| Cornelia Knust-Bachor born in Hanover-Linden |
Ever since her teenage years Cornelia dreamt of leaving her urban working class environment of Hanover-Linden, where she was born and bred, for the wide open spaces of a farm, possibly in another country. She was born with a love of horses and languages. Frequent trips to Great Britain from the age of fifteen opened her eyes for other cultures and fuelled her desire to spend at least some of her life in a foreign country. Having studied English and German at the university in Hanover, Cornelia completed her teacher's training in Celle. She is also a qualified riding instructor, a job that supported her through uni. In 1980, opportunity knocked: Her husband Hans was awarded a post-doctoral scholarship, which took both of them to Canberra. Cornelia took to life in Australia like a duck to water. The openness and friendliness of the people, the climate and the open space – she had found her dream. Unfortunately her career goals seemed unattainable in this country where foreign language skills are not highly valued in the school system as in Germany. She left school teaching and taught German to adults, mainly on contract and in evening classes. She also continues to enjoy coaching her horse-riding students. In 1987, Cornelia and her husband moved to 40 acres of unimproved bushland. There they fulfilled another dream: to build a solar house, from which they enjoy the views and have the space to keep Cornelia's horses. |
