A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
Wollongong,Tarana & Rydal
My only knowledge of Wollongong, besides my
sisters Karlene and Joan (I do not really remem-
ber them) is a story from Mum, told to me many
years later of course, of an interesting incident
that happened in May 1945 at our then home at
41 Jutland Ave, Wollongong. The house had to
be reasonably close to shopping as Mum didn’t
drive. Obviously it was nearing the end of WWII
when I arrived so I guess Mum walked lots as
Dad was still winding down his service in the
Army so Mum had to be a walker as she never
held a driving licence. Although motor vehicles
were indeed a luxury item at that time anyway.
Mum told me once when I was about 10mths, she had left me sitting on the kitchen
cupboard, for just a few seconds, and when she turned back there I was sitting on the
floor with not a whimper, until she picked me up. A trip to the doctor suggested a
possible hairline fracture of the femur, so from very early on it seems that trouble
was never far away for me.
We had a family friend or relative living not too far away from us in Wollongong, we
called her ‘Quinnie’ and we visited her whenever we returned to Wollongong, which
was many times over the years. Karlie will know.......
We must have only lived in Wollongong for a short time and apparently Dad had
worked at the steelworks in Wollongong for some time after he was released from his
army service. Uncle George at that time owned the shop at Tarana and he asked Dad
and Mum to manage the shop, which included the butcher shop between the shop
and the residence. I don’t know how it went really but I think Dad did the butcher
shop and Mum the general store.
Charles & Fanny Louisa Mansingh lived at Tarana Quarries - verify this .............
Apparently I was also regular visitor to the Tarana pub across the road from the shop
where I used to sit on a stool at the far end of the bar to converse with the publican
Bob Gillett early in the day as he prepared for the regulars to arrive. Somehow Bob
used to always have something available to eat from the kitchen to keep me going till
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
lunchtime, which wasn’t 12:30pm or 1pm in those days,
lunch was when you felt hungry. So it was back across
the road to the store and annoy Mum or Dad as I was
only about four at that time, then it would be up to
Tarana schoolhouse where I would meet up with my
mate Tiny Cluely during morning playtime or lunch
break. I have been told that one day Tiny and I went to
the chook house at the Webb property on top of the hill behind the school, grabbed a
few live chooks and tossed them down the pit toilets in the school yard.
How we were discovered or who had found the chooks I know not, but it did happen
and to prevent something else happening again the schoolmaster allowed me to start
school when I was four and a half years old. The reason being that when I was’nt
getting into trouble with Tiny I was pestering the school master to let me come to
school. So he did and I officially started in January 1949, problem solved.
At
Tarana
Dad
used
to
make
customer
deliveries
from
the
shop
in
Tarana
in
his
1930’s
something
T-Model
Ford
Ute
Regd.No.LX-026
,
somehow
it’s
just
the
rego
number
I
remember
specifically.
Sometimes
I
would
go
with
Dad
when
he
made
deliveries
to
Kate
Griffith
&
Albert
at
Jerrys
Mount
where
some
of
Mum’s
uncles
(
all
bachelors
)
on
the
Charlton
side
of
the
family,
used
to
walk
to
the
store
from
Jerrys
Mount
to
get
provisions.
There
was
Uncle
Ike,
Joe,
Sidney,
Horatio,
Alfred
&
Walter
who
all
lived
at
the mount and never married (
thanks to big sister Karlene for this info
).
Well this was the start of my attachment to motor vehicles I guess and it seemed that
during the few months I got a bit impatient so I started a bit of vehicle theft (albeit
temporary). First to go was a Co-op Bakery lorry parked out front of the general store,
I got in the driver’s seat, let the hand handbrake off and the lorry rolled across the
road and into the wire fence between the railway station and the shop. First hand
witness’s there report I said “If the bloody fence wasn’t there I’d have been in Bathurst
by now”.
Bur wait there’s more; some time after this incident another careless local driving a
rather large four door sedan left his vehicle at the front of the store, no keys but
unlocked, easy pickings; so I gave it another go, off with the handbrake and hang onto
the steering wheel. Same ending with that fence getting in the way but no stories from
the rescuers as to any comments by yours truly!
I am unaware of the direct results of my theft and capture with regard to punishment,
grounding wasn’t around in those days, but maybe there is one chance! Karlie!
The next step for our family was when Dad had arranged a job with Arcos at the new
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
Wallerawang Power Station which was being built, however this meant a family move
to Rydal to minimise travel and Uncle George returned to take over the store.
Rydal
When we first arrived in Rydal around 1950 we were in a house up on the hillside
almost directly in line with the railway Crossing, we only stayed there for a few weeks
or months until we moved to Charles Street and I don’t recall anything from that
house, as yet, one more thing to discuss with Karlie.
The house in Charles Street was an old fibro place with an old fashioned wood stove
for cooking, an icebox for keeping food cool and a chip heater to heat up the water for
baths. No showers in those days, at least that I know of. In order to keep the stove
going all day for Mum to cook, the open fire in winter,clean up and do the washing we
needed plenty of wood as there was an open fireplace for winter. So Dad ordered in
six ton of wood which need to be split for the stove, he bought a new axe for me. He
demonstrated his way of cutting wood to the right size, then handed the axe to me and
said have a go, this first lot had been well cut so not a lot to do except make chips for
the chip heater in the laundry/bathroom, this was an every day job for hot water in
the bath.
Every week a very large block of ice would arrive on the train from Bathurst, I would
lug the block of ice home with an ice block handle from the Railway Station and put it
in Mum’s Ice Box which was similar to our fridge freezer we all use now. We didn’t
open the icebox like we do now with a modern fridge, every time we feel like an ice
cream, ice block or a cold drink. Eventually Dad bought a Fridgidaire Electric fridge,
with a freezer, for Mum and I was a happy lad with one less job to do. ............
We were directly across the road from the Hunter (Richard) family, about 100 yards
from the Rydal railway station, on the inside of a bend in the road which went on over
Solitary Creek and up the hill to the large Kings home which was set back in the bush
at the top of the hill. Our house was in a direct line to the Railway station, jump
through a wire fence, cross the railway lines, through the station with a quick ‘Hello’
to station master Keith McManus or Greg Featherstone and then across Rydal’s main
street to the Public School, easy as one could ask for. The school headmaster was
Charlie Gorman who was an older chap but in my view he was a good teacher and
each year we had visiting teachers from Bathurst Teachers College for a couple of
weeks, which we all looked forward to.
Of course gravel road up the hill behind our place was the perfect place for billy cart
racing, so Dad introduced me to building my own stuff, we kids didn’t buy or sell carts
we just made our own unique versions and that is what we used till they fell apart.
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
Once Dad could see that I was making an effort he chimed in and taught me about the
tools I had use and mechanical issues I needed to know, if the cart was to work
properly.
We did have an annual billy cart race ........ which attracted a crowd of local spectat-
ors, about ten local mothers and fathers ......... Peter Gardiner, David Flynn, Billy
Wilson, ???? Peppernell, Rodney Arrowsmith, Richard Hunter, Laurie Clements & me, I
am unsure whether or not Andrew Blowes (Mt Lambie) came in to town to compete ......
Just beside the railway line out towards Wallerawang an old guy used to have a small
eucalyptus plantation - extract the oil (slow process) and then sold it ............
..............
Lithgow, Green Valley, Dulwich Hill, Marrickville,
Goulburn, Broken Hill & Charlestown.
A
twelve
year
family
history
from
our
beginning
and
the
road
to
Newcastle,
along
with
everyday
issues
we
had
to
deal
with
during
those
times.
After
we
married
in
1966
Allana
and
I
lived
in
a
sparsley
furnished
semi
detached
Terrace
House
in
Lithgow
St,
Lithgow,
knowing
we
would
be
moving
to
Sydney
later
in
the
year.
I
was
working
at
Marcus
Clarks
furniture
store
and
Allana
continued
working
at
Fosseys,
pending
my
call
up
to
the
NSW
Police
Force hopefully around August 1966.
I
was
accepted
and
while
I
did
my
initial
six
week
training
course
in
Sydney
Al
-
lana
stayed
with
best
friend’s
Joan
and
Les
Drury
in
Lithgow.
After
my
six
week
training
course
my
first
station
was
Newtown,
and,
on
my
very
first
day
on
the
job
Sue-Ellen
was
born.
I
was
noti
-
fied
as
our
group
of
about
seven
were
being
introduced
to
our
senior
officers.
Everything
stopped
and
they
arranged
three
days
off
for
me
to
get
out
of
the
way,
go
back
home
and
meet
our
new
family
addition.
By
the
time
I
got
back
to
Lithgow
Joan
and
Les
Dury
had
the
move
organised
for
us,
everything
was
packed
and
ready
to
go!
Allana
was
spending
lots
of
time
getting
to
know
Sue-Ellen,
a
few
more
phone
calls
and
we
started
the
move
to
Sydney.
We
had
to
move
fast,
packed
our
goods
in
the
Standard
Super
10
and
headed
to
Green
Valley
where
we
stayed
with
my
sister
Karlene
for
a
couple
of
weeks
until
we
found
suitable
housing
at
Dulwich
Hill,
which
was
much
nearer to Newtown.
First
unit
was
in
a
block
of
flats
in
Osgood
Ave
for
a
few
weeks,
but
Allana
was
uncom
-
fortable
as
we
were
one
among
60
other
units
with
over
250
people
in
the
building.
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
Allana
wasn’t
used
to
living
that
way,
so
our
agent
found
us
a
two
bedroom
semi-
detached
weatherboard
house
just
a
few
streets
away
and
that
suited
Allana.
She
fitted
in
immediately
with
our
neighbours
who
also
had
a
baby,
son
(‘
Michael’),
everyone got along fine.
In
those
days
night
shift
lasted
for
three
weeks
so
for
Allana
being
alone
at
night
in
Sydney
was
difficult,
it
was
hard
to
deal
with
but
she
tolerated
it.
We
didn’t
like
city
living
at
all,
we
had
to
find
a
solution,
and
we
did.
To
avoid
night
shift
I
com
-
pleted
a
motor
cycle
training
course
at
St
Ives
so
I
could
transfer
to
the
traffic
branch
at
Newtown,
no
more
night
shifts
and
that
made
Allana
very
happy.
We
had
a
good
crew
and
all
the
crew
from
New
-
town
traffic
office
called
in
at
home
to
meet
Allana
early
on,
to
reassure
her
they
were
as
near
as
the
telephone
while
I
was
working.
Everything Stood Still
All
was
good
until
about
10
months
later
when
I
had
a
serious
motorcycle
accident,
en
route
to
another
serious
motor
vehicle
accident
involving
a
young
child.
I
had
no
idea
what
had
occurred
since
the
accident,
Lithgow
police
had
seen
Mum
within
thirty
minutes
of
the
accident
and
arrangements
were
in
place
for
the
Highway
Patrol
to
get
Mum
to
RPA
ASAP.
Joan
&
Pat
travelled
from
Orange
and
collected
Mum
on the way through and the HWP escorted them all the way to RPA.
I
was
unconscious
for
three
days
in
intensive
care
at
RPA
and
the
doctors
didn’t
think
I’d
survive,
but
I
did.
When
I
got
out
of
hospital
my
boss
arranged
a
transfer
to
Goulburn
on
general
duties,
after
conferring
with
Allana;
who
didn’t
want
me
riding
motorcycles
anymore.
He
explained
to
her
that
shift
work
in
the
country
was
vastly
different
to
Sydney,
I
didn’t
want
to
give
up
the
bikes
but
Allana
was
really
fright
-
ened,
it
was
a
no
brainer.
This
was
a
chance
for
us
to
get
back
to
the
bush,
quick
time.
We
upgraded
our
vehicle
from
a
Standard
Super
10
to
a
much
larger
1956
Holden
Special
that
we
bought
for
$150
-
a
new
one
cost
around
$1800
at
that
time.
We
both
wanted
out
of
Sydney
so
we
jumped
at
the
chance
of
a
transfer
to
Goulburn.
We
were
allowed
three
days
to
travel
to
Goulburn
and
find
somewhere
to
live,
along
with
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
eighteen dollars expenses
($18.00) and we got right into it, the quicker the better.
We
found
a
small
flat
in
the
main
street,
119
Auburn
St,
at
the
rear
of
Goulburn
saddler
Bill
Dutallis,
who
was
a
legend
in
the
area,
a
great
bloke
and
he
gave
us
an
open
ended
rental
until
we
could
find
a
house.
The
ground
floor
consisted
of
a
very
small
bathroom/laundry
at
the
back,
an
outside
toilet
and
a
very
narrow
backyard
with
no
grass.
The
kitchen
was
very
small
with
very
ordinary
lighting,
about
three
square
metres,
with
a
slow
combustion
stove
like
Allana
was
used
to
using
and
she
loved
it,
as
it
was
just
like
her
Mum
had.
The
dining
room
of
about
four
square
metres
stood
between
the
kitchen
and
the
stairwell
adjacent
the
rear
entrance
to
the
Saddlers
shop. Upstairs and above the shop were the two bedrooms.
Bill
Dutallis
had
never
intended
to
rent
the
flat
until
it
had
been
updated
and
painted,
however,
I
offered
to
work
on
the
kitchen
and
laundry
with
painting
and
laying
tiles
in
return,
and
he
agreed.
We
were
both
happy
with
that
arrangement
but
as
you
can
see
from
the
only
photo
I
have
taken,
out
in
the
back
yard,
it
was
not
very
impressive!
Bill
had
access
to
the
external
toilet
via
an
exit
door
at
the
bottom
of
the
stairwell
at
the
rear
of
his
shop.
This
was
never
a
problem
for
Allana
as
she
would
often
make
morning
tea
for
Bill
and
being
a
pretty
good
horsewoman
herself
she
would
often
watch
him
hand
craft
beautiful
saddles
from
the
ground
up,
with
Sue-Ellen
always
nearby in her bassinet.
Photo:
Sue-Ellen at front of Saddlers in Goulburn 1968
Rentals
were
very
hard
to
get
at
Goulburn
in
1967
so
we
didn’t
have
much
choice,
in
fact
we
were
lucky
to
score
the
rental
we
did
within
a
day,
and,
the
flat
did
have
some
basic furniture
which was a bonus for us at that time.
Over
the
next
few
weeks
Allana
made
lots
of
shopping
trips,
which
was
just
outside
the
front
door.
While
checking
out
the
shops
she
was
offered
a
part
time
job,
which
she
wanted
to
take
,
but
I
was
back
on
shift
work
again
and
we
decided
it
was
better
for
me
to
get
extra
work
(
Police
were
not
allowed
to
have
2nd
jobs
),
if
discovered
you
could
be
sacked,
but
cops
had
to
do
something
because
the
wages
were
so
low.
My
take
home
pay
was
about
$90.00
per
fortnight
at
the
time
so
there
was
very
little
money
over
to
save
for
a
deposit
on
a
home.
However;
I
soon
found
out
how
to
get
work
without
causing
any
problems
at
work.
Photo of our back yard!
We
wanted
to
buy
a
house,
we
had
no
money
in
the
bank
and
a
young
child,
so
we
had
to
work
on
it
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
and
we
I
did,
however
working
so
much
in
my
spare
time
didn’t
allow
enough
family
time;
I didn’t realise the potential problems that would arise!
We wanted to buy our first home - at Goulburn
Over
the
next
twelve
months
I
found
plenty
of
part
time
work
as
a
builders
offsider,
in
shearing
sheds
(
Crookwell
),
land
clearing,
carting
hay
(
Lake
George
),
fixing
prop
-
erty
dams
such
at
Ozzie
Rabjohns
dam
on
(
Woodhouselee
),
rebuilding
washing
machines
at
the
rear
of
Clive
Flacks
dealership
in
Auburn
St
Goulburn
(Aust
Hockey
player)
who
sold
cars,
fridges
and
electrical
appliances.
I
also
got
excellent
discounts
when we did buy our first fridge and washing machine.
Shiftwork
hours
at
Goulburn
were
5am-1:30pm,
1pm-9:30pm
and
Night
Shift
9pm-
5:30am,
which
worked
OK
for
those
of
us
who
had
second
jobs
as
we
could
work
many hours between shifts and on rest days.
This
was
great
for
us
as
we
had
no
furniture
or
household
appliances
such
as
a
mix-
master,
fridge
or
washing
machine
.
So
it
wasn’t
just
a
matter
of
putting
the
extra
dollars
into
the
bank
to
buy
a
house,
we
were
buying
whitegoods
also,
I
did
more
and
more
part-time
work
to
make
ends
meet.
My
focus
was
on
putting
money
in
the
bank
and
I didn’t see what was coming!
I was working so much I just came home to
sleep
.
Extra
jobs
had
me
away
from
home
between
shifts,
particularly
on
rest
days,
so
Allana
&
Sue-Ellen
were
alone
for
long
periods
of
time,
and
in
particular
,
during
the
first
fifteen
months.
Initially
that
must
have
been
very
difficult
for
Allana
to
deal
with
and
I
was
getting
as
much
extra
work
as
I
could,
money
in
the
bank
was
growing
and
everything
seemed
fine.
This
was
important
to
us
as
we
were
saving
a
deposit
for
our
new
home,
which
had
become
a
real
possibility
with
the
assistance
of
our
new
bank
manager.
There
were
no
sign’s
of
any
personal
problems
with
Allana,
she
never
complained
to
me,
but
apparently
had
done
so
to
our
doctor;
as
I
was
to
find
out later!
I
did
have
some
time
off,
time
when
I
wasn’t
working
and
so
we
tried
our
hand
at
making
ginger
beer,
stacking
heaps
of
full
bottles
in
the
laundry
to
ferment,
some
-
times
we
got
it
right,
but
after
quite
a
few
bottles
had
blown
the
tops
off
we
decided
to
give
that
away.
Allana
didn’t
drive
back
then
so
her
day
consisted
of
looking
after
Sue-Ellen
and
visiting
the
shops
which
were
right
outside
the
front
door.
We
didn’t
see
daylight
from
anywhere
inside
the
flat,
the
lights
were
on
all
day
and
they
weren’t very bright either.
TV at that time was black and white!
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
Photo: Allan & Sue-Ellen window shopping at Goulburn 1968
Hindsight
is
a
great
thing
but,
shopping
with
very
little
money
to
spend,
was
the
only
variation
for
Allana
and
life
must
have
been
very
difficult
and
boring
spending
so
much
time
alone
with
Sue-Ellen
.
Apparently
our
new
doctor
at
Goulburn
had
pre
-
scribed
some
medication
for
her
but
back
then
women
didn’t
discuss
all
their
conversations with their doctor at home, unless it was
very important
.
Around
1967-8
new
housing
commission
homes
built
in
Goulburn
were
available
to
buy,
if
you
qualified
!
We
were
placed
on
a
housing
priority
list
via
our
new
Bank
Loans
Manager,
who
opened
a
special
account
for
our
loan
application.
Our
position
in
that
list
depended
on
how
quick
we
could
get
the
$990.00
deposit
in
the
account,
so
I
got
more
work.
We
had
to
build
that
bank
account
up
to
qualify,
and
we
both
agreed,
it was going to be tough, but we had to cop it on the chin and do it!
Back
home
one
day
after
working
a
second
job,
I
found
Allana
in
a
very
distressed
state
in
the
dining
room
with
an
empty
bottle
of
pills
sitting
on
the
table
in
front
of
her.
I
started
to
say
something
but
she
started
shouting
at
me
while
pointing
at
the
bottle,
then
she
pushed
me
away
when
I
went
to
touch
her,
I
had
no
idea
what
was
going on, but, it didn’t take long to work out,
an overdose!
I
didn’t
know
what
the
tablets
were
for,
apparently
she
had
them
for
a
week
or
two
and
I
wanted
to
know
what
they
were
and
quickly
what
problem
was,
but
she
was
hyster
-
ical
and
did
not
make
any
sense!
So
I
slapped
her
across
the
face
to
get
her
to
wake
up
to
her
-
self.
Why?.
Because
they
did
that
in
the
movies
to
get
people
back
to
their
senses.
Stupid
I
know
,
but;
I
was
in
panic
mode
and
this
was
1968.
I
would
react
very
differently
with
the
benefit
of
hindsight,
however
she
never
expected
that,
and
neither
did
I,
but
it
worked,
she
just
stared
at
me
and
stopped
yelling.
The
instant
reaction
should
have
told
me
a
lot
about
the
situation,
but
this
was
my
wife,
my
inexperience
left
me
wanting
and
I
didn’t
read
anything
into
the
situation.
Nothing
whatever
had
occurred
previously
that
would
to
lead
to
this.
The
instructions
on
tablets
were
just
ordinary,
such
as
‘take
as
directed’
or
something
similar,
still
I
didn’t
know
what
they
were;
or
what
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
they were for!
I
had
never
seen
her
like
this
as
we
didn’t
argue,
I
only
helped
with
Sue-Ellen
and
I
didn’t
interfere
with
anything
about
being
a
mother
or
cooking,
etc,
life
was
easier
that
way.
We
had
very
few
possessions
and
we
were
looking
forward
to
buying
our
first home and here was my wife acting in a way I have never seen before.
Fortunately
Bill
was
working
late
in
the
shop,
he
called
the
Ambulance,
then
came
back
to
us
and
talked
to
Allana
and
I
as
we
waited.
She
seemed
to
settle
down
a
bit,
but
would
not
talk
to
me
,
just
Bill,
so
I
waited
out
front
for
the
Ambulance
and
apparently that was when when Allana rang the Police,
to report me for hitting her
.
Why
would
she
do
that,
she
took
the
overdose
and
I
was
only
trying
to
help
her?
In
my
work
education
and
experience
I
had
learnt
the
primary
reason
people
overdose;
is
to either
commit suicide
or
get attention!
Within
minutes
the
ambulance
arrived
and
the
crew
were
attending
to
Allana,
they
did
the
usual
checks
to
evaluate
her
condition
and
took
her
to
Goulburn
Base
Hospi
-
tal.
Bill’s
wife
arrived
to
care
for
Sue-Ellen
(
Bill
was
Sue-Ellens
godfather
)
while
I
followed
the
Ambulance
to
casualty,
sometime
later
actually,
as
Allana
didn’t
want
me around, so I gave her plenty of space.
Bill
told
me
about
the
call
after
I
explained
to
him
what
had
happened
when
I
got
home
from
working
one
of
my
second
jobs.
I
also
explained
the
process
and
what
could
happen
to
Allana
at
the
hospital
as
Bill
was
Sue-Ellens
godfather,
so
he
certainly
was
in
the
family
loop.
Most
of
these
facts
would
have
been
discovered
at
the
hospital,
the
Police
would
only
have
been
partly
informed
as
a
matter
of
procedure,
but,
it
was
possible
Allana
could
end
up
in
Kenmore
Mental
Hospital
for
several
weeks.
I
was
anxious
to
get
to
the
hospital,
but
I
had
to
wait
until
they
gave
me
the
OK to go up there.
Talking
with
Bill
and
his
wife
helped
and
they
suggested
that
I
‘
give
her
some
time’
which
was
very
appropriate
at
the
time
so
I
talked
everything
over
with
them,
then
Bill
told
me
about
the
call
to
the
police.
I
could
not
understand
that!
I
certainly
do
understand
now,
in
no
uncertain
terms,
from
the
information
and
people
I
re
-
searched,
medical contacts and family friends
, I spoke with.
Photo:
Kenmore Mental Hospital Main Administration at Goulburn in 1968
.
That
phone
call
had
placed
my
job
at
risk
and
I
was
facing
the
sack
,
full
stop!
Details
of
the
call
were
recorded
on
the
Telephone
Pad
(
a
permanent
detailed
written
record
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
of
all
phone
calls
received
)
at
the
police
station.
The
record
could
be
used
as
evidence
during
any
formal
proceedings
against
me,
so
I
made
sure
all
details
were
included,
I
was
concerned
about
my
wife
and
child,
not
me,
I
didn’t
do
anything
wrong,
albeit
not
the
way
to
go,
I
had
no
intent
to
hurt,
I
just
didn’t
know
any
better
at
that
time
so
there shouldn’t be any problem. As I was to discover, that’s not the way it works!
Kenmore
Asylum,
also
known
as
Kenmore
Hospital
or
Kenmore
Psychiatric
Hospital
is
now
a
heritage-listed
decommissioned
psychiatric
hospital
located
in
Goulburn,
but
in 1968 it was in full operation and was capable of housing over 700 patients.
In
1968
attempting
to
commit
suicide
was
considered
a
crime,
the
law
was
overdue
for
change,
but
it
was
the
law
.
One
of
our
regular
Police
tasks
was
escorting
people
to
Kenmore
from
across
the
state,
a
large
number
of
those
had
overdosed
or
attempted
to
take
their
own
life
in
some
manner.
I
knew
the
essentials
of
the
Mental
Health
Act,
all
local
police
did,
as
we
dealt
with
it
regularly,
but
when
it
became
personal,
it
was
very difficult to deal with, to say the least.
Historically
epileptics,
women
with
post-natal
depression
and
teenagers
with
learn
-
ing
difficulties
were
considered
of
''unsound
mind''
and
many
were
declared
insane
under
the
Lunacy
Act.
That;
was
the
way
it
was
in
those
days
and
this
was
my
wife,
the
mother
of
our
child
and
I
certainly
didn’t
want
her
in
Kenmore
for
any
reason
or
time,
I had to keep her out of that institution!
I
knew
from
previous
experience
at
the
hospital
that
admission
was
mostly
a
forgone
conclusion,
off
to
Kenmore
for
seven
to
fourteen
days
for
assessment,
and
possibly
longer.
After
I
had
explained
everything
to
the
doctor
in
charge
at
Goulburn
Base
Hospital
they
kept
her
under
observation
for
a
few
extra
hours.
The
doctor
explained
he
could
not
give
me
any
details
prior
to
the
upcoming
sessions
at
Kenmore,
which
I
already
knew,
so
they
finally
allowed
her
to
return
home
with
me
provided
she
had
adult
company
while
I
was
at
work.
There
was
no
concern
for
the
welfare
of
Sue-
Ellen and I was very happy that she wasn’t going direct to Kenmore first.
Medical
staff
at
the
hospital
suggested
that
we
attend
a
full
counselling
session
at
Kenmore
for
assessment,
in
lieu
of
admission,
because
there
was
a
toddler
involved.
Whatever
Allana
had
told
doctor’s
and
staff
at
GBH,
which
was
subject
to
doctor
to
patient
privilege,
had
convinced
them
not
to
have
her
admitted
to
Kenmore,
directly.
That
information
was
not
available
to
the
police
investigating
the
matter,
or
me
,
at
least
until
the
counselling
session,
which
was
also
subject
to
doctor
to
patient
privi
-
lege
.
Only
Allana
and
I
knew
the
precise
content
of
the
discussions
at
both
hospitals,
which included an admission,
that is the way it will stay
.
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
Police Action
As
expected
enquiries
surrounding
this
incident
brought
my
second
jobs
under
immediate
scrutiny,
I
was
directed
to
cease
secondary
work
forthwith
,
so
that
was
the
end of our new home dream
, because we didn’t have enough money in the bank.
Allana
was
never
really
aware
how
serious
this
problem
was
for
us,
I
was
facing
the
sack
for
many
weeks
and
medical
advisors
at
Kenmore
suggested
I
keep
those
matters
from
her
while
counselling
was
going
on.
Those
matters
were
addressed
later
during
the
counselling
sessions
at
Kenmore
-
she
never
really
listened
to
the
counsellor
when
I
was
present,
her
only
concern
being
moving
into
our
new
home.
She
just
didn’t
want
to
know
about
the
other
stuff,
so
lets
just
forget
about
it!
Medical
staff
from
Goulburn
Base
Hospital
and
Kenmore
Mental
Asylum
officials
formally
cleared
me
of
any
wrong
doing
very
early
in
the
process,
despite
that
they
left
me
to
deal with our personal and financial woes outside of the counselling sessions.
There
was
more
to
come
when
the
fact
that
we
really
were
losing
the
house
finally
sunk
in,
Allana
went
off
again,
she
was
totally
distressed
and
those
one
hour
sessions
became
two
hours,
with
more
doctors,
advisors
and
counsellors.
In
those
days
counselling
as
we
know
it
now
didn’t
exist,
so
over
the
following
weeks
I
learned
about
life,
awareness
of
our
entitlements,
and
how
to
work
the
system
so
we
would
not lose the house!
When
informed
formally
of
the
findings
at
Kenmore
my
1st
Class
Sergeant
pulled
me
in
to
his
office
and
that
discussion,
including
personal
advice,
pointed
me
in
the
right
direction,
to
get
us
back
on
track.
The
counselling
sessions
at
Kenmore
continued
for
the
next
four
or
five
weeks,
with
Allana
mainly
,
I
waited
outside
generally
but
attended
a
couple
of
brief
sessions,
as
to
be
expected,
they
found
nothing
medically
wrong with her at all.
So
we
talked
and
I
told
her
how
our
situation
really
was,
if
we
still
wanted
to
buy
our
first
home
I
had
to
keep
working
extra
jobs,
but,
I
had
been
directed
to
stop
extra
work!
The
penny
finally
dropped
and
she
wanted
to
go
back
to
work,
so
I
agreed
and
she
was
offered
a
full
time
position
in
one
of
the
shops
like
Coles
or
Wollies.
I
took
some
leave
and
she
took
on
the
job
for
about
two
weeks
until
she
discovered
the
difficulties
arising
from
working
full
time,
not
being
around
Sue-Ellen
and
little
time
for shopping, she was advised to quit.
We
made
new
friends
during
those
sessions,
real
life
friends
who
understood
how
the
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
system
worked,
and
we
kept
in
contact
for
many
years.
Not
once,
nor
at
any
time
did
anyone
in
a
position
of
authority,
nor
one
health
official
query
our
living
conditions,
or my second jobs as being causal, and
neither did I
.
Not
a
single
question
or
discussion
as
to
why
or
how
this
happened,
from
doctors
or
clinical
staff,
nobody
pressed
the
issue,
minimal
follow-up
interviews,
etc,
so
we
continued with our lives and the incident was never discussed again until 2021.
During
the
following
months
our
Bank
Manager
guaranteed
our
deposit
and
house
loan,
as
more
work
came
my
way,
working
with
local
farmers
who
assured
me
my
bosses
would
never
know.
The
work
was
on
a
local
farm
30kms
out
of
Goulburn
and
several
kilometres
off
the
main
road.
How
did
I
orgaqnise
this?
Well
the
Bank
managers
father
was
on
the
land,
Kenmore
staffers
connections,
the
Catholic
orphanage
and
local
farmers
with
whom
I
had
worked
previously
made
it
happen
for
us,
because they
knew my work ethic.
One
night
two
young
offenders
broke
into
the
Saddlers
and
we
caught
one
,
I
handcuffed
him
to
a
vice
in
the
shop
and
Allana
kept
an
eye
on
him
while
I
took
off
after
the
other
bloke.
Unfor
-
tunately
one
hundred
metres
into
the
chase
I
lost
my
pyjama
pants and the other guy got away, here is a
newspaper clipping
.
After
we
got
our
new
home
in
Gerathy
Street
Allana
sometimes
worked
with
the
Orphanage
by
having
a
few
troubled
young
girls
for
day
visits
or
stay
with
us
overnight.
We
had
two
run
-
aways
from
Melbourne
on
one
occasion
and
both
girls
sent
cards
and
letters
to
us
over
the
next
couple
of
years,
I
still
have
a
letter
or card from one,
somewhere.
Allana’s
situation
eventually
returned
to
normal
with
the
help
of
doctors
and
staff
at
Kenmore.
Sara-Jayne
arrived
with
great
interest
by
staff
at
Goulburn
Base
and
Kenmore
Hospitals
in
particular,
as
I
dealt
with
both
institutions
almost
on
a
daily
basis and started many long term friendships.
I
did
get
time
off
and
I
played
golf
very
early
on
Sunday
mornings
after
we
got
our
new
house.
Occasionally
I
would
take
one
of
the
girls
out
with
me
to
play
nine
holes,
I
set
up
a
car
seat
on
the
golf
buggy
so
they
had
a
good
ride,
each
one
was
a
popular
visitor
to
the
golf
club,
with
a
free
glass
of
soft
drink
after
golf.
I
parred
the
front
nine
at
Tully
Park
at
different
times
with
each
of
the
girls
in
the
car
seat,
Sara-Jayne
was
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
the last just a couple of weeks before we left for Broken Hill.
We
had
good
neighbours
at
10
Gerathy
Street
and
gradually
I
continued
to
work
my
other
jobs
so
we
could
buy
furniture,
etc.
Allana
was
much
happier
in
a
proper
home,
there
were
no
issues,
she
wasn’t
a
sporting
person
but
tried
to
get
involved
in
community
groups,
however,
that
didn’t
work
out
too
well.
She
really
wanted
part-
time
work
but
there
were
none
suitable
as
she
didn’t
have
any
specific
skills,
work
experience or her driving licence.
So
it
was
time
for
Allana
to
get
her
licence
for
mobility
and
opportunity,
so
we
bought
a
1962
Holden
Special
EK
station
wagon,
no
more
relying
on
me
to
go
shopping
and
Allana
had
her
independence
back.
Sara-Jayne
and
Rechelle
arrived
over
the
next
three
years,
I
commenced
Scientific
Investigation
(Forensic)
duty
training
for
few
years
and
it
was
time
for
me
to
look
for
a
full-time
crime
scene
position,
as
we
had
been
at
Goulburn
for
over
four
years.
Sue-Ellen
would
soon
be
starting
school,
so
the
time
for
change
was
right
for
the
children’s
schooling
and
there
was
a
job
going
as
assistant
Scientific
Investigator
(
Forensic
Crime
Scene
)
at
Broken
Hill.
It
was
a
long
way
from
Lithgow,
but
Allana
was
all
for
the
move,
so
we
put the house on the market, it took about one month to sell, then off we went.
Move to Broken Hill
Being
very
inexperienced
travellers
we
left
Goulburn
about
1:30pm
on
4th
July
1972,
in
the
middle
of
winter,
we
had
no
idea
about
travelling
long
distances
with
a
family,
in
a
station
wagon.
It
was
530km
to
Hay
across
the
flat
country
where
neither
of
us
had
been,
we
arrived
at
the
motel
about
9:30pm,
they
had
a
brand
new
family
room
that
cost
us
$16.50,
plus
breakfast.
Next
day
it
was
another
580km
to
Broken
Hill,
so
we
travelled
to
Mildura
across
the
Hay
Plains,
in
daylight
.
Allana
couldn’t
believe
how
flat
the
country
was
and
she
took
a
turn
driving
for
a
bit,
but
that
didn’t
last
long,
as
the
countryside
was
pretty
flat
and
boring
for
the
driver again.
We
took
the
family
across
the
state
line
into
Victoria
for
lunch
(
Mildura
),
fill
the
tank
and
off
up
the
Silver
City
Hwy
to
Broken
Hill,
however
driving
into
heavy
head
winds
indicated
we
might
run
out
of
petrol
about
30kms
short,
but
not
to
worry
as
we found the Coombah Roadhouse, for fuel and ice-blocks.
At
Broken
Hill
we
stayed
the
first
few
nights
with
Allana’s
cousins
Janette
&
Rob
until
the
furniture
arrived
a
couple
of
days
later.
The
flat
we
had
been
referred
to
was
a
shocker,
basically
clean
but
the
stove
was
really
dirty,
despite
our
heavy
cleaning, we were not staying here!
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
A
vertical
grill
and
electric
frypan
were
added
to
the
kitchen
appliances,
something
clean
to
cook
with.
We
didn’t
expect
this
treatment
from
a
landlord
who
refused
to
release
us
from
the
lease,
but
we
were
in
an
extreme
union
town,
so
the
fight
was
on
and
after
three
weeks
the
landlord
gave
up,
the
lease
was
invalid
,
he
had
insisted
on
certain conditions and he had broken those conditions.
277
Duff
Street,
Broken
Hill
South
became
our
new
address
,
just
four
blocks
from
Alma
Public
School,
three
blocks
to
local
shops
and
two
and
a
bit
kilometres
to
Broken Hill’s main shopping centre.
Duff Street at South Broken Hill
At
277
three
spacious
bedrooms,
a
combined
dining
room
kitchen
area,
with
a
living
room
at
the
front
of
the
house.
Great
garden
and
green
house
at
the
rear
and
a
large
garage.
Oil
heating
for
the
winter
months,
yes
it
did
get
a
bit
cool
during
winter,
but
great
weather
for
BBQ’s,
of
which
there
were
plenty
over
the
four
years
we
were
there.
Getting
hold
of
some
house
pics
is
proving
difficult,
we
didn’t
have
digital
in
those
days
and
color
negs
were
sent
to
Adelaide
for
overnight
processing,
all
police
photos
were
b&w
which
I
processed
by
hand
in
our
dark
room
at
twork,
but
I
will
keep looking!
Photo
of
the
three
wise
monkeys
taken
while
I
was
on
holidays
at
the
hill
and
Allana
had
trav
-
elled
home
to
Lithgow
to
spend
a
week
with
her family.
Why
do
this,
easy,
at
that
time
we
were
still
on
very
low
wages,
another
long
road
trip
and
the
cost
was
too
much
so
a
family
trip
was
out
of
the
question.
The
girls
and
I
were
OK
with
that
as
Allana
needed
time
with
her
family,
although
she
wasn’t
sure
as
I
would
as
I
was
on
call’
for
work
and
look
after
them!
I
was
always
‘on
call’
,
even
on
holidays
and
any
extra money was always needed.
She didn’t have to worry because the girls looked after me, the bottle you can see on
the table contained wine. Kids had gone to bed, it was a hot night and sport was on
TV, what more did I need! Packet of chips and the rest is history as Sara-Jayne can
explain when she came in to check on me during the night, about 2-3am I awoke and
SJ was busy cleaning the carpet beside the bed where I had knocked over the wine
bottle and the remaining contents had flowed forth! All three were very happy to see
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
Mum arrive back home safely.
Other stuff from Newtown service:
#
Beats we had to walk alone, with a torch & no direct contact with station - night
beat hobo scare Erskinville gun drawn (never repeated) -
#
St Peters stolen car incident &
capture of crook hiding in back yard shed (Ralph Ezzy made arrest) -
#
Regular visits to RPA hospital (accidents, assaults ) - first fatal accident City Rd
near uni - attend PM where victim had his leg torn off in acco - 4 pros attended & one
got crook had to walk out - our first real front line experience -
#
Aust middleweight box champion (Clive Stewart) - had slot car track near
Newtown Rail Stn - in King St - always liked a chat with beat cops at night -
#
Serious accident St Peters, guy pinned behind wheel in VW Kombi looked like he
was dying, so - bystander, firies & tow truck driver got guy out (he became paraplegic)
- Learnt importance of building relationship with Ambo, Firies, doctors, tow trucks,
rescue squads, security people, casualty staff & body snatchers -
#
After I moved to traffic about four months later -
#
Goulburn Kev McMahon & I - left shoes on bridge - took two young locals Kev
knew 2km further up gravel rd - walk back & get u shoes - then 6-7km back to town - &
tell your father -
#
Photos from Goulburn -
#
Allana’s 3 day stay in SA Hospital, fly down - fly back - some of Sandra’s family
were living in Adelaide - to visit -
#
Six weeks SIS course in Sydney - Allana handled money well and got home all
$$$’s used & nothing wasted - it was very difficult to get by but she did it -
#
Three month Dets course in 75 - 12 weeks in Sydney (straight) -
#
1 week Allana back to Lithgow for a break B4 dets course - I mind girls at home -
#
1 week Allana in Mildura hospital sudden illness only treatment was at Mildura -
girls & I drove her down & returned to Hill - drove back to bring her home 7-8 days
later -
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
A Story to Remember - June 2022 fix
#
My Supreme Court attendances at Goulburn and Sydney, about 6 or 7 times -
#
Badge day in B/Hill - Union enforced for miners &
#
1st cop to investigate underground mine fatality - Union control busted I con-
ferred with Coroner and we took out a warrant - at that time BIC (Joe Keenan)
powerful union ran everything in BH - to avoid embarrassment the union agreed to
help - Joe & I became mates after this - see photos -
#
2nd mine fatal involved local sporting hero - local miners widows club renovated
home for widow using mine equipment & supplies - because of my direct involvement
with accident I was invited to become a working member! -
#
Major Sydney criminal Michael Medina mini p/van rollover Silver City Hwy on
way to Tibooburra for funeral of father - licencee Tibooburra Hotel (confirm) - dog &
head hair from NZ prostitute (passenger) - both druggies - major investigation - led to
uncover stolen Hol/Torana few km south Wentworth SCHwy - led to major stolen veh
ring in Sydney -
#
Two kids suffocate on Pooncarie property after they fell/climbed into grain bin -
and two kids suffocate near Menindee when cave in sand hills collapses -
#
WRG - plane crash near Pooncarie - Melbourne millionaires - 6 die - 3 days to find
plane - etc;
#
Cattle thieves in Menindee-Pooncarie-Ivanhoe & Wilcannia areas - caught when
vehicle (VW Ute) used was ID’d via wheel tracks - tracks had been different several
properties - Ray Pickering locked them up -
#
Wilcannia floods as I drove to Newcastle to join family - 37C and water 40cm
deep across Barrier Hwy for several kilometres - very slow going (photos) - no mo-
biles, very few vehicles on road -
#
# Arsenic poisoning Neutron Activation Analysis ACT Chf.Insp John Goulding -
Fairfield Infectious Disease Ward Melbourne - Ivanhoe - Wilcannia - BHill Hosps first
Arnold George Mitchell - Homicide dets Sydney & Melbourne involved - Don Mc-
Cusker, John Cooke, Vic Coroner - never solved but I still have the paperwork -
#
Menengitis found during port mortem of aboriginal woman from Wilcannia - Dr
Phil ????? - me assisting - told me to STOP & get out - very contagious & fatal if direct
exposure.
#
Aboriginal woman Silverton had Leprosy - biblical condition - nobody would go
near her, but, that was my job - I conferred with Drs & female Sister from BHHosp and
she and I went out, with a selected volunteer Ambo and brought her back to BH - her
shanty was burnt totally later that evening -
#
White Cliffs RFDS flight gave me a ride out to investigate an alleged arson at the
pub and and assault at the local hospital clinic -
#
.....