2019-10-01_Australian_Womens_Weekly_NZ

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OCTOBER 2019| The Australian Women’s Weekly 33

Trailblazer

“It was traumatic.

Fortunately it was

a slow-growing

cancer.”

winterday.There’sa telescope
prominentlyplacedonthebalconyof
herwaterfronthome– “Iliketo
watchtheshipscominginandout”

• besidehugepotsoflushcymbidium
  orchidsinfullbloom.Newlyreturned
  fromanunderwatersafariinFiji,the
  veteranfilmmaker,marinepioneer
  andenvironmentalistis vigorously,
  triumphantlythrivinglikeherplants.
  OrtheQueen,whois thepersonshe
  mostadmires.Oldageis a bonus,
  havingcheatedbreastcancer– and
  let’snotforgetthreesevereshark
  bites,four“ifyoucounttheonethat
  didn’tbleed”– inthefaceofan
  almostfatalmisdiagnosis.
  ThewayValerietellsit, in hernew
  memoirAnAdventurousLife, she
  visitedherGP 11 times,anda leading
  breastspecialistfourtimes,aftera
  mammogramdiscloseda growing
  lumpin herleftbreast.Shewassure it
  wascancer,butfortwoyears
  doctorstoldherit wassimply
  mastitis.Theseagoingexplorer
  wasworried,butmostofall
  shewasangry.“IthinkI was
  beingusedasa guineapig.I’m
  sureofit actually,”shesays,
  visiblyinfuriated.“Intheend
  I couldn’thandlethe
  unpleasantnessanymore.I saw
  anotherdoctor’ssurgeryand
  walkedin offthestreet.
  “Thereceptionistaskedif I hadan
  appointment.”Valeriechuckles,still
  amusedbythewoman’stemerity.“I
  toldherI didn’t,butI wasn’tleaving.
  SoI sawthedoctor,whotoldmethat
  in hisopinion,I hada malignant
  tumourandshouldseeanexpert
  straightaway.
  “OfcourseI wasprettyupset.And
  thenhenamedthegreatspecialistI’d
  alreadyvisitedfourtimes,whohad
  toldmeI woulddieofoldagebeforeI
  diedofcancer.Noway!Sothispoor
  GP,whodidn’tknowmeat all,reached
  intohisrubbishbinandpulledouta
  flyerfroma womanwhowasjust
  startinga breastcancerpractice.
  “TheyoperatedtwodaysafterI
  sawher.Inthosedays,backin the
  1980s,theytookeverything– both
  breasts,allofmylymphglands,
  everything.” She pats at her chest,

snugin a palelilacsweater,explaining

howherradicalmastectomywas

followedbysixmonthsof

chemotherapyandcounsellingto

combattheintenseangershehad

feltovertheinitialmisdiagnosis.

“Iwasgoingtokillthatbreastexpert

andI wasgoingtokillmyGP.If I was

dying,theywerebothgoingtodie,”

shesayslevelly,leavingnoroomfor

disbelief.“OhGod,I wassosick.I was

50 andit wastraumatic.Fortunately,it

wasa slow-growingcancer.”

Luckily,Valeriealsohad“beautiful”

husbandRon– herlifecompanion,

divebuddy,soulmate,co-conspirator

andconstantinspiration– fightingin

hercorner.Thecouplemetin their

20sat a spearfishingclubin southern

Sydney, wherebothwerechampions,

andsoonbecameinseparablefriends.

Butit tooktimeandeffortbefore

Ron reciprocated Valerie’s more

romanticfeelings.“Iusedtostare

at himandthink,‘Oh,you’reso

gorgeous’,”laughstheformermodel,

artistandactress.Noslouchin the

looksdepartmentherself,sheonce

playedtheMarilynMonroerolein

TheSevenYearItchat Sydney’s

EnsembleTheatre.

SurelyRonmusthavenoticedher

appearance?“Hmmm,”sheponders,

skilfullyshuttingdownquestions

aboutherbrieffirstmarriage,which

endedwhenshetippeda potofhot

rhubarboverherthenspouse’shead.

Husbandnumbertwoprovedtobea

different,morelastingproposition.

“Fora longtimehedidn’t

demonstrateanyinterestin being

myboyfriend,”sheadmits,grinning.

“Ittooka lotofhardwork.Wejust

sortofslowly...it wasn’tinstant.

“Ilikedhima lotmorethanheliked

me, because he thought I was hard

going.Wewereveryoppositeall

ourlives.I justsimplyhada good

marriagebecauseI didashewanted

meto.Hewouldneverstackdishesor

anything,butthenI neverhadto

pumpupthetyresonmybikeorput

petrolin thecar.Hehadeverything

sorted.Hewasa geniusandhada

veryorganisedmind;I didn’t.”

Visionarygenius

Heradoredhusbanddiedofmyeloid

leukaemiain 2012andValeriestill

mournshim,althoughhermuch

youngerhousemateJoe– who

“astoundingly”doesstackdishes–

haseaseda littleofthepiercingloss.

“Ronwasa goodmanandI miss

himeveryday,”sheconfides,rare

vulnerabilityshiningthrough.“His

illnesswashorrible,I couldnotbelieve

it. I keptthinkinghewouldgetbetter.

Eventhoughthedoctortoldme

nobodysurvives,I feltsureRon

would.I feltsurehewouldn’t

letanythinglikethathappento

him,buthowdoyoustopit?”

Thecoupleneverhad

children– “Ihada choice,we

allhavechoicesin life”– but

theirincrediblecareeris legacy

enough.Ronwasthevisionary

technicalgeniusbehindtheir

professionalpartnership,which

producedthousandsofhoursof

underwaterfilm,includingallthelive

sharkscenesfromStevenSpielberg’s

Jawsandunderwaterfootagefor

HollywoodblockbusterssuchasThe

BlueLagoonandOrca, plustheir

owndocumentaries.

Asa womanin a man’sworld,

Valeriewasfrequentlytheonlyfemale

onboardthediveboat,yetclaims

sheneverencounteredanytrouble.

“Ididmybit,whywouldthey

complain?It alwayssurprisesme,

thosewomenwhokeptgetting

harassed,”shesnorts.“Ifanyonehad

harassedme,I wouldhaveharassed

themrightback.Simpleasthat.”

InAustralia,wheretheTaylorswere

honouredfortheirtrailblazingmarine

conservationwork,theybecamemost

famousfortheirdaringdiveswith

sharks,capturingthefearsomegreat

white in action without the