By Shamsiya Hussainpoor
A beloved Kallista member Venetia Barnard died a week before her 90th birthday, her community and loved ones are getting together to celebrate the spirited and ambitious soul that she was, with a memorial service on Saturday 19 October at 1pm at the Kallista Mechanics Hall – all are welcome to celebrate Venetia’s life a truly unique Hills identity.
Ms Barnard’s daughter Donna Parker said her late mother dedicated herself to numerous volunteer efforts and was actively involved with the Council.
“We are celebrating her legacy in our local community because she was deeply community-minded and would always move to improve the lives of those around her,” Ms Parker said.
“She applied to join the Council and consistently attended meetings, engaging in the public question sessions to advocate for her community – because she strongly believed in the power of change.”
She was actively involved in numerous community organisations, including Belgrave’s Puffing Billy where she managed and ran the shops in Belgrave, Lakeside and Gembrook as well as working in The Packing Shed for the night train.
She was also an active member of Kallista, and The Patch fire brigades, as well as member of the wine club, the film society, the chamber of commerce, local council, and the trader’s association.
A passionate member of the community, Traders association, Chamber of Commerce, Local Council, Champion of the Australia Party and Australian Democrats, Venetia believed and participated in active change.
90 years is a long time, nearly a century and Ms Barnard made full use of her allotted time.
Born in Manchester to a fireman and trade union organiser father and a full-time war effort worker mother, she was raised by her maternal grandmother- especially during the war years.
These early years were to imprint a legacy of hard work, thrift and community spirt into her DNA.
When Venetia settled in Kallista with her four children in the 1960s, her entrepreneurial spirit truly blossomed.
She opened health food shops in Ferntree Gully, Belgrave, and Monbulk, pioneering the bulk health food movement well ahead of her time – these businesses ultimately led to her passion project, The Belgrave Wool Shop, which became her final business.
In retirement with her partner Carl, she did markets and home preserves, ran the Kallista Mechanics Hall.
Ms Parker describes her mother as a strong and tenacious woman—nothing could get past her.
“As her daughter, I can tell you that my childhood was quite lively, to say the least, she always knew what she wanted and never backed down from a challenge,” she said.
Her advice to Ms Parker was to always ask questions – don’t just believe what other people say, find out things for yourself.
“She always told me, ‘don’t believe anyone until you’ve spoken to the source, you might not like the answer, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep asking the question,’” Ms Parker said.
As a young mother, Ms Barnard wasn’t a traditional and nurturing type-mother rather she was fiercely independent, busy running health food shops and navigating life.
“In all honesty, she didn’t want to have kids initially, however, as I grew older, we became a lot closer because we could relate more,” Ms Parker said.
“She taught me invaluable lessons about finances, business, technology, and fashion, she taught me about how to see advantage and opportunities – and all these are really valuable gifts because she really did have my interests in at heart, and these lessons will stay with me forever.”
In the last couple of years, while struggling with dementia, which made communication difficult – despite this, Ms Parker recalls a beautiful moment that stood out to her and captured the essence of their bond.
“One day, I managed to coax her into the car for a drive, hoping that visiting familiar places would help jog her memory, after about an hour, we returned home, and she looked out the window and asked, ‘Who is that?’ I replied, ‘That’s Carl, your husband, and he loves you.’ Then I said, ‘I’m Donna, your daughter, and I love you.’ When I asked, ‘Who are you?’ she smiled and said, ‘I’m Venetia and I love you.’ I think that was one of the last moments when she was completely present,” she said.
On the home front Ms Barnard also demonstrated her entrepreneurial and thrifty spirit installing solar hot water and establishing a garden that was to feed both her and her husband, Carl for the rest of her days.
Self-sufficiency, reuse, reduce, recycle and re-purpose – she was into it all well before these actions were considered mainstream.
She was a wife to Carl Barnard, a mother to Melanie, Mark, Donna and Sally. Grandmother of six and great grandmother of 11. Spirited and feisty to the end – she was unforgettable once met.
The last time Ms Parker saw her mother was just three days before she passed away, in a nursing home.
“She gave me a very intense, focused stare, and in that moment, I felt she had made a decision – like she was saying, “I’m done now; I just want to go.”,” she said.
“I’ll miss her a lot, but I will try and keep her legacy alive – giving it ago.”
