It would be hard to find a more prouder Cobar and Australian resident than Isabelle ‘Issie/Izzy’ Pretty who is being remembered as “a real character of the bush”.
Tributes to Issie have been flowing since the 88 year old passed away on April 17 in the company of her family members after a short illness.
Issie was a “people person”, who loved a chat, a joke and to help others.
In addition to being much loved by her family, she is being fondly remembered as an active member of the community through her roles as a Cobar Shire Councillor, a member of the Cobar Arts Council, the Probus and VIEW clubs, a “tourism officer”, an outspoken opponent to Canbelego’s proposed toxic waste incinerator, a 2WEB radio program presenter, a great cook and gardener, and a person who always had a nice word (or lots of words) to say about someone. She hardly drew breath!
Issie’s good friend, Peter Payne spoke at her graveside funeral service at the Cobar Cemetery on April 30.
Following are excerpts from Peter’s eulogy.
Issie had plenty to say in life.
She certainly did not waste any of her time on this earth.
Isabelle ‘Issie’ Jean Pretty was born at Hillston, NSW, on December 10, 1936. She was one of six children for Thomas and Jeanie Brettschneider.
By all accounts Issie was a bit of a tomboy, her siblings and parents calling her ‘Busy’. If the boys were in a fight, ‘Busy’ would knuckle up and give them a hand but would also take on any of the brothers if needed.
Issie’s dad died at age of 35.
There was no widow pension in those days – 1944 – and her mum made do ‘with six chickens and a cow’. There was pressure on Jeanie to spread the six kids around the uncles and aunts, but that did not happen.
Issie left school at a young age to help her mum on the farm and later followed her big sister Margaret and her husband (who had moved to Cobar), to help look after their kids.
Issie is reported to have knocked off her brother’s motor bike, and hit the then dirt track full of potholes and bull dust (six times she told the kids) but made it to Cobar to start a new life.
Richard ‘Tiger’ Pretty had been waiting patiently in Cobar for someone like Issie to turn up. He and Issie married about two years after meeting, and they settled at Wrightsville, just out of Cobar. Four children followed in five years – Reg, Kerrie, Paul and Trevor.
When their Wrightsville home burnt down a year after the birth of Trevor, the family moved into Cobar and lived with friends until they received a brand-new Housing Commission residence in Elizabeth Cresent.
Issie and Tiger later bought the house, then sold it and built a home in Mopone Street.
Issie worked as a fulltime cleaner at the courthouse and the police station.
In 1989 Tiger died aged 58 and Issie decided to go back to the bush. So she took up work as a shearers’ cook. There was always someone to talk to, someone she could help and someone to give a bit of cheek to.
Before heading out to the shearing sheds, Issie would ring up to see if the cocky wanted anything taken out, and she would also take out plenty of the town gossip for the women!
There was very little loneliness and despair when Issie was cooking for the shed.
She later went back to cleaning in Canbelego and noticed the Polymetals mine workers there had a basic diet of baked beans and two-minute noodles so decided to cook them up roast leg of lamb. The workers loved it and her cleaner’s duties were then extended to the kitchen.
It is hard to define the legacy of a person such as Issie, a person full of life and hellbent on helping anybody and everyone who needed help. For visitors to the town Cobar became a better place just because they had met Issie.
Issie was a roving ambassador for Cobar. She was a Cobar Shire Councillor for 12 years, but she was also a counsellor of people.
She had a sympathetic ear for anyone.
As a councillor, her main objective was to look after the oldies.
She was a great advocate for the elderly, but getting old was an admission she never made until the final 12 months of her life.
Back in 1990, Nyngan suffered its worst ever flood and Issie was a mainstay of the brigade of Cobar residents who washed the soiled and muddy sheets and towels for the Nyngan flood victims.
Issie had a few hates – being called Mrs Pretty and negative people.
But there were more loves than hates – Cobar, being called grandma by five grandkids and five great grandkids, cooking (when the bush fires broke out, she would cook for the firefighters) and gardening.
This year Issie was to have been honoured with Life Membership of the Cobar Show Society for service to the flower section of the Main Pavilion.
Issie always had a thought for others, she was in anything for the bush – including the Fred Hollows Foundation, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and of course those Nyngan Nappies!
Issie’s life was a life well lived.
