Joan Fisher and Pam Bayfield
Pam is a self published author who was approached by Joan to help Joan write her story. Two hundred and fifty people attended their book launch at Narrabeen. Two hundred copies of the book were sold.
Joan's parents met in England but her father was originally from Australia. He took his new family back to Australia in 1912. Joan had two older siblings and, unfortunately, Joan's mother died when Joan was quite young. One of her older sisters who had been working as a nanny to a rich and influential family in the Blue Mountains, had to give up her job and return to the family after the death of her mother to look after the younger children.
Joan's father took his children on a trip to New Zealand during the 1930's when Joan was about 15 years old. This gave her a taste of sea travel that Joan would experience later during the war.
When war was declared in 1939 Joan was studying to become a dressmaker and tailor. She interrupted her studies to become a VA. She was a nurse with the Red Cross and helped prepare the opening of Kenmore Hospital. She was chosen from among the nurses working with the Strathfield branch of the Red Cross at the time to serve on the Dutch ship Oranje which was offered to the Australian and New Zealand governments as a hospital ship. Once on board, Joan volunteered to help the occupational therapist on the ship who taught weaving to the patients to help them recover their co-ordination. This was the beginning of Joan's interest in weaving.