AT NINETY-EIGHT, Herbert Thomas Gardner enjoys life on his sprawling acreage, overlooking the Sandy Straits, Round Island, and K’Gari and driving his buggy.
He moved to this tranquil haven in his sixties with his late wife, Joyce, originally buying 200 acres before dividing the land and keeping 80 acres for himself.
Born in 1926 in Home Hill, south of Townsville, Herbert was the youngest of four children.
His parents owned a farm in Inkerman, near the Burdekin River. Tragedy struck early when Herbert’s father died of a sudden heart attack at 52, leaving his mother to raise four children alone during the Great Depression, Herbert was just four years old.
The family scraped by the kids sold milk to neighbours on the way to school.
In 1936, his mother was forced to sell the farm, and Herbert’s older siblings went north to work.
Herbert and his sister Mavis stayed with their mother until 1938, when, at 12, he was sent to Abergowrie boarding school near Ingham.
A year later, he worked on the Munro family farm—once his own family’s—soon earning ten shillings a week.
As World War II began, his older siblings joined the war effort.
At 16, Herbert found work with American Remounts in Townsville, training horses and mules for New Guinea pack work.
Later, he joined the U.S. Army Small Ships Section, transporting supplies to Allied troops while working as a cook and deckhand.
In 1948 Herbert began installing clothes hoists and later met his first wife, Jewel Zipf, at a dance hall in Brisbane.
They married in 1951 and moved to Herbert’s Camp Hill property, where they lived in a fibro hut before moving to Archerfield.
With no power or sewerage, the couple relied on kerosene lamps and an ice chest until 1955.
By 1956, Herbert and Jewel welcomed their first child, Joanne, followed by Kym in 1958.
An avid water skier, Herbert dreamed of owning waterfront land and creating a recreation park.
After many setbacks, this became a reality with Aquatic Gardens, a caravan park and ski resort he established at Carbrook.
In 1977 tragedy struck when his eldest daughter, Joanne, died in a car accident at 20, devastating the family.
Life as they knew it would never be the same.
The following year, he and Jewel divorced, having long realized they were not well-suited.
After selling the caravan park in 1980, Herbert’s life took a new direction, and he found love again with Joyce and they married a few years later.
He listed Aquatic Gardens for sale in 1985, the sale took about two years.
The property is now called Bayside Wake Park.
Together, they moved to Hervey Bay and built a new life.
Herbert's enterprising spirit led him to establish Gardel Palm Nursery, which thrived until his retirement in 2014.
Herbert and Joyce shared 39 wonderful years, traveling the world and creating cherished memories until Joyce's passing in 2021, he misses her every day.
Herbert lives with his beloved cats, Jimmy and Kitty Kat, surrounded by nature.
Herbert stays active, and played tennis until 92, and now enjoys table tennis three days a week between the Hervey Bay Social and Activities Centre (formally known as APSL) and the Senior Citizen’s Centre.
Despite challenges like a bowel cancer diagnosis, fixed after an operation, and prosopagnosia, his health and resilience endure—perhaps due to genetics.
His mother lived to 82, and his siblings reached their nineties.
His sister Mavis is turning 101 next year, and still lives in her house in Hervey Bay, where Herbert visits her regularly.
Herbert cherishes time with his daughter Kym, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and stepdaughters.
Reflecting on his life, he credits hard work, a positive outlook, and family for his longevity and says, “I’ve lived a good and healthy life and wouldn’t change a thing!”
By Kim Parnell
From What’s On Fraser Coast Magazine
