Twins, Mrs Lynette Pickering and Mrs Heather Hender (a former Resthaven Board Member) have always been there for one another. From celebrating successes, to shouldering burdens and everything in between. Turning 90 on 30 November this year, the pair share a birth year with Resthaven, which is also celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2025.
A resident of Resthaven Paradise, Heather had a successful career in nursing and was a member of the Resthaven Board from 1986-1995. Lynette is a resident at Resthaven Bellevue Heights Retirement Living and spent many years in retirement managing Op Shops with Save the Children and the Uniting Church. Lynette visits Heather regularly and phones each evening. The pair can often be found having a coffee and a biscuit, and a chat, in the café at Resthaven Paradise.
Early life
Born two months prematurely, the undiagnosed twins were a surprise to their parents, Reg and Dorothy Lamshed of Kadina, who were only expecting one baby.
‘We were tiny – our combined weight was just seven pounds!’ Lynette says. ‘Each of our legs was only the size of our father’s thumb. We were fed with eyedroppers because we were so small and had to be fed often.’
Despite their precarious start, the twins grew strong and enjoyed their time growing up on the family’s mixed-use farm, about 7 kilometres from Kadina. Both academically inclined, the twins began school at Boors Plain in one of the back rooms of the Methodist Church. The ‘school’ closed six months after the girls started as there were only six students enrolled, and so for a few years, they did Correspondence School lessons with their mother at home. Their sister Isla was born in 1940, so their mother juggled the tasks of teacher and mother. At the age of eight, Heather and Lynette went to Cunliffe Primary School, where they drove the horse and cart six kilometres each way. They then attended Kadina Memorial High School up until Year 10, at which point they completed the Commercial Course, learning typing and bookkeeping.
After school, Lynette was employed in the Office of the Kadina District Council and Heather began doing the accounts for the local garage.
‘My first pay was 5 pounds and 5 shillings,’ Heather says.
Heather started her nursing career at the age of 19, working at The Memorial Hospital, North Adelaide, in 1955. She was inspired to take on the career after a medical emergency of her own at the age of 18 when she was diagnosed with an ovarian cyst the size of three oranges.
‘The care I received, when I was in such pain, made me want to care for others,’ Heather says. ‘The training at Memorial was 48 hours a week in broken shifts – it was really hard.’
Excelling in the work, in 1960 Heather began midwifery at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and in January 1962 she travelled, with another nurse and two other friends to New Zealand. Deciding they didn’t want to work in nursing while they were overseas, the four of them found work at the liquorice allsorts factory.
‘It wasn’t long before I found a nursing job over there instead!’ Heather laughs.
The young women returned home, and Heather undertook an Operating Course at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in 1964. She received special mention for her proficiency at Cholecystectomy – removal of the gall bladder.
Meanwhile, at the age of 23, Lynette married her first husband, Doug, and moved off the farm to Edwardstown as he was training for the Methodist ministry at Wesley College, Wayville. During that time, she worked as a Cashier at the City of Mitcham council office.
After training, Doug was appointed to Lock on Eyre Peninsula when their first son, Michael, was born at Cleve. They then moved to Port Lincoln. During that time, Brenton was born. Doug applied to work as a Patrol Minister with the Methodist Inland Mission and was appointed to Meekatharra in Western Australia where Richard was born. They then adopted a baby girl, Julie, while in the Geraldton Parish.
‘It was a tough time,’ Lynette says. ‘There were always people coming in for meals, I was looking after the children without help, and it was a long, hot summer – there were no mod cons in Meekatharra.’
In 1966, sadly, Heather and Lynette’s mother, Dorothy, died from breast cancer at the age of 55. The twins nursed her at home on the farm until the end, also providing support to their father, Reg. Reg died in 1981 at the age of 72.
A trip cut short
In 1974, Heather travelled to Dallas, Texas where she worked in operating rooms at the Presbyterian Hospital and experienced the American healthcare system.
‘It was probably the best experience of my nursing career,’ Heather says.
From there Heather travelled Europe for six months, returning to Adelaide in early December 1975. Lynette and her family had moved to Maitland, Yorke Peninsula, but the marriage had broken down and Lynette found a house in the Adelaide Hills with the children.
‘Heather cut short her overseas trip and came and helped me to pack everything up,’ Lynette says. ‘We moved into a house in Woodside on New Years Eve 1975.’
After a few years, the family moved to Lower Mitcham, and it was here that she met her second husband, George Pickering. With teenage children of his own, neither parent was in a hurry to cohabit, but in 1990 Lynette and George married and moved to Eden Hills.
At around this time, Lynette began volunteering for the Save the Children charity. She worked there for ten years, before a change in management style prompted her to leave. However, still keen to do this work, she then started up the Op Shop at the Mitcham Village Uniting Church.
‘I felt strongly that the items should be sold at reasonable prices to help those with low incomes,’ Lynette says.
At Mitcham Village Uniting Church, thousands of dollars have now been donated to Missions and needy causes, thanks to Lynette’s work, now carried on by other volunteers.
Time on the Board
Heather continued working in nursing, learning additional skills and completing her Diploma of Nursing Administration in 1977 in Melbourne. Returning to Adelaide, on 2 October 1982, she married Barrie Hender at the Tusmore Memorial Uniting Church. She continued to work in nursing and became the Director of Nursing at The Memorial Hospital in 1983, and it was in this role that she was tapped on the shoulder to join the Resthaven Board.
‘I had the right skills, and my association with the Uniting Church made it a good fit,’ Heather says.
Heather went on to work as a receptionist with EDARAP Services, and later as a sales representative for N. Stennings Surgical Supplies. While in this role, Heather broke her femur and needed time off work. Heather’s boss asked her if she knew anyone who could step into the role, and she recommended Lynette.
‘It was the type of job that was mainly in the office, and involved a lot of faxing,’ Lynette says. ‘If I was ever stuck, I would ring Heather, and she would let me know where to find whatever I was looking for or what to do. The postman came in every day, but I don’t think he ever realised I wasn’t Heather!’
From then on, whenever Heather needed time off, Lynette would step in.
‘It worked very well!’ Lynette says.
In 1990, Heather passed with distinction the ‘Transforming Mathematics for Women’ course at the University of South Australia and followed this up in 1992 with SAS Applied Mathematics through the Open Access College and in 1993 with SAS Business Mathematics at Marden Senior College. She became the Patroness of the Memorial Trained Nurses’ Association, after many years on the Committee and twice as President. Heather was also involved with the Tusmore Memorial Uniting Church and was the President of the Evening Fellowship for some time.
‘The church has been a big part of our lives, throughout all the years,’ Lynette says.
Sadly, both Heather and Lynette’s husbands have now died. Lynette’s eldest son, Michael, died when he was aged 33 and her second son, Brenton, when he was aged 58. Lynette’s third son, Richard, is currently the Australian Ambassador in Croatia and Kosovo and her daughter, Julie, currently lives in NSW.
The twin’s sister, Isla, lives in the country, but visits as often as she can.
Lynette’s advice to others: ‘Help the poor and needy where possible,’ Lynette says. ‘We are on this earth to help others who are less fortunate.’
Heather and Lynette both share their birth year with Resthaven – celebrating 90 years in 2025! We are honouring those turning 90 in our 90th year with a series of articles showcasing their stories – building a picture of life in South Australia over the decades. You can find more 1935ers on our website.
Established in 1935, Resthaven is a South Australian not-for-profit aged care community service associated with the Uniting Church in Australia.
Every day, Resthaven shares the lives and wisdom of older people and their carers, opening doors to the full range of aged care service options available.
Services are provided throughout metropolitan Adelaide, the Adelaide Hills, Murraylands, Riverland, Fleurieu Peninsula, lower Barossa region and the Limestone Coast of South Australia.
