Death of Laura Isobel Tourle

Mrs DAWN FARDELL (Dubbo) [12.53 p.m.]: Today I refer to the wonderful Laura Isobel Tourle, who was born on 23 August 1922, and passed away on 30 March 2008. But first I will provide a brief history of The Springs. Arthur Campbell Baird came from Scotland in 1937 with his wife Isabel Kennedy Baird and young son Thomas. They travelled via Bathurst, where their daughter Kennedy Macintosh Baird was born in November 1838. David Donald Baird was born in May 1841 at The Meadows in the Dubbo district where A. C. Baird was working as overseer for a gentleman by the name of David Donald.

The Springs was an outstation of The Meadows. In 1846, 200 acres of The Springs run were secured by A. C. Baird and by 1857 he had built the main homestead, which remains on that land. In January 1853 A. C. and I. K. Baird and D. Donald went into a partnership for 10 years, which involved several stations, including The Springs. David Donald died in 1861, thus terminating the partnership, and Baird instructed Richardson and Wrench to sell all the stations and stock. The Springs was not sold, and became the nucleus for Baird's pastoral and grazing activities. Thomas Baird purchased Dundullimal in 1871 and it remained in the hands of his descendents until 1986 when the property was sold and the homestead block was donated to the National Trust, and it is exhibited there on the Obley Road near the Dubbo Zoo.

Kennedy Baird was a skilful artist and some of her paintings and sketches remain to this day. She died when she was 21. David married Jane Strahorn at Wandoo Wandong on 7 January 1867, and at the time of his father's death in 1881 David Baird took over the running of The Springs. They had 13 children. Today the families included in the ownership of The Springs are the Tourles, Lanes and MacCullochs. Now I turn to my lovely friend, Laura. Her nephew Scott Tourle said at her funeral that many of us have fond memories of the first generation of the aunts and uncles of The Springs, but no more than the second generation of the aunts, Jess and Laura Tourle. He said:

Aunt Jess and Aunt Laura have been a great team, a partnership, a mateship which so sadly has been broken. Aunt Laura would never say a bad word about anybody—

The only person she said a bad word about was Bob Hawke—

Aunt Laura was born in Dubbo on 23 August 1922, the daughter of Thomas Tourle and Violet Rose She was the youngest of three children with aunt Jess being the eldest and then my father Tom Tourle who passed away in 1992.

The parents ran a boys boarding house—

Aunt Laura attended Dubbo Primary School then Dubbo High.

Laura and Jess were successful champions in sport—

School was a happy time of her life and holidays were spent at The Springs with all the old aunts and uncles—

and their good friend, Jeanie Webb—

Aunt Laura left school in 1938—16 years old—when she and Aunt Jess went to Sydney for further education. They stayed at the YWCA in Kirribilli and Aunt Jess took cooking lessons and Aunt Laura learnt shorthand and typing In 1939 the manager of the Commonwealth Bank in Dubbo, Mr Thompson, offered Aunt Laura a job—

She stayed at the bank for all her working life. On Wednesday 1 April I received a phone call advising of Laura's passing and I was terribly upset. Laura was the first person in Dubbo to befriend me and the first home I went to was her house in Cadell Street where I enjoyed Jess's caramel tarts and pavlovas. Laura also taught me how to drink whiskey—I learnt well and have continued that education—and together with Jess, Laura, Joan and Jim Scott on a Sunday winter's day Jim would place rings on the tails of the lambs, which was a new experience for a city girl like me, and Laura poured the scotch.

Last week in Parliament at 6.00 p.m. I toasted her. In 1950 the aunts built their home at Cadell Street where they lived until now. In 1955 they went to London and in 1956 to the Olympics. Laura loved The Springs, the land, the home and the people. She had fond memories of riding through the hills, and she loved the smell of gum leaves. She also loved people. She could not go down the street without striking up a conversation. She also enjoyed reading the Sydney Morning Herald and The Land front to back, and was a great royalist. She was a great teacher of good manners. She loved her many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews. She never lost her sense of humour. Two weeks ago she went to the doctor and when she returned home she was asked "How was the doctor?" She said, "I think she was quite well."

Laura had a wonderful life. Her grand niece, Kennedy, spoke beautifully in the eulogy. She remembered one of her many sleepovers when she was 10 years old and she learnt to recite My Country by Dorothea Mackellar, which she also recited at the funeral. Flora O'Dea and I worked with Laura at the Commonwealth Bank. Flora said that Laura was the finest person she had ever known. On her second day at the bank Flora asked Laura, "When do you know everything?" Laura said "You never know everything—you are learning all your life". Laura was Flora's bridesmaid. Vianne Tourle was the last speaker at the eulogy. In the last few days of her life Laura was known to read the words of Reverend Gordon Powell and Norman Peale. Vianne said that on the Saturday before her passing Laura raised her wine glass with the private hospital staff and offered, "Here's cheers!" A few hours later Laura died peacefully. The family believe she did, as they said, "Go gentle into that good night."

Ms TANYA GADIEL (Parramatta—Parliamentary Secretary) [12.58 p.m.]: I thank the member for Dubbo for her beautiful dedication to Laura. I offer our condolences to Laura's family. It sounds as though Laura was a fantastic woman who will be missed by all.