Leanne was born in Melbourne on 3 January 1959, the third of five children. The family moved to Sale, where her father was a Warrant Officer in the Army.
In 1964, her father died, at the age of 40, from radiation sickness derived from his involvement in atomic bomb testing at Maralinga in the 1950s. (A disgraceful part of our history, where the Brits deliberately put Aussies in harm’s way. The many bad consequences of the tests have long been hushed up and, even today, Maralinga is shrouded in secrecy. I tried to get some answers at the museum in Woomera a few years ago and was cut short. Judy Nunn wrote a terrific novel called “Maralinga”, which is historically accurate and well worth a read. Ed.)
In 1964, Leanne went to school in Clayton, where she was involved in everything sporty. She was bullied at secondary school and left to get a job, putting her age up from 15 to 16, at FMC, where she did admin, costing, inventory, accounting for receipts and payments and payroll.
In 1976, a day after her 17th birthday, she met Colin and they married in March 1979. They had two boys and, in 1984, Leanne did HSC at night school.
In 1986, Colin moved with the family to the US with Hewlett Packard, where they had many “National Lampoon style adventures”! There, Leanne volunteered at the school canteen.
Back in Melbourne, their kids learned to swim at North Lodge Swimming Academy, where she helped manage the business for June O’Doherty after Jim died, before buying the business.
Leanne taught swimming for 20 years and is proud of the performances of her students at competitions. She loved working with children with disabilities.
Leanne sold the Academy in January this year after what she describes as “a very rewarding career”.
(What Leanne didn’t say is the amount of time and energy she devotes to Rotary and other worthy causes. Ed.)