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 Lorraine Doctor has been a full-time member of the team at the Jilkminggan store since it re-opened under Outback Stores’ management in July, 2008. After working side-by-side with managers Adam Gooley and Kate Deacon to transform the building from an uninhabitable shed to a busy, well-stocked shop, she shares a great sense of pride in what has been achieved there so far.
“I thought, ‘the shelves are full!’ Lots of the good foods to make people healthy,” Lorraine said as she explained how she felt when she saw the result of their work. “It’s really good now, people like it because for the first time they’ve got all the good foods, all the good things. “They like this place, they like the store here.”
Before joining Outback Stores, Lorraine worked in the store at Manyallaluk, in child care and as a tour guide. She has studied with Charles Darwin University and has certificates of attainment in Hospitality (Kitchen Operations) and Community Services Support Work.
As the shop assistant at Jilkminggan store, Lorraine keeps herself very busy looking after the cleaning, restocking of shelves (“stack ‘em up”), keeping the grounds neat and tidy and helping with the unloading of the trucks. She is also invaluable to Kate and Adam in the way she helps them communicate effectively with members of the community.
“Often we can find the Kriol spoken by the people in Jilkminggan difficult to understand and Lorraine is always able to 'translate' for us so that we can help everyone,’’ Kate said. “She is also wonderful with the kids, helping them to get whatever it is they are after because quite often, they are too shy to speak to Adam or I. Initially, it was also wonderful to have someone who knew everyone‘s name. She is a great source of information about the community and its people.”
Lorraine loves her job and was so keen to work for Outback Stores she spent hours out the front of the shop raking the yard when Kate and Adam arrived, before she had even met them. “We didn’t even know she was there,” Kate said.
These days she takes great pride in keeping the little shed that is the Jilkminggan shop neat and tidy and making sure the shelves are full.
“My favourite jobs are cleaning and putting food on the shelves,” she said. “I like stacking everything up for the people to have. It’s a good job, it’s a good idea to work here.”
* Lorraine was born and spent her young life at Roper Valley Station near Hudson Down. She went to school in Numbulwah and lived there and on Groote Eyelandt before moving to Jilkminggan “a long time ago” to look for work. Lorraine found jobs in the crèche, looking after old people and at the chook farm, where she met her husband Mycombe Daylight. She has no children of her own but is “Aunty Mum to lots of kids”.
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