Dulce Maria Lelo (nee Santos)

Growing Up and Studying

Unlike my son and daughter who were born at King George V Hospital, Camperdown, I was born at home in a small rural village in the north of Portugal.  It was fun growing up in the country because of the freedom I had running around in fields and having lots of cousins to play with.  My little pet dog called “Tejo” kept me safe and out of trouble.  I helped my mother with lots of chores around the house and fields, for example, tending to the farm animals.  One favourite animal was a cow who was so friendly and wise she basically knew the way to wherever I had to take her and to tell you the truth I think she just pulled me along.  When I was old enough, that is 6 years old, I started school, first class.  That’s how it was in Portugal.  I also used to go home for lunch which is quite different from schooling here in Australia and teaching was very strict from what I can remember.

My father, who had been working away at sea, would be absent for months at a time, finally decided he wanted a different life and came to join his brother in Australia.  After a year he sent for mum and me.  We came in 1969, quite a long time ago isn’t it.

What an adventure; lots of new clothes and then flying on an aeroplane to a new place.  The only problem was that we couldn’t understand a thing anyone said to us on the plane.  We finally arrived in Sydney after what seemed to be a lifetime of travelling.  My father, uncle and aunt were waiting for us and what a relief it was for us to be with family again.  I got another surprise, a big, beautiful bridal doll was waiting for me in my new home, I was so happy.

Then came preparations for school.  I went to a small Catholic school in Darlinghurst, Sacred Heart Primary.  It was very difficult at first because I couldn’t understand or talk to anyone.  I was dropped off very early in the morning out the front of the school by my mother who then had to walk to her work.  I was very lonely and afraid on those first few mornings.  I remember a younger girl trying to talk to me or picking on me - I can’t be sure - I was so upset, the following morning my mother told her a few things in Portuguese and she didn’t pick on me again.  Slowly I picked up the “new” language by going to special English classes at school.  I had good teachers, though at the time I thought some were particularly hard, I remember one Sister in particular whom I was a little afraid of, she wore the traditional long black habit, they all wore habits in those days.  Now I know how good they really were to me.

My parents finally bought a house of their own in Newtown, it was right next to the Public Primary School and because of this I was enrolled there.  This was another upset, changing schools yet again.  When my mother left me on the first day of school I was in tears and didn’t want her to go, but she had to go to work, my parents worked very hard.  Soon I knew everyone and had made lots of friends.  I realise now that I wasn’t always a good student because I didn’t study very much or care about homework.  The fact that my parents didn’t speak much English, and as they weren’t familiar with the Australian school system, made it worse.  I now regret not having been more dedicated to my school work.

Luckily in sixth class [Year 6, as it is now known] my teacher, Mr. Smythe took the time to explain lots of things to me, I was awarded an improvement certificate and felt quite pleased about this.  I started to take interest in school work and studied hard.  I finished sixth class with better results.  Because of this very caring teacher I didn’t have many problems once I started high school.

We moved homes one more time but luckily I was able to finish sixth class in Newtown and start afresh at the new high school, Canterbury Girls.  The first day wasn’t very pleasant, I had to walk to school all alone as both my parents were working and I didn’t have a uniform yet which made me stand out, the girls all looked at me.  Slowly I made friends and most of these friends are still my best friends today.

As a high school student I knew the satisfaction of achieving well, I had to study very hard though because I had missed out on my earlier primary years which I believe was the reason why I had to put so much effort into my work through high school.   If you learn to be dedicated from a young age it will be quite an advantage as you progress through further studies.  I managed to do very well, went through the top classes of the school and I enjoyed it all.  I especially enjoyed English literature and drama.

I cannot be thankful enough to my primary teacher Mr. Smythe and the great teachers I had at Canterbury Girls who provided such encouragement that I was able to finish Year 12 with flying colours, in Geography I managed to come in the top 10% in the State, all because my teacher had been so good.  I was also one of ten awarded a beautiful Canterbury Council Centenary gold medal for achievement at school at the recommendation of our teachers – I was so surprised!

I didn’t really know what to do after high school, I thought I wanted to be a nurse because I liked helping people and I was quickly accepted by Sydney Hospital to train but my parents had other ideas.  They suggested that I try working with computers as it was a field with great scope at the time (1979 – they were right, in a way).  I tried, I went for an initial aptitude test but I wasn’t really suited to the technical and programming sections.

I had gone for a holiday to Portugal with mum to see my grandparents and on return to Australia found I had nothing to do and worse of all, I didn’t known what to do.  I went to a CES (employment) office and got my first interview and job - no problems at all because I had such good HSC results and references.  I was a receptionist for a law firm to begin with, whilst doing this I realised how important secretarial skills were and enrolled myself in a typing and shorthand course at TAFE.  I was soon promoted to work with the only computer in the office and would have been promoted to personal secretary soon but I was encouraged by senior secretaries to apply for a position working for barristers.  I did and once again had no problems getting the position. 

I didn’t go on to university but eventually I did find my career in the legal business world.  I was a very successful senior legal secretary working for a barrister and am now a judge’s associate, all thanks to a good knowledge of the English language, which was acquired through my love of reading and the encouragement of my teachers.  I continually remember and tell acquaintances that I couldn’t have asked for a better High School, it was very strict with regard to uniform etiquette and behaviour, but I really appreciate it now because it gave me an edge in the workforce.  I can, now, also appreciate how good my teachers were, they really cared about us, I only realised how much when I read my school reference and think back to how they tried to help me along.

You may think that because I finally had a good job that I would not think of studying any further.  I had plenty of free time when I was single so I enrolled once again at TAFE to do Fashion Retail.  It was an advanced certificate course but at first I just started it as a hobby because I enjoyed fashion so much and needed to keep my mind working and learning.  I had one year off between the secretarial course and I found it a little boring.  After 6 years part-time studying I obtained my Certificate.  I’m not working in that field but all that I learned from sewing to business management has helped me personally and workwise.  Studying/learning is never wasted.

(Written in 1995 for my son’s Kindergarten Class and updated 2012)
Dulce Maria Lelo (nee Santos – known at school as Maria Santos)