Mary Messina

Mary Messina was born in Castiglione di Sicilia, Italy, 1944 and ‎emigrated to North Queensland at the age of six. She married John ‎Messina in 1966, and they, together, have five children and ten ‎grandchildren. In her late thirties, she studied for a Bachelor of Arts ‎and Bachelor of Education before commencing teaching humanities ‎at a secondary college in 1986. On retirement, in 2005, she wrote ‎Tonia (2009) and Thorn in My Heart, A Sequel to Tonia (2012).‎