With love and respect we commemorate and celebrate the life of Susan Duncan, the redoubtable author and Pittwater local, who passed away at her beloved boat-access only home on Salvation Creek last weekend.

As we unpacked copies of her new book ‘Finding Joy in Oyster Bay‘, still reeling from the news, we reflected on the truth contained in that title. Susan truly did find joy in the offshore bays of Pittwater. In her bestselling memoir Salvation Creek she wrote about the tragedies that altered her life’s trajectory and led her to Lovett Bay, where she formed deep bonds with the offshore community. It was here she met her husband Bob, who had endured his own tragedy. Together they cared for Tarrangaua, the 1925 home of poet Dorothea Mackellar, opening it often for fundraisers, talks and dinners. It was, in her own words, a life of “Dogs. People. Boats. Kids. Ferries. Water life. Busy but low key. No harassed faces. No rushing”.

Susan made her final journey along her beloved Salvation Creek, through Lovett Bay to the mainland with seventeen boats of friends and neighbours following in flotilla. A lone sea eagle wheeled above, as if it was Susan watching over us.

We send our love to the family and friends of one of the most delightful, courageous and indefatigable members of the Pittwater community.