Hailing from Ghana, Dorinda Hafner arrived as a young mother of two, escaping the gloom of London, where she’d trained as a nurse and optician.
“I like the light. It’s a bizarre cliché but the light, I like airy places. We came from England where it could be dark for three months at a time sometimes,” said Hafner.
“Suddenly this bright light, this wonderful environment. And it looked modern, it looked like a young country going places to me and I wanted to be part of that.”
She was amazed by the quietness of her new home town – Adelaide – a city where she knew of only three other Africans.
Despite impeccable vowels honed in the British hospital system, she still encountered communication challenges.
“People used to taaalllk to you liiike thiiiis, just in case you didn’t speak English,” she said.
“Now I was very amused because the funny thing was I would address people in English and then they would proceed to talk to me slowwwly and I would think which language did I just speak to you in? You know, hello?!“
It was when racism was directed towards Hafner’s children at school that she realised she could play a role in shaping a progressive and inclusive Australia. She developed a food and culture initiative for schools that proved so popular that soon parents were booking Dorinda for dinner parties in their homes. “Cuisine Africaine” with its exotic food, and even more exotic music and dress-ups became so popular she soon had a two year waiting list and no time for her family - that’s when she hit upon another solution.
“So I decided to write a program to take to SBS to see if I could get it on television – then I would have a set time of filming and the rest of the time would be mine with my family… and that’s how it all started.
In fact, it was the start of an international showbiz career.
“And then channel 4 London picked it up …PBS in the United States picked it up as well, so I just went from a little old Adelaide housewife to this person on international television in 48 countries. And I then thought I better write to book to go with it and so then my first book “a taste of Africa became a wonderful success, thank God!”
A woman of multiple talents, this nurse, optician, entertainer, TV chef, and award winning author has never been one to rest on her laurels. She more recently qualified as a marriage celebrant who introduces ceremonies in some 15 languages.
“Just because I look African doesn’t mean that I’m not Australian and doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate and pay homage and respect to my fellow Italian Australians – Benvenuto Signor e signora; or my Greek Australians, you know, Kalimera! It’s wonderful. Or Hungarian, Fogadtatas! It’s beautiful!! I love it, and it’s a positive, lovely warm way of paying respect to my fellow multicultural Australians.”
It’s a notion that underpins all that she does – the need for acceptance and understanding.
“It is not a crime to be different but it’s a crime to think somebody else has no right to be who they are, that they have to be entirely like you. Our differences are to be celebrated. They are to be shared and enjoyed. And that does worry me, it really does worry me a lot. And oh, I’m worried that Australia’s ceasing to be a safe haven. That is of serious concern.”
Reflecting on Australia Day, Dorinda Hafner thinks the nation’s come a long way - but must remain vigilant against rogue elements that would undermine harmony.
“And it worries me because in the light of current politics, international politics and what’s happening this is the time we should stick together more,” she said.
“We need to really be attached to each other like Siamese twins. We should be more cohesive. We should be Australians first and everything else second because that’s the colour, to use a food term, that’s the flavourings that we bring to the dish, which will make Australia as a dish very tasty.’
