But a lifelong love of swimming led the retired nurse back into the workforce when she took a part-time job as a lifeguard on Christchurch City Council’s aquatic team.
"When I came here from Manganui in the far north, I hadn’t worked for 13 years," Barb said.
"I knew hardly anyone and I’m not really a club person so I took up swimming again.
"I was training three or four times a week at Jellie Park and then one of the guys I swim with suggested I become a lifeguard and I thought: 'Wow, that’d be good'.
"So I went through the training programme and got in."
She now dons her yellow lifeguard top two days a week and heads to the Graham Condon Pool in Papanui with her walkie-talkie in hand and wearing her signature red and yellow earrings.
"I’m working with the most amazing people here.
"I enjoy coming to work for the socialisation, and it’s a really important job to watch people and make sure they’re safe in the pool.
"I leave at the end of the day feeling really good."
Barb said it takes concentration and physical fitness to be a lifeguard.
"Anything can happen. People might have diabetic problems, asthma, heart problems, if they stay in the spa pool too long they can faint, hit their head.
"And you’ve got to be so careful watching children that they don’t get too boisterous and hit their heads on the side of the pool or lose a child under the blow-up toys.
"You’ve got to have eyes everywhere."
"You do need to have a quiet word with people at times.”
But Barb says, overall, people are very respectful.
Barb was a competitive swimmer from a young age.
As a 16-year-old she held the national record for 100m backstroke and also represented New Zealand at water polo.
"Swimming’s what I do. Some people garden or bake - I swim.
"Being around water makes me feel good - it’s cathartic."
She works alongside people as young as 16 at Graham Condon but says she "can keep up with them".
Most mornings, Barb can be found training with her swimming team at Jellie Park.
They're all good swimmers aged 40-74. But Barb says it’s never too serious.
"We like to swim hard and play hard.
"We talk and laugh all the time."
It makes for an early start before her 5am-1.30pm shift on Fridays, but she’s a morning person.
"You’ve got to have a challenge in life, you’ve got to have a goal and for me working here has been a good goal.
"You’ve got to keep on growing. I’m going to Fiji in May next year with a team to do ocean swims over there and I’m really excited about that."
