‘Reinvent yourself’: The Castle Hill resident constantly finding a new self 

After decades as a scientist and businesswoman, Ercilia never thought that one day, her new passion would be found in the unlikeliest of places – the garden.  

Ercilia never picked up a garden tool up until she moved to Castle Hill Village eight years ago and since then, she’s embraced it not only as a hobby but as a way to stay active.  

“As a young woman, I never gardened,” she says. “I picked up gardening here. At first, I wasn’t sure, but now I understand what I’m doing, and that’s the main thing.”  

For Ercilia, moving into a retirement home has helped her discover a new version herself, learning new skills, forming friendships, and living with a purpose.  

“Gardens are good for anyone,” she says. “You come here, and you reinvent yourself. You learn, you grow, and you enjoy.”  

Moving to Australia from Chile in her early twenties, Ercilia knew first-hand what it was like to start anew. 

“I spoke technical English when I arrived," she says. "I was able to read English books ... and learned talking to people.” 

One day, Ercilia saw an ad in the paper looking for a person to work in the laboratories and with her limited English, a degree in Chemistry from Chile, she applied. 

"I had to ask someone to write it for me, but I said that chemistry is the same all over the world, please give me a chance. 

“I went with the paper to the interview and the guy realized I didn’t speak English. He read the paper, and he said, ‘I don’t know if you’re good in chemistry, but you got a lot of initiative, so I’ll give you a chance’. 

“Forty-three years later, I left and retired.” 

If anyone thought she was slowing down after that, they were mistaken. Ercilia laced up her boots and set off to walk across Europe with her friend Richard. 

They walked the Camino de Santiago which crosses Spain and France, covering about 340 kilometres. They walked for 31 days, covering an average of about 27 kilometers per day. 

All up, they’ve walked across Germany to Switzerland, over the Alps, and Rome. 

“I was around 67 and 68 at that point,” she says. “We’d walk from one point to the other, that’d take us about three months, return to Australia, then go back for another three months to walk.” 

Now at 80 years old, Ercilia shows that there is no time to waste. If she’s not volunteering at the local hospital, she’s in the garden. 

“People assume when you’re older, you don’t know, you don’t understand. But here [in the garden], we all have experiences that matter,” she says. 

“I never gardened as a young woman. It was when I retired that I took it up, and I enjoy it. When you come to the garden, you relax, you do something productive, and your big problems become normal-sized problems.” 

For Ercilia, the garden isn’t just a pastime — it’s a reminder that growth doesn’t stop with age, it simply takes root in new places. 

“The day goes by so quickly when you’re in the garden. You wake up, you work, and before you know it, it’s another beautiful day.”