Remembering Liz Heber
Liz and her silk paintings at the Zonta Club of Brisbane’s Christmas Gift Fair at the Hamilton Town Hall in November, 2006.
Liz Heber became a Zontian in May 1982, first joining the Zonta Club of Blackall Ranges on the Sunshine Coast, and later transferring to the Zonta Club of Brisbane.
As a Zontian for almost 35 years, Liz made an immense contribution, as President of the Zonta Club of Brisbane (1995-1996) and Area 3 Director of the then District 24 (1997-1998). She also gave exceptional service as a member of the Nominating Committee of the club for seven years from 2000; she was elected for an eighth year but stood down because of ill health.
By her own admission, Liz began life as a very sickly child, but those many early years in bed introduced her to the pleasure of drawing. By the age of three she was making her own Christmas cards, and by eight or nine, winning prizes in art competitions. At Clayfield College she studied with artists such as Caroline Barker and Betty Churcher. But after school, art took a back seat for the next 30 years.
She completed a science degree, worked as a bacteriologist in Australia and in the USA, and then taught Chemistry at St Hilda’s School in Southport. In the late 1960s, she returned to her alma mater, Clayfield College, becoming Vice Principal, and then Deputy Principal at Thursday Island High School.
When she retired in 1996, she embraced art again, particularly silk painting, and travelled the world to study with others working in this field. She became an ardent traveller, finding inspiration for her art in everything from roses, cactus and jellyfish to Russian cities along the Volga, the island of Burano in the Venice lagoon, and the idiosyncratic architecture of Gaudi and Hundertwasser.
Her paintings and luxurious hand-painted silk jackets and scarves have won prizes in exhibitions around the world and have earned a place in many Zonta wardrobes. Through her art, she made a remarkable and generous contribution to the fundraising of the Zonta Club of Brisbane, frequently donating works for special gifts or for raffle prizes and silent auctions. She has also contributed paintings for reproduction on cards and other Zonta merchandise, and created designs for the District 22 Conference in 2013.
In 2001 she set up a group called Liz and Friends. Collectively, the group has raised over $100,000 for charity, much of that going to Zonta. The group has had dozens of exhibitions, an astonishing record of hard work and dedication.
In November 2019, Liz wrote the following message for the Club’s celebration of Zonta’s 100th birthday:
One of the best things I ever did was to accept an invitation to join the Zonta Club of Brisbane.
To meet such incredible women from so many backgrounds and achievements who all shared their wish to improve the status of women – what a privilege! To work with these people, side by side, year after year, was a real joy.
To have the opportunity to serve on their Board, to be President for two years followed by working as an Area Director was amazing.
I was able to attend Conventions in Dallas, St Louis, Paris, Melbourne and Hawaii – thousands of women dedicated to one cause! You can imagine what it meant for me as an artist to be given the chance to organise and coordinate an Art Exhibition for the Convention in Hawaii in 2000 – we welcomed art work from 92 Zontians from 32 countries!
Making friends with fellow Zontians has changed my life. How do I repay this privilege?
Liz passed away in 2021 and many Zontians attended her funeral in Brisbane to farewell her.