It was a bittersweet moment for Salvation Army Lieutenant Harriet Farquhar as she bid Bunbury adieu after four years.
Lt. Farquhar and her husband, Salvos candidate helper David Burbidge, have moved to Melbourne this week.
She will take up an administrative position in the Salvos’ territorial headquarters while Mr Burbidge will train to become a Salvation Army officer.
Captains Mark and Zoe Schatz will be taking over from Lt. Farquhar this month.
She said she had been touched by the community’s generosity over the past four years.
“Whenever we’ve asked, the community has responded with as much as they have been able to give and that has always been appreciated,” she said.
In reflecting upon her time in Bunbury, Lt. Farquhar acknowledged the 2016 Yarloop/Waroona bushfires as being significant to the region’s history.
She commended the Salvos’ efforts over the three weeks the fire ground had been active in the area.
Lt. Farquhar had been Swan Hill Hospital’s chief podiatrist and a Charles Sturt University health science lecturer prior to her time with the Salvos.
She was appointed to Bunbury in 2013 after fulfilling her Salvation Army training in Melbourne.
“I had a little list – I wanted a beach, I wanted it to be warm, and to have a mix of social stuff and church stuff – and Bunbury had ticked a lot of things on my list,” she said.
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