Dianne Herbener’s family pay tribute after fatal Bouldercombe crash

A husband who survived the same accident that took his beloved wife still jokes about how he cried on their wedding day and not her when they were married one month after they first met.

As Peter Herbener sat outside Rockhampton Hospital, he saw dozens of butterflies and knew it was a sign his wife was by his side.

For some, a butterfly is just a beautiful sight to see – but for Peter and his kids, it will forever be a sign that his wife and their mum is keeping a close eye on them.

Married 52 years, Peter, 73, and Dianne, 70, were more than just husband and wife, mum and dad, nanna and pop – they were best mates who could tell each other anything.

Peter and Dianne both sustained critical injuries after they were involved in a horror crash on February 19 on Razorback Rd at Bouldercombe.

They were on their way to Bouldercombe from Mount Morgan to look after one of their great grandkids.

Dianne’s life was tragically cut short after she passed away from her injuries on February 24.

Peter was taken in a critical condition to hospital and even died on the operating table, but was revived and now faces a long road to recovery – and the rest of his life missing his wife.

Peter and Dianne were married after just two dates and within about a month of meeting and would go on to spend more than half a century together and have a family that included five boys and one girl.

The pair met at Peter’s family farm in the Bundaberg region after she left a bad relationship in Brisbane.

“Two of my brothers were working down there at the meatworks and they brought her home to Bundaberg because she didn’t want to go home to Murgon,” he said.

Dianne and Peter Herbener on their wedding day.

“I used to live at the barracks at the sugar mill and I came home to see my Dad and she was there and I turned and spotted her and said ‘she’s the one for me’, and she was, we were together 52 years with six kids, 13 grandkids and about seven great-grandkids and there’s more to come.”

Peter said it was Dianne’s personality that attracted him to her.

“She was happy go-lucky, nothing really phased her much and she took everything in her stride,” he said.

“She was a pretty girl when she was younger, but it wasn’t really the prettiness that attracted me to her, it was her personality … you could sit down and talk to her about all sorts of stuff, Dianne just had a really lovely personality.

“When we started having kids, the kids meant everything to her … you could talk to her about anything, even the kids could.

“I called her mate and she called me mate, we all called each other mate.”

Speaking to this publication, three of Peter and Dianne’s sons, Will, Dale and Kelvin, said their mum was a hard worker and had a big personality.

The three boys have fond memories of home life growing up with their siblings at home, from card games to the delicious stews Dianne would cook that they couldn’t replicate.

Dianne and Peter with their family.

“I liked when we were all at home and mum was all at home, she was always excited,” Will said.

“No matter how much terrible stuff you did or if you did something wrong she would still love and care and have your back.”

Dale said, “it wasn’t just us, there were many street kids mum and dad would feed and look after, too.”

“A mother’s love is unconditional,” Peter said.

Before moving to the Rockhampton region, the family lived at Jackson, 85km east of Roma, where Dianne did the mail run and worked in the post office.

The boys said it wasn’t uncommon for Dianne to also take supplies to people needing them on her way or stopping in at farms on her route for a cup of tea.

She was also president at the CWA in Jackson.

Peter said Dianne could even do things like change a tyre and could even replace a motor.

“Between me and her we could change the motor over (in their little truck) in two hours, we did it that often,” he said.

Dianne and Peter Herbener celebrating a wedding anniversary.

“I’d say ‘can you reach that bolt in there because I can’t reach it’, and she get under and say ‘pass me a spanner’ and you’d pass it to her and she’d say ‘you keep your hands off my bloody spanners’ and they weren’t her spanners, they were mine.

“She was a strong little bugger.”

When the family moved to Rockhampton about 17 years ago, she began volunteering at the Mount Morgan Historical Museum, where she had been president for the last six years.

“She used to (do) archives and she would find a family or they’d ask her to look something up and she’d go ‘bam’ and find it all,” Will said.

“She got so excited about it.”

Kelvin said she loved when kids came into the museum.

“She used to say if you find this I’ll give you a lolly, but she’d give them a lolly anyway even if they gave her the wrong answer.”

But it wasn’t just people looking for family history she would help.

Will said Dianne and Peter would also help girls in the community doing it tough to get to doctors appointments.

Images shared by Dianne Herbener's family.

“They did it off their own back and with their own money, and they didn’t have much, but they would run them into town and make sure they got to their appointments and their groceries and dropped them off at their door,” he said.

Since her passing tributes have poured in from the community.

“We’re absolutely proud of her,” Will said.

“Even some days when the grandkids would come up, she would dedicate herself to still go to work and we’d go up there and see her.

“She was so dedicated to it and committed to it, but she absolutely enjoyed it.”

All three boys said one of the things they will miss the most is being able to call her for a chat.

Dianne and Peter’s five sons.

“When you lose one (parent) you realise the value that you took for granted,” Will said.

Dale said they broke the mould when they made his mum.

“In a lot of ways she taught us a lot of responsibility about looking after ourselves,” Kelvin said.

Peter said he would miss her until the day he died.

“You’ll never find another woman like her,” Peter said.

Will has a permanent shrine to his mum near the entrance of his home, which has butterfly ornaments, a lock of her hair, her hand print and a stubbed out cigarette – the last she would ever smoke.

But, most touchingly, is a candle in a purple lantern Will lights every night and blows out before going to bed to say goodnight to his beloved mum.

Family and friends will gather on Saturday, March 15 to farewell Dianne and celebrate her life at a funeral service at Mount Morgan.

A touching tribute to Dianne in Will Herbener’s home.

She was a loved mother and mother-in-law to Lorraine, Robert and Chrystal, William and Sharyn, Mark and Kim, Dale and Debbie, Kelvin.

Dianne was also a cherished grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, sister-in-law and aunt to the Sanderson and Herbener families.

The Herbener family said they were thankful for the community’s kind words of support.

A 36-year-old Mount Morgan man was charged with two counts of driver fail to remain at scene, and one count each of dangerous operation of a vehicle, driving unlicensed, driving unregistered vehicle, driving uninsured vehicle, driving vehicle with false registration plates as a result of the crash.

He will next face court on April 3.

Originally published as Dianne Herbener’s family pay tribute after fatal Bouldercombe crash