Past Student 1945

Peg was born on 7th February 1931 in Goondiwindi, daughter of Rita and Dick Bowles of Willoughby, NSW.  She spent her high school years at boarding school in Warwick at the Presbyterian Girls College (PGC).

Peg was a tomboy in those years. Besides the ‘Shirley Temple’ doll she loved …., the other things she cherished as a child were billy carts, bikes and toy boats to float in creeks and rivers …. ‘Country towns always had waterways’ she said. She also spoke of jumping off a bridge into the flooded McIntyre River, with a strong current and massive debris all around … and said ‘What absolute FUN, FUN, FUN!’ … so we know from that, she was a mischievous girl as well.  As for pets, she says there were always scotch terriers. They must have loved those dogs as she notes her father had little leather shoes made for them to wear so as not to scratch the upholstery in the car.  The dogs obviously went everywhere with them.

One other thing Peg did always talk about from her childhood was the trips to Bombala to see her mother’s side of the family, the Nicholson’s.  She clearly, dearly loved her three Aunts and three Uncles…. her mother’s siblings.

At PGC, Peg was into everything.  She loved all sports, with swimming being her first love (even a little water ballet apparently), athletics and netball – but never much of a tennis player.  She was always involved in everything and was quite proud of the fact that she was made one of the four prefects at school.

She was a water skier, a surfboard rider and she loved diving.  When her brother Peter was away she would go grab the keys to his MG and drive out onto the highway with the top down and the wind in her hair.  Peg always loved her music and grew up to Nat King Cole, the Andrew Sisters and many a war song.  She actually looked after Nat King Cole on a flight once and said that no one else got any service.  She was quite a fan!

At school, she talks of being highly influenced by her PE Teacher and that is what she took to straight after school.  She studied physical education and we believe was employed by the Federal Government to travel Queensland and form National Fitness Groups.  She travelled all over Queensland at odd hours and relied on farmers with cattle in the back to get her into town from the bus or train station to wherever she needed to be.

After that, she became an Air Hostess and started work with Trans-Australian Airlines out of Melbourne on 25th August 1956 on an annual salary of 635 pounds.  It was while working in Melbourne that she went on a group date of Air-Hostesses and a bunch of Airforce fellows and Policemen.  On this date, she was sitting next to the driver of the car – none other than Ross Porter, whom she later married.

They married in 1957 and the Airforce transferred them to Brisbane.  They had three children, Megan, Nikki and Simon.  She was also the proud Grandmother of six grandsons.  She was so loved by all – she loved people and people loved her.  She was one of a kind – a mother, a real party girl, a fabulous cook and a woman of inimitable style and great wisdom.

Written by her daughter, Meagan Porter.