Berney family farewells Narrabri

The departure of Peter Berney and Julia Petzl-Berney with a move back to Armidale earlier this year was a loss for Narrabri and one that will be felt at the Country University Centre North-West and among friends and associates alike.

The couple arrived in Narrabri in January 2012 with their children Jessica, Ian, and Anneliese when Peter took up a position as regional ecologist with the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

With the two older children, Jessica and Ian attending Narrabri Public School, the family settled in well, apart from the shock of experiencing the heat of summer for the first time.

Having just moved from Armidale, and living in Hobart before that, the children in particular struggled with the new climate.

Another new experience was the 2012 flood.

Having never seen the Violet Street bridge before, the first viewing being completely submerged, Julia couldn’t quite believe there was a bridge under the torrent of water.

In those early days, Julia was taking maternity leave from the University of New England, and in later years began working remotely for UNE.

Working part-time from home can be isolating and the Narrabri Anglican Church playgroup was a social lifeline for Julia in those early days and was the catalyst for making new friends.

After resigning from UNE, Julia took up the position of social correspondent for the Narrabri Courier, which she really enjoyed.

“Working for The Courier was one of the most fun jobs I’ve ever had,” Julia said.

Julia then landed the role she was made for, Julia became the learning skills advisor at the newly-launched Country Universities Centre North West in Doyle Street.

In this role she combined her experience of teaching students with her passion for higher education and making education more accessible to rural and remote students.

These career moves were undertaken on a part-time basis so that Julia could spend more time with the children.

Peter and Julia quickly became part of the Narrabri community.

The children took up sports, including netball and soccer, with Ian eventually learning the ropes to become a soccer referee.

Ian also worked hard on his long distance running, and finally achieved his goal of competing in the NSW All Schools Cross Country Championships in 2022.

A familiar figure at the Narrabri Park Run in more recent years, Ian also plays the trumpet and has enjoyed many music camps over the years.

While Ian was busy with his pursuits, Jessica joined the 1st Narrabri West Scouts group, spending 10 years progressing as a cub, scout and finally a venturer.

She was awarded an Australian Scout Medallion in 2019, and Julia and Jessica travelled to Sydney with Scout leader Tom Kay to receive the award, which is the highest award a scout can achieve.

Jessica completed her schooling in Narrabri, graduating from Narrabri High School in 2021.

She is currently studying paramedicine at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie.

Anneliese, now 11 years of age, prefers not to participate in organised sport, and loves to draw and read instead.

She commenced piano lessons in Narrabri with her talent being nurtured by piano teacher Liz Martin Dickison.

Anneliese completed kindergarten to Year 5 studies at Narrabri Public School and enjoyed her time there very much.

Working part-time throughout these years left Julia plenty of time to volunteer and contribute to the community.

She was a dedicated member of the 1st Narrabri West Scout Committee for 10 years, as well as holding various roles with the Narrabri Public School P&C committee.

During this time Julia made many friends, had lots of fun and learned a lot about fundraising.

One of the highlights of this time was attending a scout camp where the scouts went caving at Timor Caves, Murrurundi.

Julia crawled around underground with the best of them, much to the surprise of the cave guide.

Julia even accomplished crawling through the famous squeeze known as ‘the flattener’ because it is so tight.

Adventurers have to enter on their backs, turn around in the middle where there is a little more room, and then slide out of the exit on their stomachs.

Jessica went through first, and informed Julia from the middle of the rock, “You’re never going to fit mum!”

But Jessica was proved wrong.

Julia became involved with a group of Narrabri residents who had had emigrated from other countries and needed assistance with building skills in the English language.

This group was hosted by Narrabri Public School until the COVID pandemic, and later the group moved their meetings to weekly at Thai Home Restaurant, thanks to Ming and Ken Gerdnoi.

Initially started up by local Narrabri Public School teacher Mrs Jill Jollow, the idea came about when in 2019 the two ladies noticed some new parents at the school who were feeling a bit lonely, and the concept has been going strong ever since.

Julia’s involvement with the group led her to become a member of the Narrabri Shire Council’s access and inclusion committee.

She was also a member of the Country Education Foundation Namoi during 2022.

Julia loved her job at CUC North West, the most rewarding aspect working with determined students who were striving hard to achieve their goals, often doing so while working jobs and raising families.

The role gave Julia the chance to make a meaningful difference in the study journey of students.

Now back in Armidale, Julia is aiming to work in a student support role at UNE with postgraduates.

Peter has transferred to the National Parks and Wildlife Service operating in New England area and will continue to work as team leader ranger.

“Narrabri will always be a special place to me,” said Julia.

“It’s such a lovely little town with a great lifestyle and a real sense of community.

“Even though we’ve left, I am not that far away and plan on visiting often.”

Julia is taking up a position at UNE as support officer with the Higher Degree Research Office.