Obituary: Elizabeth Suzanne (Dicky) Dickens QSM LPSNZ By Albert Aanense - Life Member, Taupo Camera Club
DICKY, A LIFE Member of the Taupo Camera Club, passed away on 19 February 2020, aged 92 years. She became a TCC member in 1980, joined the committee that year and, in the following 30 years, held most club positions. When her presidencies were over, she undertook many other roles. She served on the PSNZ Council in 1986 and 1987 and was involved in the organisation of three National Conventions held in Taupo. She was a strong and influential member of the 1988 Convention Organising Committee, an inexperienced group which at very short notice hosted one of the Society’s most successful conventions. She also worked to organise regional conventions and seminars. She achieved her PSNZ Licentiate in 1998. Her tenure as Club President resulted in increased membership and much goodwill throughout the community. Her leadership and time spent helping members often affected her own photographic aspirations. She was a good communicator and inclusive in everything she did. We all knew that a phone call and discussion with her would have any problems, or perceived ones, sorted quickly and with little fuss. She was clear in her views on how things should be done to reach the right result, while having the patience to listen to alternative views. 28
In her early life in the UK, before coming to New Zealand in 1956, Dicky was an accomplished horsewoman and equestrian coach/instructor. Her working life was associated with New Zealand Equestrian activities and dog obedience training. She used her photographic skills to illustrate the books and manuals she co-authored for the New Zealand Pony Clubs Association, spending many hours in her darkroom. She knew the poses that were acceptable to portray horses and dogs to their best advantage. Dicky was a member of LPG (Light Photography Group) formed after the 1981 PSNZ National Convention. That group, with Dicky as Secretary, had a big impact on New Zealand photography over the following 20 years, bringing in overseas photographers for seminars in Taupo. When individuals like Dicky pass on, club members often know little of the considerable contributions they had made, and many are unaware that they are the beneficiaries of those efforts. Dicky gave us so much. In 1990 Dicky was awarded a Queen’s Service Medal (QSM) for service to her sport and community. She lived a full life, was a multitalented, gracious and unpretentious lady who still found time for photography. Photography has lost a friend. May her soul now be free to saddle up and ride into the sunset, creating great photographs along the trail.
