Narooma teacher Maben Rees retires after 36 years of service

She travelled in style to her retirement function on the Narooma trike bike last month and was given a lovely bunch of flowers by her colleagues at Narooma Public School.

Ms Rees started her teaching career at Menindee Public School in 1979, followed by seven years at Bodalla Public School before arriving at Narooma Public School in 1990 where she spent 25 years as teacher of students from Kindergarten to Year 6.

A city girl raised in Sydney and who attended Kingsgrove North High School, heading out to the west of NSW was a big challenge for the young teacher who gained her teaching degree from Charles Sturt University at Bathurst.

“It was a big change going to town of only 500 in the middle of nowhere,” she said. “It was a central school that went to Year 10.”

Teachers who served time in outback regional areas were rewarded with posting on the coast and so she applied and was lucky to be sent to Bodalla.

She said working with young people had been very rewarding and she told the story about bringing one young boy out of his shell and encouraging him to read.

“That made my heart sing because he got it,” she said. “That was the rewarding part and that’s why I did the job all those years. It was just fantastic.”

Ms Rees has recently overcome a battle with ill-health but she said she was now a lot better and was planning on enjoying her retirement by walking her dog Benji on the beach and exploring her interest in photography.

Giving up the students and teaching was however not going to be easy so she will continue to work one-and-a-half days as a teacher's’ aide at Narooma Public School.