John ‘Charlie’ Veron’s biography of Inge brings her back to life as no one else could. I had assumed that once her ashes were returned to her beloved Pioneer Bay, she would be re-incarnated as a Giant Clam or Green Frog and continue to keep an eye on Orpheus Island. What Charlie has done is to keep her alive for everyone – her friends and for all those who will only meet her on the pages of this warm and very human biography. No one was untouched by knowing Inge. Her story is an epic saga of the worth and persevering quality of the human spirit.

– John Coll, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Australian Catholic University

In 1978 I asked Inge if she would be hostess – and of course chef and entertainer – to a dinner for Australian Vice-Chancellors and their wives at Pioneer Bay. It was a memorable evening and the start of many friendships with Inge. Of course I knew then that Charlie Veron was Inge’s trusted friend and confidante, but I never appreciated his depth of understanding of her colourful personality. Now, in masterly prose, he has woven the many strands of her extraordinary life into a stunning biography.

– Ken Back, Former Vice-Chancellor, James Cook University

Memory tends to dim, but never this one. Many years ago, a small boy with an enquiring mind came to see me about a jar of marine worms he was clutching. That boy, Charlie Veron, has remained a great friend of mine ever since. With this book, written with great skill and sensitivity, Charlie has ensured the memory of a unique and fascinating human being, one with whom I have enjoyed many a gin and tonic, watching the sunset on her enchanted beach. Charlie has revealed the heart and soul of a person whose profound love of Nature touched all who knew her.

– Isobel Bennett, author of The Great Barrier Reef and other marine classics

This book is a rarity. Charlie, one of the world’s most prolific authors about coral reefs, has turned his attention to the most charismatic character most of us have ever come across. With a fluency rarely found in scientists, he brings Inge to life and allows us to see for ourselves what an extraordinary person she really was. Many of us knew Inge, but nobody could have known her as Charlie did. May this book allow her to ‘live’ forever.

– Terry Done, Former President, International Society for Reef Studies

Inge is a warm and very human biography that reveals the heart and soul of a unique, fascinating woman and her extraordinary life.

This is the story of Inge’s aristocratic beginnings in her native Austria, of a restless spirit who travelled the world and found peace on Orpheus Island on the Great Barrier Reef where she lived the later years of her life almost as a hermit.

Veron weaves together the many strands of her colourful life to capture the life of a woman who left a lasting impression on all those she came in contact with. Inge lived life according to her own rules, and her unique set of values will make readers reflect on their own values, and the values of the society in which we live.

Inge will have broad appeal to readers of all ages. The diversity of Inge’s experiences throughout her colourful life; her journey, both physically, emotionally and spirtitually offer insight an insight into the human spirit that few readers could deny. In particular, those people who share Inge’s love for Nature will be fascinated with this book.


John (Charlie) Veron was Inge’s trusted friend and confidante after they met at her home on Orpheus Island in 1974.

A marine scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Townsville, Charlie is one of the world’s most prolific authors on the subject of coral reefs, and is personally responsible for the discovery of more than 30 of the world’s coral species.

This is Charlie’s first foray into literary writing, but Inge shows a finely crafted eye for detail and an keen ability to recreate character and scene with honesty and respect.

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