Vale Duane Paul Norris

Our memories: Mike Titley (and Jim Scott)
Sunday 20th October 2024

Thank you Jen for asking us to reflect on our colleague and dear friend.

To celebrate the life of Duane Norris, we would like to reflect a little on how we fellow students usually referred to him as ‘Smooth’.

It was because he was smooth!

His immaculate black MG-TF sports car with chrome wheels; washed and polished every Saturday; his clothes; his hand-written lecture notes and organised folders for each subject and, of course, his outstanding results in all subject areas.

A career in entomology, botany, landscape and garden design and, over the last two decades, Duane became a trenchant water advocate, activist, and supporter of Natural Sequence farming, forest ecologist and gardener.

Duane’s pathway from Glenayr Ave Bondi

As a teenager, Duane planted his parents’ garden at Bondi and then planted his uncle’s property on a 50 pound budget in the Blue Mountains.

In his blood early, plants were chosen on reliability, performance and appearance, and then throughout his life.

We all met Duane in March 1967 in the Wallace Theatre and nearby labs where we did chemistry, physics, biology and general maths with all other science-based students.

The class of 1971 graduates was a mixture of repeating students, those that had completed the Leaving Certificate years before and several overseas students who have remained a tight bunch right up to today, 57 years later. We were constantly reminded that the year behind us were the whiz kids from the first batch of 6-year HSC students - so no failures (but plenty of ‘posts’)!

His commitment to study over the next four years was extremely thorough, totally focussed and it was no surprise that Duane topped the year with a BScAgr 1st Class Honours. He was awarded Commonwealth Scholarships to Glasgow, Alberta & Brisbane and a CSIRO postgraduate scholarship to any Commonwealth country.

Entomology was his passion under Fred MacDonald in his fourth year. Immediately after graduation he worked as a researcher in New Guinea for the Bernice P Bishop museum in Hawaii (founded in 1889) identifying the vertical and horizonal distribution of the family Culicidae (mosquitoes).

Returning to Australia, he enrolled in a PhD at the Uni of Qld Brisbane in ecological studies. His topic was “Distribution of tropical vegetation species in North Queensland rainforests controlled by native insects”. Unfortunately, Duane had to withdraw due to severe malaria contracted during his time in PNG.

He had a change of direction, taking off overseas (essentially to Europe & the UK ) where he studied Landscape Design & Construction at Merrist Wood Ag College and at Surrey County College graduating with distinctions at both campuses. He worked in the UK as a landscaping contractor until returning home in 1979.

Duane then opened a business: Duane Norris Garden Designers P/L initially concentrating on the lucurative Eastern Suburbs and lower North Shore providing landscape design and construction services. He then expanded, opening his magnificent retail garden centre shop in Queen Street, Woollahra making him one of Australia’s leading landscape and garden suppliers with a mailing list of over 6,000 customers. Over a decade from the mid 80’s to the mid 90’s his company received multiple state and national awards from the ‘Landscapers Construction Industry’.

The move to Hardys Bay in 1989 was in Duane’s words “his happy place”.

Meeting you Jen - and your family - and your subsequent wedding to Duane in October 1995 was a special and wonderful event that Jim, Mary Ann, JR, Heather and I were able to celebrate with you both.

Duane got a new lease of professional life teaming up to do all the work that he did, initially with Peter Andrews at Tarwyn Park, and then later with a whole range of colleagues. His passion for that meant that, in the second half of his career, he actually stepped back into agriculture at the grass roots level.

I know Natural Sequence Farming gave him great satisfaction and he was an enthusiastic trainer.

I believe that one of the legacies that he left is that he encouraged a whole range of people to become involved in that foundation and on farm training. I see that already there are four courses planned for 2025. A 4-day course to get you reading your landscape, rehydrating your land and maximising productivity, by implementing Natural Sequence Farming and beginning to work alongside nature.

Duane’s death has allowed us to reflect on his strong professional qualities and the passion that he had for NSF.

Duane continued training despite all his health issues.

In closing:

Jim remembers being on a ketch, Windsong IV (that he lived on for a time in Rushcutters Bay) in 1970 our final year at Uni - seeing the sunrise with Duane and others who had survived an all-night celebration of some sort – as we listened to the Beatles singing “Here Comes the Sun.”

Also, Jim recalls visiting Duane in Kuranda at his friend Roger’s windowless house; swimming with him across the freshwater Lake Barrine on the Atherton Tablelands surrounded by magnificent giant bull Kauri pines; admiring his landscape shop in Woollahra; his transformed garden in his Balmain backyard; his beautiful celebration when he and Jenny were married; their bespoke house in Hardys Bay; it was all ‘smooth’!

The world is a much better place thanks to Duane’s eye for beauty, design and attention to detail.

I know that you were a great support in trying to get him to put some of his ideas down on paper but of course that will now remain for some of his colleagues with the same passion to do.

Duane has been a great friend and colleague and was a fantastic help in getting the 50-year 1971 Aggers reunion happen up in the Hunter Valley in March 2022.

I always appreciated Duane’s comments on many of my projects.

The esteem for which many 1971 Aggers held for Duane is shown here today.

Lots of love from us all.

Vale Duane,

Mike

Aggers 1971 and wives please stand up

1971 Aggers attending: Jim & Mary Ann Scott, Titters & Heather Titley, Alan Vaughan, Peter Cowman, Pete Nethery, Malcolm McNiven, John Rumble & Jess, Dan & Ronnie Ryan and Neil Black.

Apologies: Lisle Brown, John Clark, Hugh Devine, Rob Maxwell, Frank & Jan Nicholas, Pete and Helen Sydney, Nick Truelove, Helen Zaman, Pete Walters, Bob Timmins, Nick & Irene Heah and Stuart Hawkins