Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Berowra electorate is what it is today because of the people who dedicate their lives to making it a better place to live. Nan Horne is one of them, and next week she celebrates her 100th birthday. Born in Albany in 1925, she grew up near Cranbrook, Western Australia. A scholarship took her to Albany High, where she found her passion for teaching—a profession which she pursued until her retirement in 1980.

In 1962, Nan and her husband, Ray, moved to Cherrybrook. In the eighties, a meeting about what is now Greenway Park drew Nan into the progress association and then public life. When parents needed early learning, she also led the effort in 1987 to establish the Cherrybrook Community Pre-School.

That same year, Nan was elected to Hornsby Shire Council. For the next 21 years, Nan guided a place of dirt roads and green-belt paddocks into a thriving suburb for families, with open space and amenities the community needed. During her time on council, Nan was the first and is still the only woman elected President or Mayor of Hornsby Shire Council. Nan carries a strong local story through her husband's family connection to Samuel Henry Horne, the ex-convict turned hero-policeman after whom Hornsby is named.

Nan's legacy is still visible today, from Cherrybrook preschool to Greenway Park. Public life is never easy, but Nan Horne made such a difference to our community. Happy 100th birthday, Nan. Our community is the great place to live, the great place that we love, because of your legacy.