19/05/2026
Tributes have been flowing in for former Gunnedah & District Historical Society president, Bob Leister, who died in Canberra on May 3, 2026.
Bob had moved to the national capital just under three years ago to be closer to family but he had always planned to return home to his beloved wife Mary whose life’s journey ended on November 8, 2011.
Born at Gunnedah 87 years ago, on June 28, 1938, Robert Thomas Leister was the only child of loving parents Bill and Freida Leister. He grew up in a small weatherboard cottage in Railway Avenue, appropriately situated across from the Railway Hotel, which would not only later became a favourite watering hole, but was once managed by his great-grandmother, Ada McCosker, when it was the Paragon Hotel.
Bob began his education at St Xavier’s School, then across the road for high schooling at
St Mary’s College, as one of the very few male students alongside the female boarders and day pupils.
Bob left school at the end his second year, with the compulsory study of Latin a driving factor
in this decision. At age 16 he began an apprenticeship with Waugh and
Josephsons as a fitter and turner. He then moved into field service maintenance for
Caterpillar and John Deere Industrial and agricultural equipment, staying with the company for 10 years. About that time, he realised that spending weeks travelling through the bush servicing equipment cramped his social life. He would recall that he would make a date for a Friday or Saturday night dance, only to have to
cancel as he was unable to get home in time. He soon realised that it was not the best way to remain in a young lady’s good graces.
In 1964 Bob joined the Curlewis Farmer’s Cooperative in agricultural sales. A job that would allow him to spend more time in Gunnedah.
It was around this time that a lovely young lady moved to town to take up a teaching
position at Gunnedah Infant’s School - Mary Greentree.
One weekend Mary’s flatmate, Carolyn, persuaded her to go along to a Saturday night
social at the Golf Club. Carolyn happened to know Bob Leister, whom she asked to sign them in, and Bob, ever the gentleman, quickly asked them to join his table, little knowing that this would be the beginning of a 46-year love story.
Bob and Mary married at St Joseph’s Catholic Church on August 26, 1966 - the first Saturday of the school holidays. Many of Mary’s pupils and their parents came to see their Miss Greentree arrive at the church that warm Saturday afternoon, and an hour later the couple emerged from the church as Mr and Mrs Robert Leister.
In April 1968, Bob and Mary welcomed their first child, Phillip. With this addition to the family, they decided that life in their little flat in George Street was getting crowded, so they set about building their family home in Breen Street, moving in
January 1969.
In July 1970, Susie arrived and around this time Bob changed jobs, and he was once again travelling a lot.
In late 1975 Catherine came along and the family was complete. Now with three children it seemed logical for Bob to have a job that did not involve travel, so in 1977, he opened the Gunnedah
branch of Dalgety Farm Machinery, across from the Railway Hotel.
Bob stayed with Dalgety’s until 1984 when he secured a job about as far away from
Gunnedah as possible – South Australia. So, the family packed up the house and moved to Gawler at the edge of the Barossa Valley. As with everything he did, Bob jumped right into life in South Australia, joining the church parish council, the school board of Catherine’s primary school and also Rotary.
This big adventure lasted about 20 months
before a move back to their lives and family home in Gunnedah, where Bob found work with a few more companies, but always in farm machinery, and usually travelling throughout NSW and sometimes beyond.
Unfortunately, a back injury in the late 1990s meant retirement for Bob, but he continued to stay across the farm machinery world. Bob was part of the first AgQuip in 1972, and even after he retired, he would still go and chat with people he knew in the industry.
Bob’s working life was full of farm machinery, farmers, highways, and motels. He
knew how to find the best Chinese meal and a cold Toohey’s New in any country
town in NSW and Southern Queensland. Each Sunday afternoon after the lawns were mowed
and the garden was tidy, he would wash his company car, making sure it was clean
and ready for the hundreds of kilometre he would travel that week - over the years he
had travelled in 23 private cars and 31 company cars. As a rough estimate, he worked
out he had travelled 2,855,000 kilometres in 73 years of driving.
Bob was also very handy with the tools, a nod to his early working life. He had one of the
best resourced garages in town - he had
every tool and device that you never thought you’d need, and he knew where
everything was. What he could do with a welder and a tin of paint was pure artistry - and that paint was coincidentally similar in shade to John
Deere green, Caterpillar yellow, Massey Ferguson red, and Ford blue.
Bob was also very community minded - he loved Gunnedah and its people. As a young man he was a member of the Young Catholic Workers group, (YCW) and he spent many years
as a member of Apex, then the Rotary Club of Gunnedah – where he was awarded
the prestigious Paul Harris Fellow for his services to Rotary and the community.
Bob served on the board of Alkira and St Mary’s College Board of Management even staying on for a few years after Catherine graduated.
Most recently Bob was the president of
the Gunnedah & District Historical Society, serving for 14 years. He really enjoyed this role,
spending time with people who enjoyed history as much as he did. His knowledge of
the town and regional area was extensive. He was genuinely interested in people and
their stories. One of his most satisfying projects was seeing the completion and launch of the Vietnam War memorial murals painted on the exterior walls by renowned artist Jenny McCracken in 2019.
Susie and Catherine both moved from Gunnedah after finishing high school, and Bob would visit them no matter where they were living. He had some great adventures visiting Susie in Alice Springs, then later in Normanville, south of Adelaide. In September last year, Catherine and her Dad went on an adventure to New Zealand’s South Island and true to Bob’s nature, he wanted to drive around and explore as much of the island
as possible, a trip he remembered fondly.
Bob loved his role as Grandpa; he followed the children’s achievements with great pride.
When Catherine lived on Norfolk Island, he visited five times in the two years they were
there.
When Bob moved into care in Canberra, the facility was close to Catherine and her family and next door to the grandchildren’s primary school. On Fridays, different groups of students would visit the home and spend the afternoon with the residents. Bob would proudly say that he was Ellen and Adam’s Grandpa.
In September last year, the family went on Bob’s
nature, he wanted us to drive around and explore as much of the island as possible. This great adventure was remembered fondly by Bob and the family.
Bob’s life was very full - full of love, full of adventures, full of friendships, full of
duty. But he also knew sadness in his life with the death of his son Phillip in 2002 at the age of 34 and his beloved wife Mary on November 8, 2011.
All through his life, Bob made an impression on everyone he met. The most common comments
about him have been “community minded, gentleman and a caring nature.”
An employment reference written for Bob by Mr R.H Warne, General Manager of the Co-op said:
“Endowed with a pleasing personality, Mr Leister made friends easily among both
clients and staff alike and I have noted that this attribute did not prevent him from
being firm and even tenacious when the occasion required it.
We found Mr Leister to be strictly honest in all his dealings and with this company, to be most industrious and conscientious in his approach to the task, which was entrusted to him, always most regular in attendance and one to whom overtime
devoted to the company was of little concern.
Possibly not frequently mentioned in documents of this kind, but to us of great
importance to one in an executive capacity, we must mention that Mr Leister is fortunate to have a wife who, in addition to exhibiting poise and a charming personality, possesses her own professional qualifications.”
In closing the eulogy at the farewell Mass in St Joseph’s Catholic Church, on May 14, Catherine said “this sums them both up perfectly”.
