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Prudence Parker
A WOMAN OF COURAGE by Chrissi Webb Born in Brisbane and attending school in Queensland, she and her mother and brother moved to Sydney’s northern suburb of Wahroonga when she was a teenager. On completing her education, Pru was a legal secretary in the heart of Sydney and then worked for the Design Director of Lend Lease which owned Thredbo at that time. When she expressed a wish to work in Thredbo, only the location of her work and position would alter – not the employer and she wanted to surprise her current boy friend “in the snow”. Pru had already fallen in love with the winter wonderland of the Snowy Mountains having experienced its magic in Perisher Valley during the heavy snowfall depth of 1964 and on another winter holiday in 1968. At the beginning of the 1970 season, the redhaired “mod” young Pru began her Thredbo life as a receptionist in the Thredbo Alpine Hotel and waited for the arrival of the boy friend. After waiting for him for two weeks and going to bed early, enough was enough. The party loving, very bright Pru dressed in a white satin pant suit, together with another girl from reception, headed for the Keller. There, amongst the interesting looking men, was the debonair Austrian Max Parker, who was working for Fleets at the time. Within two weeks they were engaged, and the wedding bells rang for them in October of the same year. Pru’s career in hospitality began in earnest when she moved into Twynam Lodge where Max was the caretaker. With Max now working full time as a ski instructor, Pru took over the role of caretaker. It was a far cry for her life in Sydney where she went dancing, attended balls, enjoyed fine dining and led a very social life. At Twynam Lodge, it was her job to manage the running of the apartments as the sole employee, cleaning the apartments, managing guests and answering to the wealthy family which still own the lodge whilst Max attended to his many interests – a major one being golf. For seven years, Pru’s summers were spent waitressing and working for Sasha Nekvapil and various other Thredbo lodges. During winters she was fully occupied at Twynam Lodge. A couple of years later, their daughter Simone or “Simi” arrived. Max and Pru (and Simi) lived in the Twynam caretaker’s apartment from 1970 until 1978. With the need for accommodation security and the possible change in the structure of Twynam management, Pru and Max began to look for a property outside the National Park. In 1976 they purchased a hilly, timbered block just off the Alpine from real estate developer George Hilder who was selling land at Wollondibby which once belonged to the original settlers of the area – the McEvoy family. All the materials were purchased by Pru’s mother and were placed on the land and Max (with Pru as labourer,) built the original home.. They all agreed that the name “Bimblegumbie” would be the name of their new home. Max became the caretaker of the Golden Eagle Lodge in Thredbo and Pru and daughter Simi, moved to Bimblegumbie. She and Max divorced a few years later and remained good friends thereafter. In the autumn of 1978, Pru was going to leave the area for a position at Lend Lease in Canberra and, at the 11th hour, was offered a job again in the Thredbo Alpine Hotel as the Reservationist. One young man kept calling, seeking the scarce accommodation in the resort, and finally Pru jokingly said “You can stay at my place! Just
In 1976, when Thredbo residents Prudence Parker and her husband Max (together with Pru’s mother, Jean MacDonald), purchased a bush block just off the Alpine Way at Wollondibby on the way to Thredbo, little did she realise that for the next 39 years, she would be sharing her home with people by providing them with “bed and breakfast” as well as choices of self contained accommodation.
lightning strikes in Victoria. Pru remembered It was only at 7.46 at night, that they could “They closed the Alpine Way a week before the breathe again and know they had won against fire got us” They evacuated Thredbo and wanted the forces of nature. The Wollondibby Bushfire everybody on the Alpine Way to evacuate, and Brigade were unable to assist them because this was the day before the Canberra fires, which Bimblegumbie stands at the end of the access was a totally different fire. My daughter had road. The bushfire brigade protected Crackenback come home and packed “So for a week we waited …with the Thredbo the car up with photos, Farm. On the neighbouring property, Sashas (which has made it very (belonging to Spike Milliken …he was fighting Alpine Way closed. Our neighbour Jim Chappell hard for me to find photos the fire in another direction and his family had rang us and said ‘The fire is coming.’ after that) and other things evacuated. The three Bimblegumbie fire fighters of emotional value and took worked to stop the fire from going across their Pru related “That was the start…in the winter them back to Canberra, whereupon her street access road to get to Spike’s house which is very close. Eventually someone came back in time of 1978. Over the years, at the end of every was burning at the same time!! “So for a week we waited …with the Thredbo to put out the fire that was close to the Milliken winter we had a little bit of money so we built something, or improved something, or changed Alpine Way closed. Our neighbour Jim Chappell home. Because of being built on the ridgeline, something. It was all bed and breakfast to rang us and said ‘The fire is coming.’ You could Pru found out after the fires, that her house was start with. It started off quite small and then, see it coming because it had blown over the in a perfect position to be affected by a fire!! Whilst there is little evidence today of the 2003 organically, the unique spaces grew. My mother little saddle in the hill. So there was Craig and and my daughter, until my daughter went to myself and Satoshi (a 18 year old Japanese Australia Day fire assault on Bimblegumbie, Pru boarding school, moved from one room to Woofer (Willing Worker on Organic Farm). We says that if you look at the regrowth, the wattles another during winter, which was a little bit hard, were ready. We were dressed in overalls and and the gum trees are all around the same height but it worked. “ Although a professional interior decorator, Jean cooked dinners at night for guests. She was a very good cook, self taught and she prepared delicious and very healthy food. She cured herself of breast cancer, and in so doing changed her diet and Bimblegumbie guests never ate any foods that were not healthy, although Pru did not let them know it!! The guests ate meals containing lots of vegetables, nothing with too much sugar in it at all, all homemade, no preservatives, no greasy food at all. Pru described it as just really good yummy healthy delicious country food with a lot of flavour. When it became Pru’s turn to take over the role of cook of the house, she had big shoes to fill!! After quite a few years, Pru does not cook for guests on a commercial basis anymore. Jean, passionately, started the garden immediately in 1977. The whole planning for the property, was to have the buildings and garden sit snugly into nature, using compost as well as permaculture principles. Pru Parker and her dog, Millie. Pru went on to say “We were in drought for twenty years or more so that taught you a lot, the hardship of no water. My mother hats and with fire hoses ready. Satoshi had and they are much denser. She believes if they grew a lot of herbs. She was very clever and refused to leave and stayed to help. We each have a fire now, it will be harder, but Craig spends kept geraniums flowering colourfully all year in had a fire hose. Those fire hoses had been laid many, many days and hours, raking and clearing the glassroom overlooking the valley. Now the in the ground when we built the little house over the main part around the house and the buildings. main part of my extensive very colourful glass there and we took the opportunity to lay the fire Whilst it had been done before the 2003 fire collection, is my interpretation of my Mum’s fighting system down in the ground just in case because it was very dry, there was less to clear then than there is now. geraniums! My mother was driven, a driving we ever needed it.” Today, summers see Pru walking for an hour To fight any fires, Bimblegumbie had force! She was very driven by the property, by designated three 5,000 gallon tanks for fire with her dog Millie on the mountain behind the guests and had high standards! Pru left the Thredbo Alpine Hotel and fighting, just in case… Pru continued “The fire her house amongst the regenerated forest, commenced working at Bernti’s Lodge, assisting was coming. It came down the hill and I saw and guests delighting in the relaxed ambience Tricia Hecher during the expansion of Berntis it land in the bush close by and I told Craig to of Bimblegumbie with its beautiful gardens Lodge. Pru worked at Berntis for a few years and quickly ‘Go and put it out!’ and of course it was surrounded by black Sallee trees, Eucalypts and Tricia remains a close friend. After Bernti’s, Pru very funny, because we realised quickly that it Acacias. When asked by the Snowpost would she like then worked full time at Bimblegumbie as the was only the tip of the iceberg. After that the whole place went up. It did take a few hours. to add anything to her story she added: “Yes, business became busier and busier. In 1996, Craig Clarkson came to work at We fought the fire. It blew over the road and I would like to add that Thredbo has been an Bimblegumbie and Jean was much relieved that came back up the hill. It came down the hill. The absolute major part of my life. Yes a major part he was absolutely passionate about gardening steep corner on the Alpine Way here stopped it of my life. Some of the best evenings and times and quite artistic too. Her garden would not from going to Sasha’s Farm, but it came straight I have ever experienced were in the Keller and die now!! Craig has continued to develop and back at us. So after a couple of hours we were running around the village from lodge to lodge, maintain the Bimblegumbie property for the totally surrounded. All the buildings were totally wishing people “Happy New Year!” The original last twenty years. He has molded the garden surrounded but we were very lucky, we had the owners of the lodges in Thredbo – the Europeans and dealt with water issues, no water issues, fire hoses and there were three of us. Yes, we – were absolutely wonderful. I do miss the Europeans in the village. They brought a certain permaculture, and the bush fire when it was were very lucky.” From 4.15 pm until 7.45 pm on Australia Day fascination and interest that Australians can only totally burnt out. In December 2002 the bushfires started from in 2003, Pru, Craig and Satoshi battled the blaze. benefit from. Yes, I was a Thredbo Girl.” down the road!” Her mother, Jean MacDonald was a little dismayed when Pru arrived home and told her she had booked her room out. That was the beginning of Bimblegumbie, but the young man brought friends back the next weekend and then they brought friends back.