Maureen Massey
How long have you lived in Parkes and why do you like living here? Close to fifty years. As a child my family moved around a lot but, Parkes kept drawing us back. It is a great, friendly country community where we raised our children. I still like living here because two of our three daughters live here with their young families and as a Nan it is extremely important to me to have family as close as possible.
Where do you work and what do you enjoy about your work? I have been a Learning Support Teacher at Parkes East Public School for many years and teach children reading skills. It gives me great satisfaction to see children improve their skills and begin to master the art of reading.
What do you do to unwind after work or on weekends? Tile mosaics and photography are activities I enjoy, but as I still play hockey at a representative level, I spend time training throughout the week before or after school.
What are you really good at? I am passionate about hockey and have been very fortunate to represent both NSW and Australia in Women’s Masters Hockey over the last eight years as a goalkeeper. This is after I had retired from the game for seven years. I am extremely grateful for the opportunities given to me with hockey, and my achievements have given me an enormous amount of personal satisfaction.
Tell us about your best holiday ever. For many years our family holidays were very precious, but my most exciting holiday was when I was selected in the Australian over 60s team for the Master’s Hockey World Cup in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 2014. After winning the World Cup in our age division, my husband and I travelled in the
Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Germany, England and Abu Dhabi. This was an unreal and overwhelming experience as it was a dream come true to travel overseas.