I met my farming husband in that small country town. We saw a NZ farm worker shortage advertised and 1974 we married and sailed for New Zealand as “ten-pound poms”.  Fifty years later we have a son and daughter with 7 grandchildren plus 2 great grandsons who range from 2-24 yrs. Most of them are nearby and spending time with them is a wonderful retirement bonus.

Our children were born and raised on farms in South Auckland where we were sharemilking. The local pony club was part of our life, along with my ex-pacer Rusty who was too slow on the racetrack but a perfect farm hack for 25 years.  

I worked off the farm for 28yrs at the Glenbrook Steel Mill – firstly in logistics and then ten years as an operations manager, followed by eight as health and safety manager. After leaving the mill I worked as a health and safety consultant until my long-awaited retirement last year. 

Now I’m enjoying being able to commit some time and energy to the RDA as a volunteer. I can’t think of a more challenging and rewarding activity that I could be involved in. In addition to the RDA and family time I also enjoy walking, travel, and playing darts.   

We are looking for board members, especially those with fundraising and marketing experience.  If you have time available and are interested to find out more, please contact our President, Christine Fallas at president@northshorerda.org