Page 28 - Luce 2016

Obituaries

Neilma Gantner Dr Lexia Bryant OAM
7 November 1922 – 15 June 2015 24 November 1940 – 20 May 2015

Neilma Gantner (Myer 1940) was the Born in Williamstown, Dr Lexia Bryant
second child of the great Melbourne (1963) attended Williamstown High
retailer and philanthropist Sidney Myer School and University High School before
and his wife Merlyn. She was born being accepted into medicine at the
in San Francisco but she returned to University of Melbourne, one of about a
Australia as a very small child. Her dozen women among several hundred
father died suddenly in Melbourne students. She won a scholarship to JCH
when she was only 11. She was where living with other medical students opened a new world
educated at St Catherine’s School in to her. She discovered opera and classical music, a passion
Melbourne where, she would say, her which remained with her for life.
only claims to fame were playing in the hockey team and
playing Julius Caesar in Shakespeare’s play of the same name. For two years from 1976 Lexia lived and worked abroad, first
in rural England in Cambridge in an isolated army barracks,
Neilma graduated with degrees from the University of then in London as an urban GP, followed by a stint as a rural
Melbourne and Stanford. A published poet, novelist and short GP in Rochester and finally in Fermoy and Donneraile, Ireland
story writer, she was a committed and inspired philanthropist as a rural GP.
and was founding member and Life Governor of The Myer
Foundation. Returning to Victoria she joined an established practice in
Moonee Ponds and then moved to rural Victoria where
Her first published book of short stories, Saturday Afternoon she became one of a three doctor practice in a small town,
appeared in 1959 under the Cheshire’s imprint. In subsequent providing a full range of services including hospital based
years, books of short stories and novels followed including services to her communities. She trained in family therapy to
Beyond the Bay, The Eye of the Needle, The Return, Journey to better equip herself to meet the needs of the people of that
Mourilyan, Sunday Evening, The Sweet Cool South Wind and town.
The Tale of Henrietta the Hen & Pepe a Sea Cat. Early in 2015
her last collection of stories, My Travelling Life, was published. Lexia joined the staff of the medical faculty at Monash
University in 1996. She was one of the first doctors to work
During a lifetime of philanthropy she quietly helped many at the emerging School of Rural Health, where she mentored
small organisations and individuals as well as major arts and taught medical students skills for rural practice. This led to
institutions such as the NGV, the Arts Centre Melbourne national and international presentations to world rural doctor
and the Malthouse Theatre. She never sought thanks, conferences in Durban, Dublin, Kuching and Calgary, many
believing that having the means to give was a privilege. As focussed on identifying what women needed in order to work
vice-president of International Social Service, a refugee and in rural practice.
adoption agency, she served a term on the executive of the
organisation in Geneva and enjoyed a lifelong association In 1999 Lexia became the first woman to be nominated
with the international philanthropy program at Johns Hopkins President of the Australian College of Rural and Remote
University. Medicine. She was inducted into the Australian Women's
Pioneering Hall of Fame in 2002 and granted the Vida
A long-term resident of Bermagui, Neilma was devoted to Goldstein award from the Women's Electoral Lobby for her
the region and founded the ‘Four Winds Festival’ there in contribution to the professions in 2003. She was awarded
1991. The Four Winds Festival quickly earned a reputation an Order of Australia Medal in 2004 in recognition of her
for excellence and the organisation continues to invest heavily dedicated work in rural medicine.
in year-round work with the local community encouraging
creative and musical practice in the region. After she left Monash she worked for some years with the
Rural Workforce Agency Victoria and later joined the Remote
In a moving tribute to his mother, Carillo Gantner wrote: ‘more Area Medical Corporation to work with the Aboriginal
important than any of her achievements about which she was community of Ltyentye Apurte Community, also known as
always so self-effacing… I think of her grace, her humour, her Santa Teresa, south of Alice Springs.
generosity, her wisdom, her compassion, her modesty, her
defiant eccentricity, her love of family and friends. In recent Lexia was living at Kangaroo Ground at the time of the 2009
years, my mother liked to think of herself as a sweet little old bushfires that wiped out Kinglake, Marysville and surrounding
lady. In fact she was an old lady of formidable will, a certainty communities. She was one of the first doctors to go to
of views and very high principles’. Kinglake in the aftermath and remained a pillar of strength to
her local community.

28 LUCE Number 14 2015