Church warden, minute taker for the Parish Council and volunteer for the Victorian Council of Churches Emergency Ministry. The latter is an interdenominational group that goes into areas of crisis to help.
What's the most important current community issue for you?
COVID–19. The scarcity of RAT tests is a little daunting although our wonderful pharmacy has been trying to source these rare commodities. Public transport can be an issue too, as so many live out of town in the Yackandandah area, and unless one can have access to a car, it can be a very long walk to the nearest bus stop.
What would you do to solve, change or improve that situation?
A strength of our community is pulling together in stressful times where people are very supportive of each other.
I would encourage people to share transport, ask neighbours if they need anything the shops or give them a lift if they are unable to drive. Perhaps an on–demand shuttle bus could be a solution.
We had community cars in our shire at an affordable cost. Since then, we have a taxi and the bus line stopping in Yackandandah and Beechworth. The car is less visible now.
What are some of the most important current world issues for you?
Blaming someone for what is going wrong. The absence of meaningful plain talk without hidden agendas. Compassion being mistaken for weakness. The apparent ever–increasing division of rich and poor, people and countries. We need to encourage kindness and compassion and fair dealing.
Huge population growth and housing developments that are built seemingly without due planning for the maintenance of roads, schools, aged care, transport, medical care, accessibility of all as well as sustainable affordable energy.
If the person you would most like to meet came to Indigo, or was already here, who would that be and what would you show them?
A cousin who unfortunately died last year. He was a Catholic priest, a musician, linguist, joke teller, leg puller, and a really fun man with many interests.
I would take him to the Burke Museum in Beechworth, the old vine tree in Chiltern, Woolshed Falls, Chiltern–Mt Pilot National Park including the Yeddonba Aboriginal Cultural Site, the Kars goldmine and to see the organ at St Matthews in Albury and at Wangaratta. We would also go on a winery crawl, look around the old tin mines, and have a pan for gold at Reedy Creek.
Why would you show him that?
Tim loved nature. To wander, breathe, eat, see and do things in our wonderful area would be such a joy for him.
What book are you reading?
I have just finished reading Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe – a thought provoking book about colonial history written by early European settlers. The light needs to be shone on some of our biases on re–telling history.
