Maureen Torney - 60 Years of Service

https://player.vimeo.com/video/1084105630

Maureen Torney: I love it. Yeah. I do, really do. I’ve never, ever, woken up and thought, ‘I don’t want to go to work today.’ So yeah, that should tell you.

My name’s Maureen Torney. I’ve been in government employment for 60 years. My first five years was with the Department of Agriculture at the State Research Farm in Werribee as a typist. Then I transferred over to the Education Department in 1970 and I have been here ever since. 38 years I was at Werribee Secondary College and then from 2008, I’ve been here. I went from like a typist to a bursar and then onto to be a business manager. And then I thought, ‘I’ve had enough of this.’ So, I retired, and I think three months later I ran into the business manager from here and she said, ‘Oh, would you like a job for a day or so a week?’ I said, ‘Ok.’ So, that was in 2008.

Deanne Kirkpatrick: Maureen, when I was at school as a year seven student in 2003, was Werribee Secondary College’s Bursar. Who would have thought that 22 years ago I would meet her as a student and that now we’ve been working together for the last 11 years. I think the incredible amount of experience that Maureen has gained in her time in education is invaluable. Because things change so much but the core business still remains the same. And to have someone like that in a school is just a real luxury.

Jan Hickson: I’m sorry but sometimes the business manager is… They may not be the boss of the school but they’re just as important as the Principal. Because if the business manager is no good, the school’s not going to run. Maureen was involved with what was called Schools of the Future, where everything was centralised with the department and then moved to individual schools. You know, making sure there was money there and the balancing of the books and things like that for a school to run really efficiently was so important.

Maureen Torney: We used to have break ups and stuff like that and they’d give out people awards and they said, ‘Oh, we’ve got a ruler here for the boss of the school.’ And I remember Steve stepping forward to get it, and they said, ‘Oh, Maureen.’ Oh, yeah the ruler of the school. Yes.

Well, I think some things pop up every now and again and they’ll say, ‘What do we do with this?’ Oh, well, I sort of know, don’t I? Yes, I think I’m… I think I’m resourceful and I think I’m reliable. Yes, I think so. Yes.

Deanne Kirkpatrick: To have the career that Maureen has had, or even half of it would be an incredible experience. But what she has achieved is remarkable and something that I don’t think many people will.

[End of transcript]

Updated 16 May 2025

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Maureen Torney - 60 Years of Service

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