South Geelong resident Joanna Evans is a registered nurse in Barwon Health’s surgical ward, teaches a Diploma of Nursing at The Gordon, and volunteers at The Outpost in Geelong. She speaks to Jena Carr about what she likes about living, volunteering, and working in the area.
What is your connection to Geelong?
I moved from London to Australia in 2009 but had visited Melbourne many times before this as my sister and her husband lived there. On our way to the Great Ocean Road, I visited Geelong a few times and remember thinking the Waterfront was so beautiful.
When I moved to Melbourne and met Dale, now my husband, he was living in Aireys Inlet, and so Geelong became my transit point to meet him when coming to stay for the weekend. I used to get so excited as we reached North Shore, and I knew it was only a few more minutes before I’d see him.
We bought a house and moved into Geelong, a happy compromise between my desire to live in the city and Dale’s desire to be as close as possible to the coast and the surf.
What do you like about where you live?
I love the proximity of my area to the city centre and all that the Waterfront offers.
I love roller skating with my daughter on the netball courts and our remote or leisurely dog strolls.
My family and I can also drive a short distance to find ourselves on the most glorious beaches.
What, if anything, would you change about where you live?
I’d love to see higher-density housing developments occur on some of the large sites that have become vacant around South Geelong to enable more families and young people to move into the area, provide more space for businesses and help create a vibrant and thriving area.
I’d also love to see the section of the CBD on Moorabool Street, around the bus terminal, be revitalised. It looks tired and run-down in spots and could be so much more than it is.
Where is your favourite place to spend time?
With my daughter at Torquay Park, Fishermans Beach, or the City Library’s kid’s floor. With my family at Little Creatures or The Edge on a sunny afternoon or on my own at any of Geelong’s numerous op-shops.
What is something people may not know about you?
I volunteer fortnightly at The Outpost, Geelong, and I started in September 2022.
The Outpost has been going for 32 years, but I had no idea they were there. The important thing is that those who need its services know it is there, and it’s been a pleasure to become involved.
Gaining this position allows me to feel useful for a couple of hours and to see a direct, beneficial result from my contribution.
What do you like about your work?
I will always continue learning, and if I want to access more knowledge, there is no limit to what is available.
I am able to be useful on a daily basis. Patients need our help, and I take pride in being able to provide ‘professional’ help. I have developed many skills during the 10 years I have been nursing, and tailoring the help I provide to the needs of the individual is the skill I am the most grateful to have gained.
Starting at the Gordon in February this year has been a new route for me and one I enjoy due to its contrast to clinical nursing.
