Beloved Bribie Island cyclist Barbra Poen dies after accident en route to meet husband

Barbra was meant to meet her beloved husband and their friends for coffee, cycling to the café after her yoga class as she did each week. Sadly, this time she never made it.

When Barbra failed to show up to meet her husband Cornelis and friends at a cafe after her weekly yoga class, Cornelis went looking for her, finding her bike on the road.

Barbra Poen was meant to meet her beloved husband Cornelis and their friends for coffee, cycling to the café after her yoga class as she would each Monday.

But a tragic crash at Bongaree on Bribie Island on July 14 meant the vibrant, intelligent and well-loved Barbel (Barbra) Elisabeth Poen, 79, would not make it there.

It means her husband Cornelis ‘Kees’ Adrianus Poen is now without the best friend and adventure partner he’s been inseparable from since 1975.

“We would go everywhere together. She wasn’t just a wife, she was a mate,” he said.

“And that was the end of it, she is no more, I’m on my own and I don’t have a mate.

“She had enormous plans for next year, for her 80th birthday in May.”

Barbra, from Germany, and Mr Poen, from Holland, met in Johannesburg in 1975 and travelled immediately to Namibia. They travelled a lot back then, and soon packed up and moved to Amsterdam.

Barbel (Barbra) Elisabeth Poen, 79, was riding her e-bike when she was struck by a car on Bribie Island.

They were married in 1979 and shortly after moved from Amsterdam to Australia, where Mr Poen was offered a job working as a newspaper engineer at The Courier-Mail.

“She was a book keeper and at first she couldn’t find a job after we moved to Australia but was hired at Brisbane City Council and 22 years later she retired,” he said.

The pair were inseparable and would go on bush walks, cycle and kayak together.

“We retired to Bribie, when we put the kayak in the water we would paddle to Caloundra and stay overnight and paddle back,” he said.

Barbra was part of the Bribie Bicycle User Group (BUG), which offers locals the opportunity to gather and ride along the seaside. She joined with her husband 15 years ago.

Mr Poen said in Germany where Barbra grew up everyone had bicycles.

Barbra was riding along Goodwin Avenue on July 14 and was on the way to meet her husband and other members of the group at Woorim Beach for their weekly coffee catchup.

Mr Poen grew concerned after his wife failed to turn up and was riding his bike home when he saw her bike laying along Goodwin Avenue.

Barbel (Barbra) Elisabeth Poen. Picture Supplied

It is understood the Ford Falcon that was towing a yellow boat, and Barbra on her e-bike, were both travelling east near the Bribie Island Aquatic Centre when the incident occurred.

Emergency services were called to the scene but Barbra could not be saved.

The driver and sole occupant of the car was not injured.

Members of the cycling group said she was a “wonderful, vibrant lady. Full of life, intelligent, smart and a great friend to everyone”.

The Bribie Island cycling group has more than 120 cyclists, with some group members taking to social media sharing tributes for their much loved group members.

“Such an horrendous tragedy for her BUGS family and her beloved husband. We are all broken hearted, Barbara was a well loved and respected part of the Bribie community. RIP sweet Barb,” Kerry Anne Drury said in a social media post.

Another member Judee O’Leary said “Barbra was an integral part” of the riding group.

“So sad, Barbra was an integral part of our Bribie BUGs riding group. She will be missed,” Ms O’Leary said in a post to social media.

Parts of Goodwin Avenue were closed while police conducted their investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident,but the road was reopened to motorists by midday.

Witnesses or anyone with information or dashcam footage is urged to contact police.

This is the second serious accident on Goodwin Avenue in recent years.

A woman, toddler and baby were struck by a ute outside the Bribie Island shopping centre in 2022.

Originally published as Beloved Bribie Island cyclist Barbra Poen dies after accident en route to meet husband