Learning from the mighty matriarchs of the animal kingdom

Erna Walraven was one of the first female zookeepers to work at Sydney's Taronga Zoo in the 1980s. Despite practical jokes from her male colleagues, like animal dung in her gumboots, Erna kept her nerve.

She was born in The Netherlands, to parents who were involved in the Dutch resistance during World War II.

Erna's love of languages took her to Spain, where she lived for many years with her widowed sister and young nephew.

Erna met a penniless Australian backpacker and fell in love, settling in Sydney.

For her interview at Taronga Zoo, Erna borrowed a dress and was asked to lift 50kg bags of animal feed — a task the managers did not expect her to manage.

Erna's memoir Hear Me Roar is published by Affirm Press.

This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The executive producer of Conversations is Nicola Harrison. This interview was presented by Sarah Kanowski.