By Cameron Weston
HOBSONS Bay lost one of its most dedicated and treasured citizens recently with the death of Altona’s Nessie Hardy.
Mrs Hardy succumbed to a second bout of cancer on January 17 at the age of 70.
She was last week farewelled at a large funeral at Williamstown Town Hall, a service attended by local leaders of government and industry with whom she worked over many years for the betterment of the environment in Hobsons Bay.
Mrs Hardy earned the respect and admiration of people from many walks of life for her passion and dedication to local and environmental causes.
She was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for her service to the local community and environment.
She also served on community consultative groups, liaising with industry to ensure local residents and the environment were protected and was involved with the Friends of Cherry Lake, the Altona Groundwater Group, Hobsons Bay Interfaith Group, the Hobsons Bay Sustainable Transport Advisory Committee and Greenpeace.
Hobsons Bay mayor Leigh Hardinge described Mrs Hardy as a “passionate environmentalist and a lovely lady”.
“She had the ability to get her point across without ruffling too many feathers…and she was a good sounding board. You could go and talk to Nessie and really have a good yarn about things.
“She will be very sorely missed because she just seemed to have the right pearls of wisdom when they were required… She could always put up a very strong argument in debate.
“She was a quiet lady but a very passionate person about whatever causes she was involved with. I had a great deal of respect for Nessie.”
Another local environmental campaigner, Geoff Mitchelmore, who served alongside Mrs Hardy on several local environmental panels, described her as “a leader in many areas”.
“She was a wonderful person who will be very sadly missed. She was very knowledgeable and couldn’t do enough for anybody.”
Mrs Hardy is survived by three daughters Carolyne, Kathleen and Janette, and son James.