Betty was born in St Marys, Tasmania in 1948. In her youth she lived at Cornwall, Cullenswood, St Marys, Winnaleah and Launceston.
Betty worked in a variety of occupations in Tasmania before moving to Canberra in January 1971 to take up a position with the Department of Foreign Affairs. While with this Department she was posted to Nauru and Suva. Other government departments she worked with included the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet; the Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs; Department of Education, Science and Training; the Department of Primary Industries and Energy; and Austrade. In Canberra Betty worked in a second job for several years as a computer trainer at the Canberra Institute of Technology.
At different times during her working career Betty also worked for a Federal Government minister and a Tasmanian Senator; administrator of the North Queensland Women’s Legal Service (funded by the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department); and sole administrative support, working to a Board of Management, setting up the Queensland Divisions of General Practice (QDGP - funded by the Commonwealth Health Department). After the QDGP was established, Betty moved to Geraldton in Western Australia where she was the Chief Executive Officer for the Mid-West Division of General Practice. In Geraldton, and as a result of undertaking post-graduate studies in Indigenous education, Betty relocated to Hedland to work in an Aboriginal College. Betty later worked at another Aboriginal school at Ngukurr in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.
After completing further post-graduate studies (Master of Education in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Betty worked twice in South Korea and once in Hong Kong as an English teacher.
In Ngukurr, Betty spent much of her spare time undertaking a Master of Letters, completing it in November 2006. Her latest study was at the University of Tasmania, completing a Diploma of Family History in 2020.
After returning to Tasmania Betty worked for a couple of years with the Tasmanian Education Department’s Indigenous Policy Section as a senior policy adviser. She also worked for a couple of years as a tutor with the University of Tasmania’s Bachelor of Dementia Care, supporting undergraduate students in academic writing before retiring to travel overseas, returning to Hobart, immediately before COVID hit our shores.
Betty is now happily retired in Hobart, enjoying playing bridge and continuing her research in matters relating to Tasmanian history. She loves being near her children and grandchildren who all live in Tasmania.