Rachel found a fake fur coat at the Mont Albert Opportunity Shop. It was definitely a favourite. Here she is with Ashleigh-Rose.
A favourite pastime was improvising to music. This happened every day. This day, is the same occasion as the previous clip. During this play dance with Ashleigh-Rose she wasn't especially intent on particular dance steps it was free movement that was important. So if her dance teacher saw this she may well have picked her up on errors, but these times were about fun.
Rachel Barber
1983 -1999
Official Memorial Website
Administered by Rachel's parents Michael and Elizabeth Barber
1983 -1999
Official Memorial Website
Administered by Rachel's parents Michael and Elizabeth Barber
You guessed it. Rachel's favourite football team was the Sydney Swans. I thought Swans was very apt for Rachel who loved to dance. Her school friend Laura gave her the above card for her 13th birthday party. Another friend from St. Hilary's Youth Group invited her to a game. This friend knew one of the team and they were invited to the back rooms with her friend's father. Rachel was "lucky" enough to have her arms signed with her favourite team stars signatures. Problem was, she wouldn't wash her arms. After a week (yes, a whole week) I was very conscious school teachers would know Rachel wasn't washing properly; so we came to a compromise. I suggested I photograph her arms so she could remember the occasion and then she could have a shower. It worked!
After a day trip to Healesville Sanctuary with Nanny Joy pelicans became a favourite bird for Rachel. Rachel framed the photo to the right and had it on her wall, even as a 15 year old.
SYDNEY SWANS
Rachel liked cows and cow prints. Mike made her a pair of cow print pants, that she even wore on plain clothes day to school. Quite a few of her friends asked Mike if he could make some for them, as well, but Mike respectfully declined. Rachel had a cow print doona - and, oh dear - I placed it across the scanner and scanned the very same in.
'Musk by Alyssa Ashley' was her favourite perfume. It wasn't an expensive brand but it could certainly mask any body aroma after an energetic dance - a lot more than any under arm deodorant. At the end of the day, after a full day of dancing, the car certainly had a different smell about it. (Sorry, Rachel)
'Musk by Alyssa Ashley' was her favourite perfume. It wasn't an expensive brand but it could certainly mask any body aroma after an energetic dance - a lot more than any under arm deodorant. At the end of the day, after a full day of dancing, the car certainly had a different smell about it. (Sorry, Rachel)
The story of the wild barn owl is legend in our family; a favourite yarn that is recalled at family gatherings. Rachel made it into a short story when she was in Grade Six. I think you can tell from the story how proud she was of her father.
What Rachel doesn't say in this story is that this happened on a dark and rainy night, on a quiet country road. You will be glad to know that the owl made a full recovery and was eventually returned home.
What Rachel doesn't say in this story is that this happened on a dark and rainy night, on a quiet country road. You will be glad to know that the owl made a full recovery and was eventually returned home.
The Wild Barn Owl (By Rachel Barber)
Hi, my name is Rachel, and this is how something very funny happened to my family. My family was coming home from the shops when on the road we saw a WILD BARN OWL.
It had one wing up in the air and my dad picked the barn owl up and got in the car. It had very big claws. They were sharp and a beak as sharp as a sword.
Dad was very very brave.
We had to go to the vets and check if the owl had broken anything. They were shut so we went to the Shell Petrol Station and they were open and let us use their phone. I bought an icypole, musks and a chomp.
My dad felt something crawl out of the owl onto him. He said that it felt like a 20 cent piece. We all said it was probably a giant maggot. We all laughed.
We finally got on the phone with the vets and they said that the closest place for the vets was Phillip Island. Well, we were in Wonthaggi.
When we got there the lady checked that its wings were ok. She said that it probably flew into a barbed wire fence and said to put it back where it came from.The vet gave us a box to put the owl in to. We took it where we found it [but] it couldn't fly so we found its box and put it in and took it home. We took it to a lady at the Wonthaggi vets and she said she would look after it. We took it and she said to leave it with her so we did.
They told us that they had to xray the owl to see what was wrong with the owl. It had a dislocated shoulder and she said that it would have been in a lot of pain.
Hi, my name is Rachel, and this is how something very funny happened to my family. My family was coming home from the shops when on the road we saw a WILD BARN OWL.
It had one wing up in the air and my dad picked the barn owl up and got in the car. It had very big claws. They were sharp and a beak as sharp as a sword.
Dad was very very brave.
We had to go to the vets and check if the owl had broken anything. They were shut so we went to the Shell Petrol Station and they were open and let us use their phone. I bought an icypole, musks and a chomp.
My dad felt something crawl out of the owl onto him. He said that it felt like a 20 cent piece. We all said it was probably a giant maggot. We all laughed.
We finally got on the phone with the vets and they said that the closest place for the vets was Phillip Island. Well, we were in Wonthaggi.
When we got there the lady checked that its wings were ok. She said that it probably flew into a barbed wire fence and said to put it back where it came from.The vet gave us a box to put the owl in to. We took it where we found it [but] it couldn't fly so we found its box and put it in and took it home. We took it to a lady at the Wonthaggi vets and she said she would look after it. We took it and she said to leave it with her so we did.
They told us that they had to xray the owl to see what was wrong with the owl. It had a dislocated shoulder and she said that it would have been in a lot of pain.
Rachel's favourite jacket. Her Uncle Tony (Mike's brother) gave this to her. Rachel went through a stage of wearing this jacket absolutely everywhere. It drove me mad. However, I love to see the scratched knees on the photograph to the left. (Shows although she was dancer she still wasn't afraid of normal play and had the occasional fall.) And the photograph above was at the Melbourne Zoo with her sisters Heather and Ashleigh-Rose. I think the zebra must have thought it was seeing double.
The Dance Factory, Richmond(Rachel's absolute favourite place : Feb 1998 - Feb 1999)
This is a student photo taken for The Dance Factory and is here with their permission, and is their copyright. To this day they still have a large portrait of Rachel in the dance school.
The following is an edited excerpt I wrote and is from Perfect Victim.
After her fifteenth birthday in September 1998, and at the end of her third term in Year 9, Rachel pleaded to be allowed to leave school. she had the full support of Mike, but this was not an easy decision for me who had completed Year 12 and tertiary education. However, we were confident she would start a Diploma of Performance Arts in late January [1999], so when her English teacher said she'd danced down a row of desks, I said, 'Okay, Rachel, if you can find something constructive to do for the last term. But I'm not going to have you sitting idly at home.'
...What followed was a two-week period of diligent experimentation for Rachel applying for part-time jobs...
...At the end of this long two weeks for Rachel, I received a phone call from Dulcie, the artistic director at her dance school. She said Rachel had just been in her office.
'Dulcie,' Rachel had began. 'You know my fourth term scholarship? Could you please extend this to a full-time scholarship? Mum said if I could find something constructive to do I could leave school.' Dulcie, who had apparently been so impressed with Rachel's handling of the request, had agreed, if this was okay with me...
Rachel excelled in dance, never receiving less than a high distinction for her Royal Academy of Dance or contemporary dance exams... Now she was into the fifth week of a potentially wonderful two years and her dreams were being answered in an almost fairytale way. Everything was coming together. Life was good.
(edited excerpt from pp 4 - 5, Perfect Victim)
The Dance Factory
Fourth Term 1998
Rachel sewing costumes
Fourth Term 1998
Rachel sewing costumes
The Dance Factory
Diploma of Performance Arts (Full Time 1999)
Rachel is in the middle back row, you can just see her face.
Diploma of Performance Arts (Full Time 1999)
Rachel is in the middle back row, you can just see her face.
The following photographs were supplied and are here with the permission of The Dance Factory and copyright is with The Dance Factory.
Rachel Barber (This story published elsewhere is so without the permission of Rachel's family and breaches copyright law.)
Every story or descriptive text remains the copyright of Rachel Barber and/or the Barber family. If published elsewhere it is in breach of copyright law.