“When I finished university I realised I probably didn’t know enough about life,” she said of the new path she was about to take.

She now teaches history, and said the things she has seen in Europe, and in particular in Gallipoli, makes for more interesting lessons.

“Off the beaten track is always more interesting,” she said.

Also an English, SOSE, food and nutrition teacher, Karen is about to cast her net even wider, training for hospitality.

“My job has never gotten old, because I have done so many different things,” Karen said.

She has also taken on roles such as coordinator and Aboriginal education resource officer, but said she has no desire to leave the classroom and become a principal.

“You never know everything. Teachers are life-long learners,” she said, and it is that thirst for knowledge that will keep her in the classroom.

The history buff claims to get her outspoken nature from her ancestor Henry Kable, who came to Australia with the First Fleet.

“I’m very proud of my convict ancestry,” she said.

She proudly told of Kable’s run-in with the law in England, when he accompanied his father and uncle to steal a bolt of cloth. He was 14 years old at the time, and escaped the fate of his counterparts; a hanging.

Before boarding a convict ship and leaving his home country, Kable met Susanna Holmes in prison. She soon became pregnant. A woman, called Mrs Robinson, took pity on the young couple and before they were sent away, gave Kable a parcel.

Kable’s name went down in history when he launched the first civil action court case in the colony, against a soldier who had stolen the package.

The soldier was found guilty and Kable went on to be a wealthy man. He and his wife celebrated the birth of a daughter, the third baby born in the colony and the first child to reach maturity.

“I am a bit outspoken,” Karen said. “I think that is the Henry Kable coming out in me.”

But it isn’t only distinguished first fleeters who lurk in her family’s history.

She has a distant relation in the bushranger Frederick Ward, or as he was better known, Captain Thunderbolt.

The history-lover has delighted in learning about her ancestry, as well as showing her three sons, Thomas, Ben and Sam, “Thunderbolt Rock”, as well as many other landmarks relating to their heritage.

The Rohdes have traveled through three States together, including a journey through the captain’s old stomping

ground.

Throughout her life and all her travels, Karen has had a few health issues, like low blood pressure, that have tried to hold her back.

But it wasn’t until the end-of-year school holidays in 2004 that her health became a challenge.

After a barbecue with friends, Karen started to feel light-headed while tidying up.

“I have always been a fainter,” Karen said, which is why fainting on that day wasn’t so unusual.

It was after collapsing a few more times when a concerned John called an ambulance and his wife was taken to the Port Pirie hospital.

In emergency she was already starting to feel better, but the staff insisted that she stay overnight. After being under observation in a ward, she was moved to high dependency. She was hooked up to monitors and that was when doctors, and her worried husband, saw her flat-line.

Half of Karen’s heart had stopped beating, causing her to come in and out of consciousness. Her doctor made the decision to transfer to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, and she was taken by the Royal Flying Doctor Service that day.

“The care that I received from the Port Pirie hospital, the Flying Doctor and the Royal Adelaide Hospital was second-to-none,” she said.

John said: “Everyone was very supportive and professional.”.

The Rohdea’ neighbours also came to their aid, and packed all of John’s bags and looked after the boys.

Karen then had to make a big decision of her own – either give up her driver’s licence, or be fitted with a pacemaker.

She now has a pacemaker, and said, “it hasn’t been used very often”, as it is programmed to kick-in if her heart stops beating again.

“I will just tell my grandkids I am

bionic,” Karen said.