Mr Barden was an artist, a father, a traveller, a hard worker, an innovator and he was heavily involved in the community. At one time he was a member of Warrawidgee Rural Fire Brigade and president of Goolgowi P&C. 

Griffith irrigator John Bonetti was coaching under 18s rugby when he met Garry Barden, a player whom he later played alongside in first grade. 

“The world is sometimes tough on us, we shouldn’t lose people like him so young,” Mr Bonetti said.

“He always did his best and he was a man of his word.

“Garry was a top bloke and I’m proud to have called him a friend.”

After high school, Mr Barden bought a Mitsubishi Scorpion and drove around Australia, working in mines and filling the boot with agate stone to polish when he got home. His creativity would emerge in his later years when he started making sculptures out of scrap metal and spare parts, leading eventually to a business and awards.

Along with his wife Bernadette, Mr Barden travelled the world, hiking to Machu Picchu in Peru, to Everest Base Camp in Tibet and along the death march trail in Sumatra.

Mr Barden’s father, Terry, said travel was in his son’s blood.

“He loved the outdoors, he was that sort of lad who would get out and do things,” he said.

“One year he travelled to America with a friend from Griffith and they spent months following the wheat harvest and driving headers.

“Years ago they drove through Lennox Head and Bernadette said it would be a lovely place to live one day and they basically wound up living right there.”

The retired farmer moved to Tintenbar near Lennox Head on the NSW north coast after years of work on the farm and in the community. 

In the 1990’s, Mr Barden started to make his sculptures and in the mid 2000’s he exhibited and sold his work at Griffith Cottage Gallery, but once he made the move to the coast his Steelife business really took off.

Terry Barden said his son still had commissioned pieces in his order book when he died on Friday.

“He’d had an operation and we thought the tumour was under control but then it came back and travelled quick,” Mr Barden said.

“He won’t be able to fill those orders now.”

Long-time friend Greg Sutcliffe said Mr Barden was always positive, even when he found out he was sick.

“He never gave up,” Mr Sutcliffe said.

“Whenever I rang him up and things had gone bad he’d say he’d just have to go to ‘Plan B’, even if he didn’t know what it was there was always something.

“He was a bloke everyone liked, you were always a mate and he was an easy bloke to get on with. It’s a real shame.”

David Star, who knew Mr Barden for almost 30 years, said he was a “top bloke” who was always willing to help.

“He did great things at Goolgowi school and he fixed the cross on the roof of the church,” Mr Star said.

“Even when he moved up the coast he was advising the sugar cane farmers about using rice in their rotation.

“He was just a clever guy who could set his hands at anything.”

Garry Barden will be sadly missed by his loving wife Bernadette and his sons William, James, Jack and Tom, his sister Lea and his parents, Lavinia and Terry, as well as his many friends.

A memorial service will be held near Boulder Beach at 1pm on Friday and many people from the area have told the family they intend to go and pay their respects to their friend.

You can see some of Garry’s work at his website here.