The distinctive camouflage van was a giveaway that Jean Tebay was in the neighbourhood.
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If you ran into her in the street, chances were she'd tell you a horse story or about her idea to lionise the animal's role in the country's history and create a tourist attraction to lure visitors to Goulburn.
Or a few stanzas of Australian poetry could roll easily off her tongue as though she had written them herself.
Miss Tebay was one of Goulburn's great characters, as well known as the late Wendell Rosewarne or the late Allan 'Jockey' Rudd. She died aged 82 at Warrigal Aged Care facility on Sunday, March 31, just weeks after having a fall.
Miss Tebay had christened herself 'The Queen of the South' after the 1800s Goulburn identity, Ellen Dawson, who sat on her Cowper Street porch and regaled passersby on the Yass Road with her musings. Equipped with a vast array of costumes, Miss Tebay also dressed the part for public parades, such as Lilac Time.
She was born at Crown Street Hospital, Surry Hills and raised at Woy Woy on the Central Coast.
As a young girl she took washing to and from houses to help support her family, neighbour Rod Hines said.
After leaving school she worked in a slipper factory on the Central Coast. Later, she moved to Bowral after securing a job as a telephonist with the Post Master General's department. (PMG). There she stayed for 36 years.
Friend Tempe Hornibrook said Miss Tebay already had a love of horses from her early childhood when the community relied on the animals for transport. But in Bowral she met well known horseman and Italian, Franz Meringa.
"He promoted kindness to horses and Jean learnt a lot from him, including about riding," she said.
But in 1986, a payout from PMG and the chance to buy a home prompted Miss Tebay's move to Goulburn.
The house and land in Hercules Street, Eastgrove also had room for a pony or two.
Ms Hornibrook said Miss Tebay was "totally obsessed" with horses and promoted her idea for a museum honouring the animal at every opportunity.
"Her idea was to create a business for the community," she said.
"Her heart was in the right place. She never married or had children but but felt for kids growing up here and that this would be a way to create jobs and a tourist attraction for Goulburn."
Her passion was the workhorse, which she believed were often overlooked in favour of thoroughbreds. Ms Hornibrook said her friend felt very strongly that the workhorse had helped shape Australia, ploughing the paddocks and pulling the drays. On her meagre income, she would spend up to $300 enlarging photos of horse-drawn wool wagons or Sydney's Pitt Street bridge abuzz with horse activity in the early days.
She also had more than 300 costumes, including those worn by early horsewomen and characters in Australian history. The local bicentenary committee drew on the collection for celebrations.
Miss Tebay also had a riding school for a time.
Ms Hornibook came to know her in the late 1980s.
"She had a tremendous memory for not just horses but Australian poetry and could recite the greats, like Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson off by heart," she said.
"She had this big strong voice and used to visit the aged care homes reciting poetry."
Miss Tebay was also creative - knitting and sewing costumes and according to Ms Hornibook, wove this same creativity into her character.
"She used to ride a bike because she didn't have enough money for a car," Ms Hornibrook said.
"She was very determined and was someone who wanted to achieve against the odds."
Miss Tebay did not want a funeral service, instead requesting a private cremation.
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