Dora’s journey in life – and her appreciation of individual agency – began on a farm in Heath Hill, Gippsland, where she loved to explore, hunt for wild orchids, write poetry, ride horses and look after orphaned lambs. At the tiny bush primary school, she was often left to her own devices to follow her own topics of interest, and as she said, her schooling didn’t interfere with her education.
After winning a residential scholarship, she travelled to Melbourne to complete her secondary education as a boarder at Fintona Girls’ School, which was progressive for its time and encouraged girls to do more than just develop housekeeping skills. Dora chose to train as a teacher and started out in rural primary schools.
In the early 1950s, Dora and husband Ian established themselves and young family on an isolated block surrounded by paddocks on the then outskirts of Melbourne at North Balwyn. It was a challenging existence initially, living in a makeshift temporary house in an unsewered area with dirt tracks, and having to deal with post-war building supply shortages. Also, Ian’s innovative smoke detector business was facing difficulties, which meant there was little money coming in to support a family.
Before WWII, the Education Department did not employ married women, but in the post-war years there was a teacher shortage and the rules changed, which meant Dora could return to teaching after marrying. At the same time, while raising a young family, she undertook further study to update and extend her qualifications.
The success of Dora’s career – and her publishing career in particular – were to turn the family’s fortunes around as Moving into Maths became a bestseller in its niche.
To promote the books, Dora travelled widely, including overseas. It was this marketing work that piqued her appetite for travel. She enjoyed the five-star hotels booked by her publishers but was just as happy backpacking and staying in youth hostels.
In her 70s, Dora and sailed with a daughter in the Whitsundays and visited a son in Solomon Islands, travelling by inter-island canoe as part of the journey. In her 80s, she travelled alone to South America, Russia and Majorca, and in her 90s her travels included China, Vietnam, Cambodia. Spain and England, where she visited another son.
Besides travel, Dora was active in her book group, creative dance, tai chi, highland dancing, a writing group, history groups, and an interfaith group.
In 2002, Dora downsized from the family home to a smaller house a few streets away, where she was able to live independently, with minimal help until late last year. She celebrated her 100th birthday in 2020 with a large party two weeks before the covid lockdowns. She passed away peacefully in February, four weeks before her 104th birthday.
Dora is survived by two sons and a daughter.
The obituary was written by Dora’s children, Catherine Parke and Ian Scales, and her son-in-law John Wallace.
Source Agencies
