With great sadness, we advise that Christine Carberry passed away on Friday 11th January 2019, aged 63 years, succumbing to a serious cancer.Even though not a formal member of Surfers Sunrise, Christine was regularly involved with Rotary and particularly with our Club's projects. Her father introduced her to Rotary when Christine hosted many international students on their cotton/cattle farm in Narrabri. She was one of the first women to join Rotary in Australia and then became a member of the Rotary Club of Dili, Timor Leste. Christine and Rae Fairlie worked together in Sydney and became the best of friends. Over some 8 years in the 1980's and 90’s, Rae & Christine raised more than $400,000 for Rotary's Polio Plus. They were both awarded Paul Harris Fellowships for their contributions.
When our Club decided to build a school for the village of Mata'afa, which had been wiped out by the 2009 tsunami, Christine's personal connections in Samoa, including in the Ministry of Education, became invaluable. Without her intermediary, this school may never have happened. She also organised a $5,000 donation by the Rotary Club of Lane Cove (Sydney) towards the School Project and subsequently took time off to work on the construction of the School in Samoa.
Running her own business in Timor Leste, Christine was highly respected in her community, working for and with the local government as well as with the Diplomatic Corps from several countries, Charities and as a director on the Hospital and large Corporations. She indeed was a unique woman, extremely strong willed, very determined, very helpful, with highly ethical and moral beliefs. She loved her work and loved her sisters, staff and family. A truly gutsy lady; she will be sadly missed by all.
The Funeral will be held on Monday 21st January, at 11:00 am, at the Sacred Heart Church, 50 Fairway Drive, Clear Island Waters. Photo above: at the 2011 Changeover, (then) President Ray Higgs presented Christine with a special recognition by the Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) for her work in Samoa.