Marlene was born Marlene Grace Hazen in the Victorian town of Kerang, in the Kerang and District Hospital in 1943. She spent the first seventeen years of her life in Murrabit, growing up among the ...mehr sehenMarlene was born Marlene Grace Hazen in the Victorian town of Kerang, in the Kerang and District Hospital in 1943. She spent the first seventeen years of her life in Murrabit, growing up among the citrus and peach orchards which sourced their water from the Murray River. Long summer days were spent riding horses with friends and then swimming in the once clear waters of this great river. With these same friends she attended Murrabit Primary School and Kerang High School. From there it was to Bendigo for two years to study the Trained Primary Teacher Certificate. She turned twenty in the August of her first year teaching at Pyramid Hill. Two years later, she was transferred to Mildura High School where she met Geoff Gunn. They married two years later in 1967. Geoff collapsed and died while teaching at Merbein High School in 1977.
Marlene moved to Bendigo with their three children: Debbie, Billy, and Tracy. The plan was to stay there for two years, renting a property, while Marlene completed her Diploma of Arts and General Studies and worked on her Social Science Degree. Studies continued, but instead of renting, they purchased a cottage on two acres of land in Maiden Gully about nine kilometres from Bendigo. School, sporting commitments, and newly found friends made Marlene realize that the children had found a niche in this community - so they stayed. Strong bonds with Mildura have remained, as have the friendships founded at Murrabit and Kerang and at Bendigo Teachers' College.
Marlene is settled contentedly in her home, 'Lavender Grene', where a menagerie of feathered and furry companions share the gardens she loves so much. It is a children's playground, as well as providing much pleasure for her special adult friends to relax and enjoy with her.weniger sehen