Education, law, media: Maree's had a lifelong love of learning and she's not done yet

Maree Curtis has lived her life by that ethos.

And at almost 91, as she starts on her next adventure, of publishing a book, she hopes to inspire others to follow their dreams, regardless of age.

From her first job as a stenographer to completing her Bachelor of Education years later, she has always loved to learn.

She completed her Diploma of Law when she was in her late 70s, which was followed by media studies, the latter helping her in her work at community station 2MCE.

She said her love of learning came from an overseas trip she won as a young woman.

She'd won the title of "perfect secretary" and, for her efforts, got a trip for two to Fiji.

While the jaunt was relatively close to Australia, she said it opened her eyes to the wider world and all the opportunities it brought with it.

Ms Curtis started her career early, moving to Bathurst to work in the Rural Bank at age 16.

She then worked for Bedwells, followed by a stint for a draftsman in the building that Clements and McCarthy was in and a few other jobs in between.

"I started as a stenographer; teaching was my second career. I didn't teach until I was 40," she said.

Her other career moves included working at Edgell's in the office, at the Mitchell Electricity Commission and being appointed the secretary to the town clerk in Bathurst, which is where she won the "perfect secretary" competition.

"This is the thing," she said, recalling the win.

"We are always growing and learning and when I went on that holiday to Fiji, I'd never really been out of Australia.

"And going there taught me a lot."

She said it made her realise her hunger for new things.

"I'm a person who wants to learn, it seems to be in me to want to learn," she said.

After returning from overseas, she moved to Sydney, and was working at a big liquidating firm when, after chatting to a friend, she decided she was interested in teaching secretarial studies.

"I was sitting on the ferry and met a friend who was learning to be a teacher and I said 'why can't I be one?'.

"She said 'ring them up', so I did. They said to me 'no' because I didn't sit for the May entrance exam."

But Ms Curtis persisted and the teacher eventually gave in to her request.

"She said 'well, if she wants to come along and use her time, if she fails, it's on her'.

"So I came two weeks late into the course and the funny thing is, I learnt shorthand and typing at the Railway Institute here in Bathurst when I was young and I could do 100 words a minute.

"But I only got halfway through the book and didn't bother to go any further.

"So when it came to the time to pass the exam to be a teacher, I'm the only one who didn't know what halving or doubling was [a technique used in shorthand to increase speed] ... and I was thinking, oh god, and then I had to teach it," she laughed.

"Naturally, I got much better at it."

While she was doing that, she also studied seven subjects in maths at CSU.

"I wanted to be a mathematician," she said.

"This is why I believe you never waste your time with anything you learn because those seven subjects gave me a provisional matriculation and that gave me the start in my qualifications as a teacher."

Ms Curtis graduated from the University of NSW with a Bachelor of Education in 1977.

"I just kept my ethos that everything you learn is worthwhile. You should never give up learning. It's not an age thing; it doesn't cut off when you're 18."

True to her word, Ms Curtis began her graduate Diploma in Law in her late 70s.

"I was still here when I started to do that. I started it here with Christina [Boylan]. We did a Diploma in Law here together.

"I had retired to Triangle Flat and moved to Bathurst and met Christina when we were doing a Lifeline counselling course together.

"I got the diploma in 2010. So I was about 79 or 80."

When asked why she decided to undertake the course, she said she had an interest in real estate, having sold a few houses.

"It all tied in with the idea of real estate. I did the subjects of conveyancing contract law," she said.

"I absolutely loved it."

After this, at the age of 84, she ventured into the world of broadcast media, volunteering at 2MCE.

"I consider what I did at 2MCE better than any job that I had.

"I yearned about it for years," she said, adding her interest in radio peaked when she was working in staff development at CSU in 1980.

She started as part of the station's Talking Newspaper program.

"Reading the newspaper, the satisfaction you get from that is the fact that there might be someone out there who just can't afford a paper, or who is working on a tractor, or who is blind.

"They might be in a position where they normally wouldn't get the paper or be able to read it."

So for three years, she read the paper every Friday while also undertaking a Media III Certificate.

"I was learning how to do stuff and the boss at the station she just said I should try and do some interviews," she said.

"I did an interview that I had to pass for the [Media III] subject and she said 'well, that's going to air next week' and she followed that with 'have one ready for next week', so I did one a fortnight for two years," she said.

"It was on someone else's program in Community Drive from 4-5pm, which was a very good time to have an interview.

"After then, I wrote a chat show, and in between we would have a chat the next day about what had been on the last week and what were the benefits of it, and what would be on next week, which was absolutely wonderful.

"After that, Lisa said to me 'well, it's time you had your own show', so she just organised a time, 10.45 on a Friday, so off I went," she said.

During her time there, she also produced 40 podcasts.

"They all came from the interviews," she said, adding embracing the new technology didn't worry her.

"No, not at all. Absolutely not. I would advise anyone from 50s to 60s to make sure if they haven't learnt the technology, to go and do it now before it gets too much or intimidates them.

"I was 88 when I started and 90 when I finished up, and I only left because I just felt it was time to get onto my book."

Speaking about the book, she said she hopes to have it finished by June.

"I've got all the stuff I have to write. We really have all the originals [documents]. I just need to write some history about it.

"It's from my uncle's memoirs, from being a POW."

She said she is excited to complete the book and, at 91, she hopes her story inspires others to give things a go.

"I know everyone has times when things are tough, but just keep going and never give in," she said.