Whalley family matriarch coming home to rest
Noela Dawn Whalley-Boon.
30th January 1929 – 7th March 2025.
Noela Dawn Whalley-Boon, a descendant of the original pioneers of Nambour is coming home to rest in the Nambour garden cemetery. She is the granddaughter of William McDougall Whalley, founder of William Whalley Pty. Ltd. The original facade of Whalley Chambers still stands in Currie St today.
Her parents were Frank and Bernice Whalley. Following the achievement of Dux at Nambour High School, she was the first Secretary to Mr Alwyn Cheesman , principal of Nambour State High School. She then moved to Brisbane and stayed at the Y.W.C.A. for some time in preparation of traveling the world. She left with a friend, Day McNeilly from Murgon, for London on the MS Fairsea to commence her adventure. On board the Fairsea she befriended her now-husband Jan Boon. Upon arrival in London they parted and each went their respective ways but undertook to meet again.
She and her friend explored the UK, Scotland, and Ireland and, while doing that, they were invited to be introduced to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness Prince Philip at the annual Garden party. Dawn did not have suitable dress so she decided to make one using a borrowed manual sewing machine.
The occasion was a memorable one which she treasured. She then started her European travels commencing in the Netherlands where she met up again with Jan. Jan introduced her to his family who were delighted to meet the girl from Queensland.
After spending some hilarious days with the Boons, Dawn moved on to continue her travels hitch-hiking through Europe concluding on a cargo ship traveling throughout South America via the Panama Canal.
The parting was a bit difficult as the interest in each other had progressed. However, Jan decided to alter his plans of going away again and returned to Australia to await Dawn’s return to her family in Nambour. However, Dawn had moved to Brisbane and accepted a position as Private Secretary to the Dean of Agriculture at UQ.
Jan moved from Sydney to Brisbane and what started as a shipboard romance culminated in their wedding in Nambour on March 29th, 1958. The union produced 3 children, 7 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild who was born on her birthday. They were her absolute pride and joy with their academic achievements in the medical and legal profession, as well as sporting, music and choral accomplishments.
Dawn’s level of interest didn’t stop with her children but extended to her grandchildren with the same enthusiasm attending interstate sporting competitions, public speaking competitions, music performances, athletic and swimming carnivals and more.
Dawn’s run of good health continued to the age of 90 after which her ‘life-clock” changed for the worst.
After intermittent falls Dawn was diagnosed with dementia which, after some time with in-home nursing care, she was then transferred to Parkview at Wheller on the Park Chermside in May 2024.
After a great deal of fighting, she succumbed on Friday 7th of March, aged 96, and just shy of her 67th wedding anniversary on the 29th of March.
She passed away with the knowledge of having loved well and lived a full life, surrounded by her devoted family. She will be greatly missed by her husband Jan, children Mark, Kym, Lisa-Anne and extended families.
• Noela Dawn’s funeral will be held at Albany Creek Memorial Park, in The Lakeview Chapel, on Thursday the 20th March 2025 commencing at 9:30am to be followed by a private interment at 1:30pm the same day in the Nambour Garden Cemetery.
