Dale’s lifelong passion for learning and adventure

Returning to the island where she once grew up, Dale says it was meant to be when she and her partner Doug found their new home at Bolton Clarke’s Bongaree community last year.

Dale’s connection to the island began in her childhood, spending holidays and long weekends wandering along the shores and through the bush.

“When I was four, my parents got a block of land and so we used to come here often,” Dale said.

“Bribie is my soul place, it really is. It has been a constant anchor in my life.”

Dale’s life has been full of exploration, whether that be her adventures writing tales in her ‘Writer’s Hut’, trips to Antarctica, learning to handmake instruments, becoming an environmental scientist at 40 or pursuing her craftwork and photography.

“I have done a lot of different things and when the challenge is gone, it’s time to move on.”

Her passion for writing, however, has carried through most of her life. Now the author of seven books, Dale’s journey as an author was inspired by the story of her own grandfather, who came out to Australia from Wales to work as a railway navvy.

"I've always been one of those kids who, when they said, 'At the weekend you have a choice of three essays to write,' I'd do all three.

"For my first book, I saw a picture of a railway navvy camp with the husband, wife and the kids who lived in the tent, and I thought ‘That is my story’.

“It took me 10 years from the time I started researching it to finish that book because even though it’s written as a novel, I wanted it to be accurate.”

Her writing also touched on another passion of Dale’s – Antarctica. Since 2012, she has travelled on three separate trips exploring the continent and is now part of the Australian National Antarctica Research Expedition (ANARE) Club, but Dale says it’s been a lifetime in the making.

“When I was eight, our teacher taught us a lot about Antarctica and I just fell in love with a place that I’d never seen.

“From then, I promised myself I would get there one day and I’ve spent my whole life reading everything that I could about it.

"A friend of mine who was a radio operator in Antarctica through two winters, she took me along to the ANARE Club for one of their Midwinter dinners.

"It was at that dinner I met the Antarctic engineer John Russell and his daughter, who were looking for someone to write a book on John's story, so I worked with John on Antarctic Engineer.

"That’s when I joined the association and ended up on the National Council, and now I also edit the quarterly journal.”

After all of her achievements, Dale is now taking a step back to take in the island life but says she is excited to see what life has in store for her next.

“I have now, finally, done all those things that I wanted to do in my life and I’m just waiting to see what the universe chucks up at me.

“I think I’ve only got one chance of being here, and there are a lot of things I want to do so I’m going to do them all.”