When I came from Fiji in 1963 and started at Marsden School for girls, Bathurst I did not have a single friend in the new and lonely place. I had come from a place of warm days and happy times and was left in what I thought was the worst place in the world:so full of rules and restrictions. Sue started the same day as me and we gravitated towards each other. Her mother worked in New Guinea at the time, so it seemed as though we were destined to be soul mates. And soul-mates we were! We were inseparable and we made the most of our time at boarding school. Happy memories were going off at the weekend with my great Uncle Charlie and great Aunty Phil in their Vee Dub - uncle Charlie hardly moving from second gear. Then we used to love listening to music in the Hall at the weekend and dancing together with the rest of the gang. Roy Orbison springs to mind - 'Leah' 'Only the lonely' and others. Sue was a better hockey player than me and I was quite jealous of her place in the Hockey firsts - but proud as well. She used to say I was cleverer in the academic department but she was a much kinder person whom everybody loved. We did not see each other often over the years but we remained very dear friends. My husband, Piero also loved Sue and I think she had a soft spot for him in her heart. He is overseas right now and I have not told him about her passing. He too, is going to miss Sue's laughter and her enthusiasm for everything, particularly travelling. She rediscovered this joy in recent years and loved to share her travelling tales with us especially of Italy and France. I don't think I have ever known anyone to be so in love with these two places the way Sue was. We were hoping to be in Italy together one day but I had a feeling that we would never fulfil that dream. Sue never gave up hope. I was really saddened and shocked to hear of her death. She had promised me that she would tell me when I had cause to worry about her. But it was typical of Sue that she did not want to worry me. I had no idea she was going to die now. I had plans to see her this week - during my holidays.