My South Side Story: Maria Holt

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Maria Holt

I’m a born & bred South Cairns local having grown up in Bayview Heights and I have fond memories of playing at Turner Park & in Clarkes Creek. 

I met my husband Ben when we were both students at Woree SHS in 2003. 18 years since we first met, we live together with our 4 year old son Leonardo and our dog in our home in Bentley Park. Now that we are raising our own son here and I have become involved in community groups and especially as President  of Edmonton Community Kindergarten’s parent committee, I can’t imagine living anywhere else. The relationships & strong community connections will keep us here for a very long time yet. 

I’ve worked in the education industry, mostly on the southside, for almost all of my adult life and as a result, I feel like I’ve met just about every family down here at some point. Since I grew up around here, I often encounter the children, nieces & nephews of my own schoolmates and it seems there’s almost always a link between me and other families around here, giving it a friendly vibe that I love. I now work as the teacher-director at Babinda Community Kindergarten in addition to relief teaching in the primary schools around the southern suburbs. I also review playgrounds and advocate for Cairns, especially South Cairns, to be a more child and family friendly place on my Instagram:  ateachermummy. Last year I was nominated as a South Cairns Community Champion alongside several other young (and young at heart!) leaders on the southside and I’m really excited about the possibilities for the future of this region.