For Geraldine Carlin, a microphone, a good story and the opportunity to help somebody learn have been recurring themes across a remarkable life.
Long before Happy Pants, Geraldine had already spent decades finding creative ways to educate and entertain children. Her career has encompassed teaching, children's television, singing, writing and museum education, with projects created for everyone from schoolchildren to television audiences.
More recently, Geraldine has brought that lifetime of experience to Vision Australia Radio, including as one of the voices behind Happy Pants, our radio program and podcast designed especially for children under 10 who are blind, have low vision or have a print disability.
Now, as Geraldine begins to slowly hang up the headphones on her regular volunteer role, we want to celebrate an extraordinary contribution, not only to Vision Australia Radio, but to generations of children and families.
A lifetime of storytelling begins
Geraldine grew up on a dairy farm near Harvey in Western Australia. Music was part of family life from an early age, with Geraldine's parents participating in their local choral society and the family regularly singing together around the piano. Geraldine later studied teaching and began formal vocal training while at college.
But teaching would prove to be only one outlet for Geraldine's talents.
In 1960, Perth's Channel 7 was looking for somebody to replace Rolf Harris on its children's programming. The role called for someone who could tell stories, illustrate them with quick sketches and then follow them with an appropriate song.
Geraldine had the combination they were looking for.
She was selected for a weekly segment called Geraldine Carlin Presents, combining storytelling, drawing and singing for young television viewers. The program continued until live television became too costly to produce.
It was an early example of something that would become a constant throughout Geraldine's life: finding creative ways to engage children and help them discover something new.
From the classroom to the museum
Following her return to teaching, another significant chapter began in 1975 when Geraldine was seconded to the Western Australian Museum as Education Officer at Fremantle.
The role involved developing curriculum-based learning programs for students using the museum's collections, but Geraldine's approach extended well beyond conventional education.
During her decade with the museum, she coordinated school and holiday activities and was involved in projects including The Living Museum and Scenes from Childhood Past, which used performance to bring Western Australian history to life. The latter involved education staff taking acting roles alongside schoolchildren.
Then there was Albert the Dinosaur.
Geraldine wrote a song celebrating the arrival of a dinosaur at the museum and created a story that became the basis of a school project. Children illustrated the story, the museum published it, and the project was eventually turned into a television film by the ABC.
Another project, Mr Polyp, explored life on a coral reef and encouraged participating children to create paintings and models. Their work was subsequently exhibited at the museum.
Geraldine also continued receiving commissions from the ABC to write dramatisations of children's books and wrote Australian-themed verses for Carnival of the Animals, performed by the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra at Perth Concert Hall.
And then there was Fat Cat
For Australians who grew up in the 90s watching children's television, another part of Geraldine's story may be particularly familiar.
During Geraldine's time at Fremantle Museum, she became a regular contributor to Channel 7's Saturday morning Fat Cat program while continuing to write occasional scripts for children's television.
An archival article titled 'Fat Cat Meets Ian and Geraldine' also documented Geraldine's appearances on Channel 7, where she brought museum objects and educational stories to young viewers.
Education, broadcasting, performance and storytelling continued to intersect throughout Geraldine's career.
Decades later, those same skills would find a new home behind a radio microphone.
Getting our Happy Pants on
Happy Pants launched on Vision Australia Radio in April 2022 with a very particular audience in mind: children under 10 who are blind, have low vision or have a print disability.
From the beginning, the half-hour children's program was designed to entertain and inspire while also supporting young listeners with literacy and learning.
Today's program invites children into a world of immersive stories and music, plus fascinating facts about animals and the world around them. Geraldine presents the program from Vision Australia Radio's Perth studios alongside Kate Leaversuc, Maddie Malins and Rebecca Warburton,
In many respects, it seems a natural destination for the skills Geraldine has developed throughout her life.
The educator who once built learning activities around museum collections could now engage children through sound.
The storyteller who once appeared on children's television could now tell stories to children who might experience their world differently.
And the singer, writer and performer once again had the opportunity to encourage children's curiosity and imagination.
Most importantly, Happy Pants has provided dedicated children's audio content created with blind, low vision and print-disabled young listeners specifically in mind.
Image caption: Mural by Brenton See. Rebecca, Geraldine and Kate are in front of the mural, from left to right.
“I get far more out of the work than I put in”
Geraldine's contribution to the program has also given something back to her.
In her own reflections on volunteering for Happy Pants, Geraldine writes:
“I get far more out of the work I do for Happy Pants than I put in.”
The writing and research involved in the program, she says, keep her brain active. But perhaps most importantly, Geraldine speaks about the friendships she has made and the sense of being supported and valued that the program has given her.
That sense of connection is central to volunteering at Vision Australia Radio.
Our volunteers don't simply read words or present programs. They lend their interests, knowledge, voices and lived experiences to a service built around making information, entertainment and community more accessible.
Geraldine has brought all of those things, along with something quite special of her own.
Thank you, Geraldine
There is a wonderful symmetry to Geraldine's story.
A career that included teaching children, singing to them, telling them stories on television, designing museum education experiences and writing for children's programs eventually led to Happy Pants, where those skills came together in a program designed for some of Australia's youngest blind and low vision listeners.
As Geraldine gradually steps back from her regular volunteer duties at Vision Australia Radio, everyone across our radio community simply wants to say thank you.
Thank you for the stories.
Thank you for the research, preparation and hours behind the microphone.
Thank you for sharing a lifetime of creativity and experience with our listeners.
And thank you for helping Vision Australia Radio continue to create programming for Australians who are blind or have low vision, young and old.
Geraldine may be slowly hanging up the headphones, but she will always be part of our Vision Australia Radio family.
The microphone will always be there for her whenever she wants to come back.
Thank you, Geraldine.
Image caption: Rebecca, Geraldine and Kate at work in the studio.
