LAKE Macquarie researcher and historian Dulcie Hartley has been remembered as a “very well read and well informed” woman, who cherished spending time with her family but was “not a typical grandmotherly type”.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mrs Hartley’s daughter Venessa McFarlane said her spirited mother had left school at 15, found her calling 40 years later in local history and pursued it with a passion, writing more than 15 books on the region’s people and places.
“When my dad retired he was not really interested in travel, so this become her outlet,” Mrs McFarlane said.
“In 1983 we started researching the family tree and she found my great great grandfather was Charles Henry Thomas, who was allotted a land grant at Hexham and named it Glendore.
“That awoke her passion for research and she wrote The Settlers of the Big Swamps.
“She loved the thrill of making new discoveries.”
Mrs Hartley was born on January 28, 1929, in Islington and moved as a toddler to the Fingal Bay dole camps, an experience that informed The Hungry Thirties.
She attended what was then known as Newcastle Central Domestic Science School, married at 18, became a mother and had two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Mrs Hartley was hospitalised a few days after her husband Jack died in February 2010 with what was later diagnosed as Guillain Barre Syndrome. She never regained full control of her feet.
“She’d be carrying a walking stick and I used to say to her ‘You can put it on the ground, you know’.
“She was very determined and tried to put on a very strong face.”
Mrs Hartley received a diagnosis of chronic leukaemia two years ago and chose to forgo treatment and concentrate on “ticking things off her list”.
She passed away aged 89 on February 20, after being told a fortnight earlier her leukaemia was acute.
“She caught up with good friends in the week before and wanted to see her grandson Scotty’s new house, so he brought the plans to the hospital.”
Mrs McFarlane said her family held a private service and brought a framed photo of Mrs Hartley to lunch on Tuesday.
“The other day I thought ‘I’ll have to ask Mum about that’, but now I can’t,” she said.
“She will most certainly be missed.”
Helen Gregory
Helen Gregory joined the Newcastle Herald in 2010. She is the masthead’s education reporter and has written for the H2 and Weekender sections, as well as across a range of issues. Helen is a Walkley Award winning journalist and was also part of the Newcastle Herald team that won the United Nations World Environment Day Media Award for Environmental Reporting.
Helen Gregory joined the Newcastle Herald in 2010. She is the masthead’s education reporter and has written for the H2 and Weekender sections, as well as across a range of issues. Helen is a Walkley Award winning journalist and was also part of the Newcastle Herald team that won the United Nations World Environment Day Media Award for Environmental Reporting.
