Vale Heather Linsdell

Heather Ewing Linsdell (nee Kerr) died peacefully at home on 11 February this year at the age of 93, surrounded by her family.

She was born in 1929 in Bacchus Marsh, living on a farm at Parwan South prior to moving to Bacchus Marsh following the death of her father when she was 13. She then lived with her mother and maternal extended family who ran the Gulline Store, which still stands on the corner of Sydney and Grant streets. The building now contains a number of businesses including The Local Taproom bar.

Heather lived for most of her 93 years in Bacchus Marsh and made a valuable contribution to the local community through her volunteer work. She ran an orchard with her husband John Linsdell for over 60 years, growing a wide variety of fruit and was also a qualified Registered Nurse and Midwife.

She loved her career as a nurse, and some of her fondest memories were of working in operating theatres with the surgeons Bertie Coates and Weary Dunlop, who were both prisoners of war and cared for other Australian prisoners on the notorious Burma-Thailand Railway.

She was also the sister-in-charge of the Surgical Ward during her time at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. In the early 1970s Heather returned to Nursing for a number of years working at the Peter McCallum Cancer Centre.

Heather volunteered for almost 80 years in the local community, starting when she was 13, serving afternoon tea at the RSL rooms for the Patriotic Guild with the purpose of raising money for the war effort.

With the war ending, the Patriotic Guild became the Ladies Auxiliary, whose focus was to raise funds to build a War Memorial Hospital in Bacchus Marsh which was built in 1954. Heather was one of the founding members of the Ladies Auxiliary and held various positions within the Auxiliary including President for 30 years, Treasurer for over 7 years and has been an active member of the group up until the beginning of COVID in 2020.

Heather served two terms on the Bacchus Marsh War Memorial Hospital Board, including holding the position of President of the Board and was made a life member of the Hospital. Her input was integral in seeing Grant Lodge Aged Care Residential facility and the hospital Urgent Care department being built for the benefit of the community.

Over the years the funds raised from the Ladies Auxiliary have gone towards important lifesaving equipment and furnishings within the hospital. Heather attended the Ladies Auxiliary meeting in 2022 to receive her recognition award for 60 years of service to the Auxiliary, and was nominated for 2022 Victorian Senior of the Year. She has also received other awards over the years including an Australia Day Citizen award in 2004.

She has been involved in many other groups in Bacchus Marsh including being a member of the founding committee of the Bacchus Marsh Pony club and being an active member of the local Toastmistress club.

Heather, whose husband John predeceased her in 2017, is sadly missed by her four children and eight grandchildren.