Our heroes of 2021
The Australian Women's Weekly|Christmas 2021
This year has tested us beyond measure, but we’ve seen everyday Australians rise to its challenges in courageous, heartfelt and inspiring ways. The Weekly pays tribute to some of those everyday heroes.
SAMANTHA TRENOWETH & ALLEY PASCOE
Our heroes of 2021

Scrub Choir

Songs to heal the soul

“As soon as we began to play, people would stop and say thank you, and sometimes cry.”

Dr Mya Cubitt is an emergency physician, an acute medical unit consultant, and the mother of three lively primary and preschool-aged kids. She smiles with her heart and her pale blue eyes. She has worked through the pandemic at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, she’s been a COVID patient herself, and now she’s trying to explain how these past two years have affected her.

“There’s this graph of the emotional phases of a pandemic, and it goes like this,” she begins, waving her arms up and down like a heaving sea. “That’s my experience. There are moments when you have this anticipatory anxiety and there are moments when you feel like a true hero, mainly because you connect with another human being and make them feel like you care. There are moments when you just want to curl up in a corner and rock, and there are other moments when you feel like you’re starting to rebuild, and you might be able to face it again. It just keeps going.

“I worked in the emergency department and also in the acute medical unit, where we were looking after patients with confirmed COVID. I think some of the hardest days of my career have come from working on that ward, and having Scrub Choir quite frankly saved me.”

Bu hikaye The Australian Women's Weekly dergisinin Christmas 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye The Australian Women's Weekly dergisinin Christmas 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
Maggie's kitchen
The Australian Women's Weekly

Maggie's kitchen

Maggie Beer's delicious veg patties - perfect for lunch, dinner or a snack - plus a simple nostalgic pudding with fresh passionfruit.

time-read
1 min  |
January 2025
Reclaim your brain
The Australian Women's Weekly

Reclaim your brain

Attention span short? Thoughts foggy? Memory full of gaps? Brigid Moss investigates the latest ways to sharpen your thinking.

time-read
5 dak  |
January 2025
The girls from Oz
The Australian Women's Weekly

The girls from Oz

Melbourne music teacher Judith Curphey challenged the patriarchy when she started Australia's first all-girls choir. Forty years later that bold vision has 6500 members, life-changing programs and a new branch of the sisterhood in Singapore.

time-read
9 dak  |
January 2025
One kid can change the world
The Australian Women's Weekly

One kid can change the world

In 2018, 10-year-old Jack Berne started A Fiver for a Farmer to raise funds for drought relief. He and mum Prue share what happened next.

time-read
5 dak  |
January 2025
AFTER THE WAVE
The Australian Women's Weekly

AFTER THE WAVE

Twenty years ago, the Boxing Day tsunami tore across the Indian Ocean, shredding towns, villages and holiday resorts, and killing hundreds of thousands of people from Indonesia to Africa. Three Australians share their memories of terror, loss and survival with The Weekly.

time-read
8 dak  |
January 2025
PATRICIA KARVELAS How childhood tragedy shaped me
The Australian Women's Weekly

PATRICIA KARVELAS How childhood tragedy shaped me

Patricia Karvelas hustled hard to chase her dreams, but it wasn't easy. In a deeply personal interview, the ABC host talks about family loss, finding love, battles fought and motherhood.

time-read
10 dak  |
January 2025
Ripe for the picking
The Australian Women's Weekly

Ripe for the picking

Buy a kilo or two of fresh Australian apricots because they're at their peak sweetness now and take inspiration from our lush recipe ideas that showcase this divine stone fruit.

time-read
5 dak  |
January 2025
Your stars for 2025
The Australian Women's Weekly

Your stars for 2025

The Weekly’s astrologer, Lilith Rocha, reveals what’s in store for your astrological sign in 2025. For your monthly horoscope, turn to page 192.

time-read
10 dak  |
January 2025
MEL SCHILLING Cancer made me look at myself differently'
The Australian Women's Weekly

MEL SCHILLING Cancer made me look at myself differently'

One year on from going public with her bowel cancer diagnosis, Mel Schilling reveals where she's at with her health journey and how it's changed her irrevocably.

time-read
9 dak  |
January 2025
Nothing like this Dame Judi
The Australian Women's Weekly

Nothing like this Dame Judi

A few weeks before her 90th birthday, the acting legend jumped on a phone call with The Weekly to talk about her extraordinary life – and what’s still to come.

time-read
10 dak  |
January 2025