SUE Gardner was born in Melbourne to Philip and Jean Dietrich on November 23, 1939. Sue attended Tintern College and then trained as a nurse at the Alfred Hospital. She married Peter Gardner in 1962 living in Melbourne, Tamworth, Armidale, Sydney, Hay before moving to Mansfield in 2007. Sue was an active member of the community wherever she lived, bringing ideas, laughter and a very strong work ethic of getting things done to all the community organisations she was a member of - which was many. Legacy and history were a prime focus for Sue. In Mansfield Sue was involved with Melbourne Legacy through the Alexandra, Mansfield, Yea group which was established by her father Philip Dietrich. She served as secretary for the Mansfield Historical Society (MHS) for a number of years, managing “The Station” (home of the society), cataloguing and preserving many of the collections as well as curating exhibitions and displays. In 2022 Sue was honoured with a life membership of the MHS for her service. She was active in the Anglican community with Chop and Chat, Night Owls, and fundraising for local projects with numerous afternoon tea soirees and catering, fetes and stalls. At Sue’s memorial service MHS president, Graeme Stoney spoke of her role in the organisation. “The first time I heard of Sue Gardner was in the middle of the 2006/07 bushfires,” Mr Stoney said. Sue and Peter were at Gardner’s Hut, four mile on the Howqua, the place they had spent their honeymoon and which was very dear to them. They had been doing a hut clean up after the main bushfires had passed through, and deciding to leave, found they could not get out of the valley as the fires flared and the Howqua Track was suddenly closed. By evening the fires had died down again and the Howqua Track was open enough for the party to get back to Mansfield. As Sue and Peter were interested in history, Mr Stoney invited them to join the historical society and after talking with them realised that Sue, in particular, had extraordinary qualities. “Sue was forthright in her manner, scathing of shonky people and proposals, empathetic to a fault and a brilliant organiser of people and events,” Mr Stoney said. “They came on board at the historical society just as improvements to structures were underway and the organisation was becoming more business-like. “Between Peter and Sue they carried a huge load at times; and I should point out right up until now. “Their contribution is one which the society will be always grateful for.” With Sue, there were fundraising efforts, The Station management to organise, volunteer rosters to arrange, letters to write and many new ideas to discuss. “She was in the thick of it and woe betides if anyone wasn’t’ pulling their weight,” Mr Stoney said. “We were moving towards building a museum which will happen next year and unfortunately Sue won’t see that project come to fruition.” “I think the best tributes and marks of respect often comes spontaneously from the grass roots of any group – when Sue passed away our minute secretary Gerry Allan sent out the following message: ‘We all knew and valued Sue as an energetic and imaginative MHS committee member, who reliably organised so many of the society’s events over the years. We particularly honour with gratitude the effective and generous manner in which she fulfilled the secretary role over a number of years. Vale Sue, and thank you for the gift of yourself.’ “Life member Sue Gardner will be sadly missed by the historical society and Mansfield is poorer for her passing,” Mr Stoney concluded. Previous to coming to Mansfield, in Hay (NSW), Sue was a very active member of the local community regularly getting involved in fundraising and activities to support local endeavours, including Bishops Lodge, Hay Historical Gaol, The Dunera Boys Reunion, Sturt Sesqui Centenary, Shear Outback, Legacy, Hay Tennis Club, Hay Pre-School, Spinners and Weavers, Riverina Women’s Club and Rotary. Sue served on the board of the Hay Hospital for a number of terms; was also on the Diocessan Council for the Riverina with the Anglican Church and awarded Citizen of the Year and Volunteer of the Year by the Hay Shire Council for her commitment and service to the local community. Sue and Peter also built and operated The Tram Stop in the main street of Hay, an arts, crafts outlet and after the Tram Stop closed they opened a Harvey World Travel Agency.
