By Melissa Walsh Photos: Yanni
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he’s petite, she’s bright and bubbly, with a flash of blue hair and an eclectic fashion style that screams individuality. She’s travelled the world, run her own fashion business, been in the corporate sector and finally found her home on the Mornington Peninsula, as an RPPfm radio presenter and feature writer. Debra Mar leaves an impression wherever she goes, the five foot pocket rocket with a smile that lights up a room, and a voice that sets people at ease on her popular Tuesday morning radio show, The Breakfast Table. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for flamboyant Debra, whose journey has been quite an adventure. “My husband and I came down to the peninsula four years ago, after having lived in the city. Having a holiday house in Rye, we had always thought it would be great to retire here, but didn’t expect it to be this soon,” says the 54 year old. “When my fashion business collapsed, Paul and I decided to head down here for a sea change. We literally sold up everything and bought a house in Mt Martha, an area that I had always loved.” Growing up in Kyabram on a dairy farm, Debra knew she had to break free and, at the tender age of 18, emancipated herself to the city.
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20 | PENINSULA
Spring 2015
“I was always different and marched to the beat of my own drum. After my father died of a brain tumor when I was young, being the oldest of three siblings, I had to take charge and help my mum out when she had to return to work as a nurse. But I couldn’t wait to get out of the country and travelled to the UK, worked in the corporate world, backpacked around Europe, lived in Hong Kong, then decided to come back here,” says Debra who learnt that she has an aversion to mediocrity and laziness which inspired her to be a little different. “At the magic age of 40, I started reevaluating my life. I always had my own style and wanted to create my own clothes, so took myself off to do a Bachelor of Arts in fashion and textiles at RMIT, and after three years started my own business,” says the ever-quirky Debra. In a twist of serendipity, with the business collapsing and the move to the peninsula, Debra found herself with no direction for the first time. “I had always been very focused and driven with my career and was now revisiting myself and working out what I wanted to do. When we moved here the enormity of it hit us though. The first thing I did was go to the Community One and pick