Raewyn, I take it with your primary school education at Nullawarre that you spent your early years on a farm. Is that correct?
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Yes, my parents had a dairy farm at Mepunga and my family still has it today.
My brother Jamie runs the farm, but my parents live in a house on the property.
We don’t live far away from the farm and our two children spend a lot of time at the farm. They just love it.
I’ve got wonderful memories of growing up on the farm. One of the best things on the farm was being outside and looking after the abundance of animals which were there.
Your sporting highlight relates to being involved with school sports in the Northern Territory. Which part of the Northern Territory were you living in?
I moved to Alice Springs in 1997. It was a tough place to live, but overall I loved the experience. There’s a good vibe about Alice Springs.
There’s lots of community minded people who are there to help people and that is one of the best things about living in Alice Springs.
The weather is great, because I love the warm weather.
I started teaching at Anzac Hill High School Alice Springs in 1998. I taught health, maths and science for years 7 to 10.
I also got heavily involved in netball when I was living there. I played netball for the Wests Netball Club.
I’m proud to say I’m a life member of the club and while I played there I filled most administration roles.
We used to play netball on Saturday afternoons at a separate venue to the rugby and Aussie Rules players, but we would all meet up later in the day at the club rooms.
The Northern Territory Secondary School Sports were a big event for the schools. I helped co-ordinate the sports in 1999 and 2000. There were lots of schools from across the Territory that took part in various sports. Children played basketball, cricket, AFL, rugby, netball and various other sports.
Part of my job as well as coaching the netball was to billet children out who had come from over the Territory to compete in the games in Alice Springs – that was a big job in itself as many of the children had to travel long ways to take part in the sports. I found the sports very rewarding events not only for the children, but also for the co-ordinators like me as they were great social days for everyone.
Did your husband Warren and yourself consider living in Alice Springs forever?
It did cross our minds. We moved there in 1997 and decided to move back to Warrnambool two days before Christmas in 2008.
The main reason we made the shift back here was because of family.
We’ve got no regrets about moving back, but we knew if we stayed a bit longer in Alice Springs we may never have made the move.
It’s just a different lifestyle in Alice Springs. It sort of grows on you.
I must admit, it took a bit of adjusting when we moved back to the colder climate which the south-west often offers.
Raewyn, what were your job prospects like when you made the move back home?
I had applied for a job at the Cobden Technical School in November 2008 and was told my application was successful.
I’ve taught maths and science at the school since then.
How many students has the Cobden Technical School got?
I think it’s about 200 students. It’s a great country school.
The area is fortunate because there are other secondary schools at Timboon, Terang and Camperdown, so there are different options for the children.
It’s been well documented the St Patrick’s Day bushfires have had a big impact on the area around Cobden. How have the students stood up to it all?
Overall, they appear to have coped pretty well.
It’s been a big ordeal for the communities around Cobden.
I don’t think people from outside the local area realise how big the fires were for this part of the world.
People drive down this way now and see a bit of green grass and think it’s good, but at the time it was horrific.
Let’s talk about your netball career. Who did you play for when you came home?
Well, I had our first child Eli in 2009 and then started playing at Nirranda in 2010.
I coached the netball with Nirranda in 2011 and 2012 before moving to Merrivale for the 2013 season.
We made the finals at Merrivale in 2014 and I coached there in 2015 before having our second child Jett in 2016. I made the move across to Warrnambool in 2017 to coach the under 13 netball side, as I had family connections with the club.
This year I’ve taken over as the senior and under 17 coach. I’m really enjoying the challenges that coaching throws up. I just love being involved in netball. Improving your personal fitness is one thing that playing netball offers and another big thing is the friendships that you gather over the journey. I’m still great friends with many of the women I played netball with in Alice Springs and the Northern Territory.
How is Warrnambool’s senior netball side going this season?
Camperdown defeated us on the weekend. They are a very good side. We’ve got lots of young girls in our various sides. The competition is very strong. Teams can improve dramatically at this stage of the season as they learn their set plays and sharpen up their skills.
We’re in a rebuilding phase, but the future looks bright for us. Sides like Koroit, Port Fairy and Camperdown look like being the hard ones to beat.
Raewyn, have you suffered many injuries during your netball career?
I’ve had a few. The worst one would be having my left knee reconstructed after a game in Alice Springs.
I’ve had a broken nose and fractured cheekbone and been knocked out twice, but I still love the game.