Theresia Maria Hobbs-Ratzinger

Story

I was born in Muenzbach, Austria. From an early age I wanted to travel. I was adventurous and left Austria for work in Switzerland and then England in 1971. I lived in London for 2 years and during this time befriended Australians. I joined the Austrian Department of Foreign Affairs with the aim of gaining a posting to Canberra. Less than six months later I arrived in Canberra on 31 January 1975.

In the first years in Australia I mixed with many Australians and Embassy staff from around the world. I joined the Canberra Bushwalking Club, YMCA Ski Club and spent my leisure time in the wilderness. I met my husband Adrian first in the Morton National Park and later on an igloo trip to Mt. Twynham near Guthega. During my first year in Australia, I also went on a cruise on the Oriana. The cruise took us to Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia.

I married in 1977 in Austria. We had a traditional country wedding with the engagement of the local brass band. After our wedding we went on honeymoon to Hongkong, India, Canary Islands, Italy, Thailand and Bali. Soon after the wedding I showed Adrian real mountains and we went skiing to Tyrol. We stayed at St. Anton and were surrounded by high mountains and enjoyed the beautiful long ski runs. Then we escaped to the warmer climate in Las Palmas. On the way back from Europe we stopped in Bali, hired a motor bike and toured around the island for a week.

After our wedding we lived in Red Hill before we moved into our first home. In 1979 I combined my home leave to Austria with a stop-over in Nepal and went on a five week trek. I climbed up to 6200m and trekked around Annapurna.

In the early eighties we had three daughters, Tanya, Christina and Maria. In 1987 our son Thomas was born. My life had changed as I became a full-time parent. The choice in 1982 was either to work full-time or not at all. At the time I felt privileged to be with my young children. I was involved with pre-school, primary school, and the community in general. In 1989 I went back to study and completed a Fashion Diploma, Computing Certificates and an Associate Diploma in Business Management.

After I spent 7 years caring for my children, finding a decent job was a challenge. At the time I re-entered the workforce, the unemployment rate was 10%, despite I was determined to get a good job. I re-entered the workforce in 1989 and started working in High Schools. One day my friend Eddie from the Austrian Embassy called and asked if I wish to come back to the Embassy to help organise the first election for Austrians living in Australia. I met with the Ambassador for an interview and got the job. It was great to be back in the Embassy and working for Austria.

In March 1990 I joined the Australian Public Service and since then I have worked in several government agencies including the Institute of Criminology, Taxation Office, Department of Veterans’ Affairs and Department of Families, Housing, Community Services.

In 1994 I took my family to Austria to introduce them to my relatives. It was an exciting trip and the children have many happy memories of meeting their Austrian family. Since then our daughters have lived in Europe and stayed several times with my family. My daughters introduced me to cross country running. After a couple of years running, I tried women’s soccer. I played soccer for five years and had lots of fun. The highlight was in the first year when my team won the grand final in summer soccer and the second year we won the semi-final in winter soccer.

Our eldest child Tanya became a solicitor and works for the Commonwealth Government. Our daughter Christina works as an Australian Youth Ambassador for the United Nations Food Programme in Nepal. Our youngest daughter Maria is a Program Manager for an Aged Care Agency. Our son Thomas is studying for a degree in Construction Management.

So far my life in Australia has been successful, but not always easy. Raising four children and full-time work has been demanding. It required self discipline, determination and planning.

In 2008 I climbed together with my daughter Tanya Mt. Kilimanjaro 5895m, the highest mountain in Africa. This was an amazing experience which took a lot of preparation. Until then I didn’t know that I was able to climb for 18 hours, almost non-stop at high altitude.

I adore skiing and spend lots of time in the mountains and at the South Coast. My favourite places in Australia are Guthega in winter and Durras in summer.

< Back to the Stories