Issue 47 Aurora Magazine April 2022

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safekeep BERNADETTE DUELL From Sydney Harbour to King George Sound STORY ADAM MORRIS | PHOTO LATA WRIGHT Bernadette sits across from me in the small but cosy conference room, her big broad smile lighting up the space as she welcomes me to her office where herself and her small team help families across the Great Southern plan their estates and organise their affairs should the unthinkable happen unexpectedly. Behind Bernadette is a lamp shade with a Frida Kahlo detail and to my left a cushion with the same brightly coloured cover sporting the famous Mexican painter. Bernadette tells me she keeps Frida in the office as a daily reminder that her work is a creative process and that every family that walks through the door has their own unique set of circumstances that need her careful and creative attention. Bernadette started her legal career far away from the south coast of Western Australia. She was in fact one of the most sought-after lawyers in the Greater Sydney area where she would spend her days looking after the financial affairs of the ultra-rich, sporting personalities and high ranking federal politicians. Every bit the successful Sydney lawyer, Bernadette could be found regularly putting in twelve hour days, driving her jet black Audi convertible and fielding late night emergency phone calls from the men and women that ran the country. She remembers seeing John Howard daily as he took his morning stroll past her two bedroom unit in the leafy Sydney suburb of Wollstonecraft – the ex prime minister in his infamous green and gold tracksuit, Bernadette in her pyjamas eating vegemite on toast, a wave and a smile shared as he passed each morning. Bernadette recalls her previous life in detail, “I worked in various offices in the Sydney CBD. Level 44 at 2 Park Street was my favourite as I had harbour views and the largest office in the law firm. I was promoted from Junior Lawyer to Senior Associate and part of my promotion was the big office. I lived in Wollstonecraft, a suburb just north of the bridge. I’d catch the train from Wollstonecraft station to Town Hall station which was about a twenty minute Bernadette Duell, Principal Lawyer for Great Southern Wills with her husband and business manager Paul Terry. 8 LOVE LOCAL
safekeep commute. When the days were sunny, I’d get off at Milsons Point and walk across the Harbour Bridge to work.” But Bernadette wasn’t satisfied with the life she had built for herself and yearned for what she describes as more meaningful work. She longed to be amongst more down to earth people and help families, particularly farming families as they attempt to navigate the often complex and ever changing journey of estate planning. This is when her journey took her to Albany as her Sydney agent informed her of a position opening in the small coastal town on the other side of the country. Bernadette, ever the adventurer, jumped at the opportunity and took the first flight west to investigate the possible life changing move. “It was 14 December 2011 and I flew into Albany and hired a car. I wanted to explore my potential new home. I walked down York Street, drove to the top of Mount Clarence and on the way to Middleton Beach I stopped the car on Marine Drive. I stepped out and breathed in the fresh air. The expanse of King George Sound and Michaelmas and Breaksea Islands in the distance. And it dawned on me. I had been here before. I didn’t know when, but I had been here before. And the sun peeped from the clouds as it was a sunny and balmy day. I felt it was a calling – from somewhere – to return to Albany and make it my home. It just felt right.” Bernadette then flew back to Sydney and on Christmas day announced to her mum and dad that she was definitely moving to Albany. A place where she knew no-one, but where she felt her soul belonged. Bernadette has since spent the last ten years in Albany helping families and only recently made yet another courageous leap to open her own law firm specialising in her passion. In the two short years Great Southern Wills has been operating, the firm’s excellent reputation and returning client base has meant that Bernadette and her team will need to find a larger office space as the team will soon be expanding. Bernadette credits the close relationships with both clients and staff as the key to their growth and success. A blend of passion, professionalism and creativity. Bernadette has just launched her latest creation in the estate planning world with her innovative ‘Giftbox and Workbook’ which each client is given to fill out for the surviving family. The Workbook is where information such as computer passwords, funeral playlists, lists of friends to notify as well as banking and insurance details, all designed to make the surviving family’s time after the passing of their loved ones, as peaceful as possible. And it is this peace of mind that drives Bernadette and her team and gives her the meaning that she was looking for all those years ago on the top floor of the Park Street highrise overlooking the harbour from her corner office. “Now I enjoy meeting people from all walks of life and hearing their stories and wishes and when listening to this, together with the client, preparing a bespoke strategy for them. So that if they are unwilling or unable to make decisions, or incapacitated, or they pass away, we know that their family will be looked after. No disputes, no court interference, no further lawyers, no extra costs. Many clients say we give them peace of mind. And then they tell all their friends and family about us. We receive the majority of our work this way, through word of mouth and to us this gives us the greatest satisfaction.” LOVE LOCAL 9
Page 1 and 2: FREE Aurora Issue 47 GREAT SOUTHERN
Page 3 and 4: contents 4 FOCUS HENRY EDMONDSON Th
Page 5 and 6: focus Henry gets plenty of air prac
Page 7: focus laughs when she recounts thei
Page 11 and 12: Matt Sivyer and Sue Howard in the D
Page 13 and 14: engage WELCOME TO Playing in a comm
Page 15 and 16: enchant the Denmark River in a rain
Page 17 and 18: vogue Browse or shop local online a
Page 19 and 20: vogue New Season Winter Boots fishi
Page 21 and 22: eflect of burlesque battleship, was
Page 23 and 24: taste great southern ALBANY FARMERS
Page 25 and 26: taste great southern The region is
Page 27 and 28: taste great southern customs includ
Page 29 and 30: what’s on CINEFESTOZ ALBANY Celeb
Page 31 and 32: ALBANY I WESTERN AUSTRALIA 4 FOUR H
Page 33 and 34: 12-13 April 2022 10am-5pm Albany To
Page 35 and 36: gig guide Everything we put in the

Issue 47 Aurora Magazine April 2022

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