TERESA Martin has racked up quite a frequent flyer quota throughout a career that has led to her working at Kelso’s Whiddon Group residential care home for the past nine years.
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Her story began in the United Kingdom, where she was born in Liverpool in north-west England in 1943.
At 15 years old, Ms Martin left school and, thanks to her skill in mathematics, picked up a job as an accountant at a betting company.
It didn’t last long, however.
“I went round to the career office and I ended up going into nursing and I’ve quite liked it,” she said.
“I think if you choose something, you end up liking it.
“I’ve always studied; that’s why I have a masters [in nursing administration].”
Having spent her entire life in the United Kingdom up to this point, she decided to be adventurous.
“When I finished my general certificate, my mother had been very ill and she died. So I thought, ‘My dad is getting old, I’ll have a couple of years away’,” she said.
“I took a voluntary position in Iran because they had just had a big earthquake in the ’60s. Unfortunately, my father died while I was away.
“After Iran, I lived in Canada when I was 24 years old. I was in Canada for two years, living in Ontario and Alberta. Then I went to America because my sister was living in the Virgin Islands at the time.”
She spent time in California and Vermont.
Having friends in Australia was one of Ms Martin’s reasons to make the move Down Under afterwards.
She spent her first year in Melbourne, before moving to the nation’s capital for the next 20 years.
From Canberra, Ms Martin returned to the United States to complete her masters degree.
Her next adventure was in the Middle East again, but this time in a very different country – Saudi Arabia.
“I worked in the Middle East, in Iran, so I knew about Muslim culture, but I was perturbed about the control factor with women [in Saudi Arabia],” she said.
“We couldn’t drive. Most of my money was spent on taxis because I couldn’t get anywhere without being escorted by a taxi service that was provided by the hospital.”
Ms Martin said one of the proudest moments in her career happened in Saudi Arabia, regarding Pink Ribbon Day.
“We had the very first event for women, held in a public place, in Jeddah,” she said.
“That was an accomplishment, not as an individual but as a group.
“I enjoyed my year [in Saudi Arabia] and after that I went back to the United States and worked in Colorado for three years.”
After Colorado, Ms Martin travelled to the north-west to Alaska.
“I noticed they had a job going in Alaska and they took me and I worked there for four years,” she said.
“I then came back to live in Bathurst, after Alaska.”
Ms Martin has spent the past nine years at the Whiddon Group in Kelso and is currently working two days a week as a registered nurse.
She’s been fairly active in the local community, playing the role as the Bathurst Bridge Club president last year.
“I play for fun and competitively,” she said.
She enjoys bridge so much she will be heading to San Diego in November to play with some of her friends from Alaska.
Saudi Arabia, France, Spain, the United States and Canada are just some of the places where she’s played bridge.
Ms Martin is also a keen skier. She learnt how to ski in Iran, before booking lessons in Norway.
She even met the Beatles and is a fan of Everton Football Club, which is also from Liverpool.
