“I look on 1996 as the year that made me,” she says. “That was the year I started my Bachelor of Arts degree at UNE. It was a life-changing experience. I would not be the person I am today if I had not had the chance to study as a mature-age student, part-time, and externally.”
A restless legal secretary, Elizabeth had longed for something more.
I left school at 15; I didn’t like school much or do as well as I would have liked. I had vague hopes in 1996 that a better education might mean a new career, eventually.
But it was a slow process, completing one subject a semester, and something happened along the way. The Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) parlayed into a Master of History and then a Master of Philosophy, as she answered the clarion call of Australian history.
“I used to enter the Dixson Library and take a big breath because the smell of books and knowledge was so lovely,” Elizabeth remembers. “Study became so natural to me and I loved the residential schools. Then I spent eight months living on campus, in Mary White College, and another 10 years living in Armidale. I embraced all that the university and city had to offer.
“On days when I was feeling a bit down I would visit the campus for a coffee or to attend the library. You would usually run into somebody you knew, and I always came away much cheered. I am very thankful for those happy years.”
Long before her Honours thesis exploring Australian school girl stories Elizabeth had been caught up in the genealogy craze of the 1980s, joining a family history society and growing her family tree. In about 2010, she discovered that her great-great grandfather Edmund Walcott had been the engineer and supervisor of the timber wharf built in 1854 on the western side of Sydney Cove (now Circular Quay), which inspired first her Master of History dissertation and then Master of Philosophy thesis.
“I finished one degree and enjoyed it so much that I looked around at what else I could do,” Elizabeth said. “Eventually, my family history informed my study of history, and what I learnt about Australian history informed my family history.”
Now 73, Elizabeth is adjusting to life without study, but also counting her blessings.
Study opened my mind and broadened my horizons. It was never about getting degrees, but gaining a deeper knowledge of the past and life in general. I now move through and see places very differently.
"The study of our human past provides so much context for our culture, and appreciation of buildings and art, but mostly it’s about people. It can help us understand the present and plan for the future.”
Although she admits to feeling “a little lost”, Elizabeth has some personal ambitions, informed by her historical research.
“I will continue to research and write my family history, and there’s more to be discovered about the development of Circular Quay, beyond the reach of my thesis, as it moved from a working port to a ferry and ocean liner terminus,” she said.
