Cathy undertook her general training at Canterbury Hospital from 1982 to 1985 and went on to do midwifery at Blacktown. She then worked as a midwife at Auburn Hospital before completing the Child and Family Certificate.

She moved to the south coast and while living in the Illawarra, worked as a community midwife at Shellharbour Hospital and then in child and family both as an early childhood nurse and a manager.

During Cathy’s time as community midwife at Shellharbour, she became very active in the branch taking on both branch president and delegate positions. It was during her time at Shellharbour that the maternity services came under threat of closure and Cathy, as the union delegate, along with the other midwives, fought a hard campaign resulting in the reopening of the maternity unit in 2000.

Although it was a tough campaign, midwives versus the Area Health Service, strong friendships and bonds were formed. We also had lots of fun, laughing at management’s ridiculous proposals and excuses and leaking information to the press, not to mention dressing up in op shop clothes for the Midwives Ball. Cathy was in the thick of it all, fighting injustices and advocating for women in the area.

At the same time, Cathy completed a Master of Business Administration. Later, after becoming completely disillusioned with the bureaucracy of the Area Health Service, she left the Illawarra to fulfill a dream she held, of working in many different locations across Australia including Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland and King Island as Director of Nursing, and also as Health Services Manager with International Health and Medical Services in detention centres in Darwin, Hobart and Christmas Island.

In 2010, Cathy moved to Lennox Head with her daughter, and she held nursing management positions at Mt Isa, Charters Towers and Murwullimbah. Cathy certainly managed to fulfill her dream to work in a variety of places around Australia.

Cathy was a member of the ANMF/ NSWNMA for all of her nursing career and actively participated in many union campaigns, such as What’s a Nurse Worth? And ‘Your Rights at Work’ and of course the fight to save Shellharbour Maternity.

After some years of deteriorating health, she was sadly diagnosed with a rare degenerative neurological disorder, and eventually became wheelchair bound. Despite her deteriorating condition for the last five years of her life, Cathy never lost her sense of humour and remained politically aware and engaged. She fought a courageous battle to remain independent and stay at home, right to the end and it was fitting that she passed away peacefully surrounded by her family and carers on 4th July, aged 63.

Cathy was a compassionate midwife, an understanding and caring manager and a fun and loyal friend.

She formed lifelong friendships with the nurses she trained with and with many of the nurses she met and worked with throughout her varied career. We will miss her wicked sense of humour, her political astuteness, her friendship and her caring personality.

She is survived by her daughter Tara and granddaughter Tully, Mum Eileen, and siblings Julie and Anthony.

Submitted by her midwifery and early childhood colleagues from Shellharbour.