Northcott Gardens resident, Maggie grew up in Melbourne and after leaving school accidentally became a professional journalist on the Melbourne Age TV/Radio Guide when she was eighteen years-old working as a Typist Clerk.

‘Part of my clerical job was to collect the page proofs from the compositor’s room and deliver them to the sub-editor for checking. One day a hole had appeared in a final proof just before press day and the sub-editor had decided for some reason that I was the one to fill the hole. When I asked her what I could fill it with she replied “You can write. What are you interested in?”.’

‘I had no idea why she thought I could write, but being a teenager with a significant resentment towards my conservative older parents, I answered her question with “rock music”.  I was told to go and interview a rock band and hot foot it back with pictures. This turned out to be a success and led to my having my own weekly column and by-line.’

‘I hadn’t even set foot on the bottom rung of the journalistic ladder: court reporter, and by default had been flung straight into becoming a feature writer. If I’d been sensible, I would have joined the Australian Journalists Association (AJA) now the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and secured what was then a B Grade rating. But I wasn’t aware of how significant this was at the time.’

After her father died Maggie travelled with her mother to London where she stayed for nine years living and working in TV production at London Weekend and the BBC and completing a diploma in professional photography fortunately paid for by her local London council.  

Maggie eventually returned to Australia and re-visited her passion for writing by training to be an advertising writer. She then enjoyed a significant and lucrative 15-year career developing mainstream campaigns for large international advertising agencies in Melbourne, Sydney and London.

‘I was good at the job, it taught me to think laterally and I loved coming up with “the big ideas” and selling the campaigns to a room full of clients. But when I turned 45, I realized I was getting too old for advertising when 23-year-olds were becoming Creative Directors and interviewing me for freelance jobs that I was no longer getting. So, I gave it away in favour of learning how to write screenplays.’  

Maggie has written a children’s book, self-published a novel and produced and directed a short film screened at film festivals in the US, France and Australia. She’s also written and co-written several feature film screenplays (two that have won awards in Hollywood).

The move to Northcott Gardens

Maggie’s need to travel overseas for her career was making it harder and harder for her to find anywhere that she could settle and call home.

‘It may sound like I’ve had an exciting life, and in some ways, I guess it has been, but due to some stupid decisions early on in my life, the one thing I never had was a stable base or anything I could call a real home. I was constantly moving from the UK to Australia and back with long periods spent in the US as well and this made it hard for me to secure any lasting friendships and I missed the little family that I had back in Melbourne.

‘I also spent years hauling my worldly goods around and on and off airport carousels and trolleys not designed for the amount of luggage I expected them to carry. Eventually this took its toll and I had a major back operation in Sydney in 2013.’

Maggie’s back operation turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it forced her to take better care of her body. She began to seriously look for a place she could call home where she could finally settle and put an end to the need for hauling so many possessions around the world.

A resident of Northcott Gardens that knew Maggie told her about a unit being renovated and she came to check it out.  She was told that preference was given to relatives of war widows and she was hopeful that her mother being made a war widow as a result of Maggie’s father being a prisoner of war by the Japanese, would help her to secure this available unit.

Maggie had no idea how she could pay for the lease but an unexpected family inheritance brought her the funds she needed and she was successful in getting the unit and moved in April 2014 to the first place she could really call home.

‘I’ve been happy at Northcott Gardens. It’s great to live in a supportive community where you know your neighbours and whenever I’ve needed help or advice with anything there has been someone from Vasey who have responded to my concerns promptly and with kindness and compassion. I’ve got to know some lovely people and made some significant friendships. The unit I chose has been perfect for me in countless ways. It’s light and airy and has a lovely leafy outlook from all the windows. It’s also very peaceful so has been great for me as I do a lot of meditation.  

‘One of the things I’ve always loved about Northcott Gardens is the view we all have of the beautiful landscaped garden that stretches across the centre of the village with several magnificent well-established trees, lovely flower beds filled with the intoxicating aroma of gardenia and other delicate floral scents, and private places to sit in the sun and enjoy a good book.

‘I love the leafy and community vibe of Lane Cove. The longer I’ve lived here the better it’s become with so many great restaurants and cafes, lovely bushy trails all around and the very successful Canopy with its live concerts and film screenings. I’m also a member of the local pool and gym and I have a great doctor’s practice a short walk away. The bus stop is right outside and from the Lane Cove interchange you can be in the heart of the CBD in 10 minutes.’

Maggie is still writing. For the past two and a half years she’s been writing human interest stories every month for the Lane Cove Village Observer magazine as her voluntary contribution to her much-loved suburb.

‘I source my own stories and it’s been easy to find people with interesting stories. There’s always someone doing something great. Long may it continue,’ Maggie concluded.