She was born on this day 90 years ago in 1918 on Good Friday and died on Easter Sunday 2008.

She spent her early years with her brother Jack on Ocean Island where her father was the harbour Master, on Moreton Island at the Light House and then settled at Southport on what we now call ‘The Gold Coast’.

She had lost her mother as a child. After graduating from Teachers’ College in Brisbane she taught at various schools, some as the one teacher Headmistress until she met and married dad and had to resign as were the regulations of the time. They lived in Dirranbandi.

During the war she followed dad around various RAAF Airfields and finally in 1945/46 they settled in Goondiwindi and our family took root first in the ‘Old House’ in Moffatt Street then at 20 Marshall Street, phone number 487.

Mum never lost her dream to be near the beach and realised this through her search for her ‘Thousand Pounder’.

Her unit, The ‘Inkspot’ at Southport, which we all shared over the years – one of dad’s good ideas!

It became their home away from home until dad died and mum came home to Callandoon Street, Goondiwindi and the selfless care of Jan and Rod and their families. Recently Mum was a resident in ‘Kaloma’, which she named. She was very contented there and was full of praise for the wonderful care she received from the staff.

In the film, Billy Elliot, a young boy from a rough, tough mining family wants to become a ballet dancer. His dance teacher, Mrs Wilkinson, wanting to gain an understanding of his character asks him to show her a number of items which he most values. Amongst them is a letter written to Billy by his mother before she died. Mrs Wilkinson reads the letter. The letter portrays a loving, thoughtful, courageous and inspirational woman determined not to be restricted by her circumstances.

Mrs Wilkinson looks up from the letter and says “She must have been a most extraordinary lady, Billy”. Billy looks up a little nonplussed and replies, “She was just my mum”. Janet, Carol and Rodney would recognize our mother in this exchange.

BB dared to be different and in the 1940’s, 1950’s, and 1960’s in Goondiwindi that took some courage. She wore slacks up the main street. She rode a purple bicycle. She taught us to swim in the river down the lane. She wrote books, A Town Like Gundy and Mermaids Maybe.

She was mates with Robbie our neighbour, the ‘pretty kid’ Uncle Bill O’Leary and Crusoe Robinson who kept her supplied in clandestine roll your own ‘but you lick it Missus’ cigarettes. Betty Bell’s heart and home were always open especially if you were interesting or wounded or daring to be different.

She was always writing poetry which The Bulletin and The Courier Mail sometimes published.

She acted in Dramatic Society productions with Joan Lee and kissed a bloke on stage.

She was a lance-correspondent for the Courier Mail and the ABC so whenever anything too big for a country town happened she was there notebook and biro in hand ready to let Australia know about it from her typewriter on the front verandah or the microphone/telephone hook up in the lounge room. Floods and droughts got equal time with her.

She spoke on 2VM Moree and on 4WK Warwick once a week. The voice of Gundy!

She had her own column in The Argus. Eventually she was the Editor of The Argus. Around each of these are a million stories we will always cherish and share.

We were all immensely proud of her and, as each of her ventures proved a success, dad too was pleased that she had taken his advice to do so.

Mum believed in education – she had been a teacher; she loved words and literature and music – almost as much as she hated cooking and housework and racehorses.

The house was full of books; art, novels, poetry, plays and encyclopaedias.

We had a gramophone and many records 45’s, 78’s and LP’s. Our home was filled with music.

Sometimes it was her own renditions on the piano or the mandolin or the ukulele or tea chest base.

Knowledge of the words was never a problem for BB, she made up her own and we all believed that they were the real lyrics.

She even translated from the Italian Verdi’s Woman is Fickle, from the Opera Rigoletto, about the false nature of women to the far more appealing Ice Creams are cheap today, cheaper than yesterday, two bob and half a crown, buys one for all the town, come to Boggabilla, chocolate and vanilla. Come to Bogga hey, for ice creams today! Diddle dee diddlee dee, diddlee dit dit dit dee.

She loved and understood the music if not the lyrics and wanted us to share it with her. That locked that marvellous piece of music in our heads and hearts. We could read before we went to school where I arrived with a love of poetry.

We all went to boarding school, (Carol and I never really came back while Jan and Rod never really left). She must have missed us all greatly because she so enjoyed her children.

Mum was a great communicator whether by phone or letter.

We loved her letters at boarding school often written on copy paper after bedding down the Argus. They often contained a cheque for 10 shillings – a fortune in the 1960s. Sometimes a letter closed with her formal signature and the cheque was signed ‘Mum’.

She was half of a wonderfully balanced pair of parents. She and dad together gave us such a start in life. Nothing was too much trouble.