I love Bassendean and am immensely grateful to live in such a strong, connected community.
Bassendean has been home to five generations of my family. My great grandparents lived their early married life on West Road, opposite Bassendean primary school where my Grandma was a student 80 years ago. As a young adult, she and her family later moved to the other side of the train line, to Broadway, where together my great grandparents & grandparents owned & operated a bakehouse out of their garage for many years. My Dad spent his childhood fishing in the Swan River under the Guildford bridge and attended Eden Hill Primary. Just after my parents were married they built their first home on Penzance Street. This is where my parents first brought me home to as a new born baby. My husband and I have also chosen this area as an ideal place to raise our own family. Together we built a low energy home in Success Hill which we now share with our two young children.
I have a health professional background having worked as a senior physiotherapist focusing my career on the rehabilitation of patients with neurological conditions. I have also spent several years as a lecturer within the School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science at Curtin University and have operated my own specialised medical assessment service. I am also fortunate to have had many opportunities to use my skills in a volunteer capacity both within Australia and while travelling overseas.
Community and strengthening the connections between local people has always been very important to me. I am energised by spending time with the passionate and committed people of our Town. In addition to my Council role, during the last few years I’ve established the “Bassendean Repair Café” and brought the “Buy Nothing” groups to our Town, both initiatives which aim to reduce waste and encourage connection in our community. I am involved in many other community groups including Eden Hill CAN, Success Hill Action Group, Verge Transformation and the Caledonian Football Club.
Following the birth of my first child I decided to nominate for Council and represent my community. The demographics of our local area were changing with increasing numbers of young families moving into the Town, yet the composition of our Council did not reflect this. There was also a growing desire for our local government to be more progressive, relevant and inclusive of community but this shift had not yet occurred. Having recently become a mum I had a growing consciousness of the kind of future that I wanted for my daughter and our community. I was also increasingly aware that I couldn’t defer the responsibility and expect others to create the type of future I was seeking but that I needed to commit to being actively involved in making it a reality.
I was elected to Bassendean Council in 2015 and was subsequently elected as Mayor in 2017. I am committed to accessible and transparent local government and involving the community in the decisions that affect them. I value the unique sense of community connection that exists in Bassendean, its natural features and green open spaces. I recognise the potential for Bassendean to become an even more liveable, vibrant hub but that as development occurs it needs to be in harmony with the character and spirit of our Town. I am passionate about sustainability and want to see Bassendean continue to show leadership in this area.
Now being in a position to influence the direction of our Town, one of my primary focuses is to facilitate as many of our community members as possible to also have a role in shaping the future of their neighbourhoods.
