 She moved back to Western Australia in 1934, learning shorthand and typing at Perth Technical College before starting work at a box factory in 1935 at the age of 15 (continuing her studies at night).She began training to be a nurse at the Royal Perth Hospital in 1941, despite the disapproval of her family who viewed nursing as "servitude".Passing her final examinations in 1944, she won election to the local council of the Australasian Trained Nurses Association.