A love of babies called Peggy Brown into a career where she brought peace of mind to new parents in an age before men walked on the moon.
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As a Tresillian nurse in the 1950s she imparted specialist knowledge and experience to worried mums, sometimes travelling to rural areas to stay with them in their time of need.
Six decades on, 94-year-old Mrs Brown remains an advocate for support for parents, and is thrilled to see the arrival of the Tresillian in Western Family Care Centre at Dubbo this year.
A Dubbo resident of 40 years and mother of three, Mrs Brown gave the hub her support when she attended its open day on Friday.
"I'm amazed and very pleased about it... it's really going ahead, isn't it," Mrs Brown said.
A young woman raised at Mount Hope south of Cobar, she had headed to Sydney to train with Tresillian.
I loved babies and I had quite a lot to do with little nieces and nephews... and that's what made me decide to go away and train.
- Tresillian nurse in the 1950s Peggy Brown
"I loved babies and I had quite a lot to do with little nieces and nephews, they were all about... and that's what made me decide to go away and train," Mrs Brown said.
"Because we lived away out in the country, and it was a big break, and I was terribly homesick.
"But I decided I'd make up my mind within six months and if I didn't like it, I'd go home.
"But I forgot all about it, I really loved it."
After completing her training Mrs Brown spent eight years working as a nurse.
At times her work would take her to stay with a mum and baby at their home, sometimes "for weeks".
Mrs Brown recalled one deployment to Werris Creek, and another to the New England area, where she first helped one new mum, and then went on to the home of the woman's sister-in-law.
"Some mums were terrific, and some were very nervous and worried and anxious, and so were the dads... but mostly it was very enjoyable," Mrs Brown said.
The Tresillian nurse left the service to marry and have her own family.
Her training remained useful with a brood of three children born within four years, and later as a grandmother.
"I wasn't nervous," Mrs Brown said of becoming a mother.
The sprightly retired nurse had one word of advice for new parents: "Relax."
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Faye Wheeler
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
