Jean Story

Margaret (Jean) Edwards


Her Story (in her own words)

This is a brief and informal history of Margaret Jean Edwards as recorded in her own words in her later years and occasionally supplemented by historical and other supporting details.

File: Jean’s Story.docx Compiled by Jeff Edwards. Last updated 1230 on 18 May 2024

Hi !

 My name is Margaret Edwards, but over the many decades I have always preferred to be and have nearly always been called by my middle name Jean by my friends and family. It is only within the last few years that I have been softening on this topic and am more willing to have my name recorded as Margaret, the name my parents gave me, mainly in order to reduce the inevitable confusion and hassle of going through the later years of my life under an assumed name.

My Very Early Days

My parents were Roy Sylvan Houston and Margaret Rennie Thomson who married in Adelaide in 1925.

My parents were the first in my ancestral line to be born in Australia, making me only a 2nd generation Australian.
Further research shows that I have a real blend of Scottish, Irish and English blood in my veins, inherited from not very many generations ago.

I was born Margaret Jean Houston at the Warraweena Hospital on Lurline St. Mile End on 12 Sep 1925. It was on a Saturday. I know that to be the case because I have enjoyed reading the contents of my own printed copy of the Adelaide Newspaper of that very day, which tells me that Norwood defeated Sturt by 7 points in the SANFL first semi-final at Adelaide Oval on that day, and it was also the last day of the Royal Show.

Me and my bunny!


Born in 1925, I was the first of four children. My younger siblings were John (Jack) born in 1927, my sister Cathrine (1928) and Maxwell (1935).

Me and my siblings in our backyard, taken in about 1944
Rear: Me, John (Jack), Cath
Front: Max


The history of West Torrens shows that the Warraweena Hospital was established in a private house in 1924, the year immediately before I was born. I can’t remember how shiny and new it must have been.

It later became known as the South West Annexe of the Ashford Community Hospital.

The hospital later became the Mile End Emergency Maternity Hospital in 1947 under Matron Paterson. This is where each of my three children were born.

My Father Roy Sylvan Houston

My father, Roy, was born on a large and historic property known as Sylvan Park in McLaren Vale which was built in 1858 by members of the pioneering Colton family.

Family notes suggest that members of the Semmens family (relatives of Roy’s mother Rosanna) may have been living there at the time of Roys birth, and it is noteworthy that Dad’s parents had been living in the northern town of Dublin before this time. It is quite possible that Dad’s parents may have travelled down (temporarily) from Dublin to McLaren Vale specifically for his birth because of the more available medical facilities there.

Dad was born in the colony on 19 Aug 1895 (before the Australian nation was formed). He was the second son of John Houston, a migrant from the County of Tyrone in Ireland and his mother Rosanna Margaret Semmens. Rosanna was the granddaughter of James Howie who died onboard the Lady McNaughton in 1847 during the Scottish Howie family’s migration voyage from Scotland to South Australia via England.

Sylvan Park cottage between about 1865 and 1870
from Willunga History Group at https://willungahistorynews.wordpress.com/2015/08/

The specific location of Dad’s birth, Sylvan Park, is undoubtedly what inspired his middle name which is sometimes but not always spelled differently as Sylvin on some but not all official records. His Birth record and military records refer to his middle name as Sylvin, but I doubt that this was the original intention. For example, his name when listed as the father on my own birth certificate is clearly recorded as Sylvan.

Although born in McLaren Vale, Dad grew up in Dublin and nearby areas such as Wild Horse Plains and Windsor. He was a member of the Dublin Football Club, and several photos exist of him as part of the Dublin football team, but unfortunately I am unable to locate them at this time. His sister Ethel was born in the northern township of Windsor and married in Dublin. This is also where his father John Houston died and is buried. John Houston’s brother, David, also lived there in Dublin, and the families are recognized by having a (unsealed) road named Houston Road on the western side of the township.


Dad’s mother’s family name of Semmens is also recognized by the naming of Semmens Road in McLaren Vale, very close to the Daringa home where the Semmens family grew up.


Before he married, he enlisted in the Army on 24 Feb 1916 to serve in WW1. His age was recorded as 20 years at the time. He embarked for Europe on 23 Oct 1916 for overseas service in France.

Unfortunately, on 2 April 1917 during a battle at Noreuil in occupied France with the 50th Battalion, he was captured and held as a prisoner of war in several POW camps in Germany and Poland for about a year and 8 months. Letters from him back to his family indicated that this was not a pleasant experience. Anyone interested in Dad’s service history can find a significant amount of information by searching for his name and service number (2679) ie “Roy Sylvin Houston” + 2679.

Dad was discharged from the army on 22 June 1919, and it is believed that his capture and incarceration may have had a severe detrimental impact on his health in later years.

On his return, Dad would always march with his mates on Anzac Day.  Dad played cricket and was a member of an S.A. team that went interstate a few times.

He, together with Mum were very active members of the local Hilton R.S.L. for many years.

After Mum and Dad married, they moved into a new house at 8 Turner St. Cowandilla. Their house, where I was brought up, was the first house to be built in the street and was surrounded by paddocks. This suggests that Cowandilla may have been regarded as an outer suburb at the time.

Here is a fairly recent image of the old home on Turner Street…
Google Earth shows that there is another home built at the rear of the very large block.

Dad had glass houses in the backyard in which he grew tomatoes, and other vegetables, fruit trees, grape vines and almond trees.

My Dad was a very gentle man and seldom got cross except when we kids would talk while he was trying to listen to the news on the wireless. I understood later, as there was unrest in Europe and talk of war. As he was a returned soldier from the first world war I guess he was very anxious.

Dad liked to grow tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers in our back yard, and we also had grape vines and huge almond trees.

He worked in the East End Market when we kids were growing up and we always used to bring home apples and an occasional coconut which I thought was a real treat.

Later, Dad went to work at the Holden factory in Woodville. When petrol was scarce, he would ride his bike all the way there but would always find time to play with the dog before he came inside. I think the dog was a Scottish Terrier called Paddy.

We always had a motor car of which I was very proud. Dad’s first car was a Maxwell which I think was called a Tourer. We loved going out to our Auntie’s house at Magill and not come home until after tea.

The Maxwell, with Uncle Pete (Driscoll) and Dad & me in the car about 1926

It would be dark, and we kids would have a rug over us as the windows were not of the wind-up variety and it was drafty. We would keep our eyes closed and wait for the awful smells we would encounter coming down Adam Street in Thebarton.

I can’t remember the cause of the smell, but it was something to do with slaughtering of animals.

I thought I was very lucky as none of my friend’s families had a car.
Later, dad upgraded to a Holden. Then I thought we were very flash!

Dad loved to play cricket, he played in an A.I.F. team and I remember they went to Perth to play once, and I could not get over my father going up in an aeroplane.

I remember most Saturday afternoons he would pick a horse to win in a race and then sit and listen to the radio broadcast while enjoying his pipe and a cold beer. However, I don’t think he ever had a bet.

Dad was a long serving and active member of the Hilton RSL club. He attended one night a week, and he played night-time cricket for them as well. He was very active with the club and was awarded Life Membership of the RSL in November 1956 after many years of outstanding service to the club.

Dad enlisted again during the 2nd World War on 5 April 1942 with a service number S67442.
He was fortunate to not have to serve overseas again. His last posting was with the 1st (SA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC). Some information about the VDC can be found here…
https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/538

We had some wonderful picnics with the RSL Club and also the biggest Xmas tree when we would all get a present.

My Mother Margaret Rennie Thomson

My mother, Margaret Rennie Thomson, was born in Evandale, St Peters on 03 April 1898 to Scotsman Hugh Thomson.  Hugh was a young child when he migrated with his mother, Jane Fleming in 1881 as migrants from Glasgow.  Hugh’s father had migrated alone to South Australia a little earlier, presumably to check out the place to see if it was a suitable place for his wife and young Hugh.

My Mum married my father Roy on 11 March 1925 in Adelaide. I believe they married in the church minister’s house in Robert Street in the city.

Mum was usually referred to by the name Rene, based on her middle name of Rennie which had been passed down through several generations, at least as far back as her Great Great Grandmother, named Catherine Rennie, born in Scotland in about 1803. Mum was a very happy person who enjoyed company and would always join in whatever was going on at the time.

I remember her dressing up to take part in a contest and remember her winning a lovely leg competition against a lot of women much younger than her. Before she married, she was a tailoress. I don’t know where she worked and after her children came along made most of their clothes. She taught me how to sew and knit, for which I was mighty grateful for when I had children. I certainly could not afford to buy them at the time.

One of my favourite memories is of her having a big cook-up on Sunday mornings. There were cakes, biscuits, and an apple pie. At the same time, I can still smell the roast in the wood stove oven.

Mum was physically active and loved a game of tennis and indoor bowls and was very active in community affairs.

I don’t remember her and dad going on many holidays but in later years she would often go away with the ladies from the RSL. It was usually interstate.

The first meeting of the Cowandilla Senior Citizens Club was held on 2 November which she hosted in her own home with about a dozen people including Mr Robert Bartlett Esq, the Mayor of West Torrens Council. At that meeting, Mum was elected the first president of the club, a position she held for 10 consecutive years. This information with words of gratitude is recorded in her Certificate of Life Membership of the club which was awarded to her on 7 July 1969.

Not content with that, she also served as President of the Hilton Ladies RSL Club for several years.

When my own children were little, Mum and a few friends would go down to Henley Beach on a Thursday in the summer and find a spot out of the sun and we younger mothers would join them.

They were wonderful days!

Mum had a close relationship with her brother and sisters. She also had a couple of friends from her working days (We called them Aunties), and she would often catch up with them.
One I particularly liked because she always bought a bag of lollies. Her parents only lived about a 15-minute walk away, so we spent a lot of time there.

I think she must have been pretty healthy as I don’t remember her being sick until she turned 80, then she had a couple of slight strokes and went into a nursing home in Morphettville as she did not want to be a burden to Dad. As the place was close to where I lived, I used to go most days and she would always be a bit teary when it was time for me to go.

She was only there a few months and she died suddenly on 29 Oct 1979. I don’t think she liked being there.
Mum’s parents Hugh Thomson and Margaret (Margaret Graham Park) lived at Nailsworth during most of the time I was growing up. Hugh owned a grocery shop in Nailsworth.
Dad’s mother, Rosanna, who was a widow at the time, lived at Magill with Auntie Et. (Ethel).

The Electoral Roll of 1943 shows Rosanna living at 18 Brougham St. Murray Park (Magill) with Dad’s sister Ethel and her husband, Uncle Francis Rowley.

Dad’s father, John Houston, an Irish immigrant, had died in the northern township of Dublin in 1932 when I was about 7 years old.

It was wonderful going to the beach on hot nights. It was particularly exciting coming home on a cold night when we kids would all snuggle up under a rug on the back seat. It was pretty cold at times as the Perspex in the blinds was often broken. Later, we were lucky enough to have a Holden.

We always had a dog and from memory they were nearly always a Fox Terrier. Dad must have loved them as he would often run around the yard chasing them when he came home from work …Or in turn they would chase him!

Mr. Alf Stone, who created Electric Light cricket, lived over the road from us. He even had a cricket pitch in his backyard. An ABC article about him and Electric Light Cricket can be read here…
Electric light cricket: The game Adelaide’s Alf Stone invented 85 years before first day-night Test – ABC News

Another neighbour who we had a lot of fun with was a Mr. Sedgely. He had a son, David who taught me how to ride a bike and he would often take my brother Jack, sister Cath and I to the beach.

Mum was pretty active up until she turned 80 years.  She often remarked how much her own Mother went out and she turned out just the same.  I think I have inherited that trait.

Although I didn’t like school very much, I consider I had a very happy childhood and even happier teenage years, even though the 2nd World War was on and most of our young men had to go overseas.

Memories of my Grandfather Hugh Thomson

I have fond memories of my grandfather, Hugh Thomson. I don’t know much about him except he was always very well dressed, and I liked him very much.

I believe he was a grocer by trade and at one stage managed a C.P.S. store in King William Street in Adelaide and later one on Main North Road in Nailsworth. I loved the smell of the shop and the tea chest he had on the veranda. My Auntie Win lived with them at Nailsworth along with her son Ron. C.P.S. stood for Central Provision Store.

He was also a good carpenter and made us grandchildren a beaut swing at the Torrensville house. It was quite large and shaped like a cradle with a platform in the middle and seating for two at each end.

He also made a few pieces of furniture, and he had a brother who was also a carpenter who made a very large chest of drawers that my niece Pat Wilkinson has at her house.

I loved the house at Hardy’s Road Torrensville and would love to have bought it. It was quite large with a wide passageway a cellar and the laundry was like a sun room which I loved to sit in and knit when I was living there when I was first married.

Memories of my Grandma Thomson, (Margaret Graham Park)

My Grandmother was a very petite Scottish woman with silvery white hair which she wore in a bun on the top of her head.

Grandma Thomson is pictured here, holding me on her lap on a visit to the beach when I was just a baby.


A wider view of the above photo shows a jetty in the background, suggesting that the photo was probably taken at Glenelg (probably in 1926)

When she went out in the winter, she always wore fur around her neck. It was called a fox fur and on one end it had a miniature fox head and on the other it was shaped like a fox tail. Very smart indeed.

Grandma Thomson was very proud of her Scottish heritage and attended Scots church in North Terrace in Adelaide quite often, and she also attended a friendship club which I think was in the church. She had injured her hip when she was young and all my memories of her was her walking with a walking stick and she had difficulty getting on trams but that did not stop her.

Many Sunday afternoons, when the weather was nice, she and grandpa would catch two trams and go down to Glenelg and sit on the jetty.

The first 4 years of my marriage was spent sharing grandma’s house in Hardys Road Torrensville, (My Grandpa Hugh had died by then).

Jeff was born while I was living there, and Grandma made a great fuss of her first great grandson.

I loved living there. There was a large mulberry tree in a huge back yard and also a couple of orange trees. I ate so many oranges while I was pregnant Jeff sure had his share of Vitamin C. Ron and I used to eat them by the bucket full sitting by the fire at nighttime. 

Before Ron and I lived there, so did Auntie Jean and Uncle Bob then Auntie Chis and uncle Arch before they moved to live on a farm at Milang.

Me

As someone pointed out to me recently, at my current age of 98, I have lived for more than half the number of years that South Australia has even existed (only 188 years since 1836 to 2024).

My first school was Cowandilla Primary School, situated in Jenkins St. and I then went on to attend Thebarton Technical High School for 18 months.

When aged 14 in September 1939 the second world war had broken out, I was allowed to leave school.  It has always amazed me that I didn’t have to see the year out …but as I disliked school, I was very pleased.

My boyfriend, Ron, who later became my husband, joined the Air Force. I met him when I was 16 and married at 21 in May 1947.

My favourite pastimes were swimming, roller skating and dancing. I will always remember our “Learn to Dance” classes on Henley Beach Rd.

I would like to turn the clock back and do the same things all over again.

I was lucky enough to have 2 brothers and 1 sister. My younger brother Max died in 2000 and Jack moved to live in Queensland.  Jack died on the 20th of November 2009. I consider my sister Cath one of my best friends and for a long time was lucky enough to have her living a couple of doors away. I hope we have each other for many years to come.

My first job was just 6 weeks in a dressmaking place and then I got a call to John Martin’s office. I started in the sub-basement in what was called the tube room. As the name implies it was where all the entry and cash dockets came down a tube to be checked and returned to the department from which the customer was served.

I loved my job, and we had lots of fun. My boss was Mrs McDowell.  After a few months I graduated to the office on the 6th floor where I sorted and added thousands of dockets. Once again, I loved my job and made many friends, some of which I still see for lunch every couple of months.

As these were my teenage years and the war was still on, we had a wonderful time going to dances and functions organised to raise money for the war effort.

My first boyfriend was Bob Norton who I went to the pictures with a few times when I was 15.

When I was 15, I also went to a learn to dance class with my friend Jean Norton and it was there I met my future husband, Ron.

I loved Ballroom dancing and later on I did Line dancing which I still think it was the best thing I ever did. We had so much fun.

At 16 I met Ron (Ronald Keith Edwards), and we went together for a couple of years then he joined the Air Force and served as a Leading Aircraftsman in New Guinea.  While he was away, I met Wally Russell who was in the Army, and he was great fun.  We met on a day boat trip to Edithburgh.

When the war was over, I realized it was Ron I wanted to marry.

We married in Scots church on North Terrace on 24 May 1947. It was the second oldest church in Adelaide. Now a Uniting Church, it was founded by the Free Church of Scotland.

Grandma Thomson was very pleased as she was a member of that church and her sister, my Auntie Jean was also married there.

My Wedding Day 24 May 1947

Scots Church (Corner North Tce. & Pulteney St.)

We honeymooned at Barmera. Most people at that time went to Victor Harbor.

I was bridesmaid for 6 of my friends, which I thoroughly enjoyed as that meant another long evening gown.

Up until a few years ago I was still meeting up with a couple of them but like me were not able to walk very far anymore. I miss my trips to town very much. Like my mother, I like to sit and watch people go by. Always saw a few on the funny side as far as dress goes.

For the first month we lived with Mr. and Mrs. Edwards, Ron’s parents. Then we went to 11 Hardy’s Rd. Torrensville and had half of Grandma’s house. It was a lovely old house. Unfortunately, it looks like the lovely home has been demolished in recent years and replaced with a number of units.

Jeff was born while we were there on 25/1/49. We stayed 3 years then were lucky enough to get a house at 108 North Parade, Torrensville where we were living when I had Kathie 13/5/51 and Christine 18/4/54.  The house was quite large but was divided into two properties and we rented the section on the left which was 108, with the address of the adjoining section was 106 North Parade.

The following image shows a recent view of the home at Torrensville.

Our home at North Parade Torrensville

Our car at the time was an old Willys Whippet which I believe was an American car and which often had to be hand cranked in order to start it. It would have been manufactured between 1927 and 1931.

Ron and I with a friends’ car of similar style to our own Whippet

Built by the Willys-Overland Corporation of Toledo, Ohio, the Whippet was aptly named – it was small and swift. Introduced in 1926, it was America’s smallest car, with a 100.25-inch wheelbase. Two engines were available, a four and a six. The Whippet was in production from 1927 until early 1931.

In 1955 we moved to a new Housing Trust home at 6 Hunt Ave in Morphettville. The home was one of many in a new subdivision and was previously part of the massive vineyard plantations owned by Hamilton Wines who had their winery nearby on Morphett Road. The house was only 100 yards from the Sturt Creek that occasionally turned into a raging torrent and flooded nearby houses in the area. We were very lucky that although the street and our backyard were completely flooded, we only just escaped water entering into the home. Our neighbours were not so lucky.

Over the years we had dogs and cockatoos and galahs for pets.

Our dog, Lassie and Cocky at Morphettville

My children attended the Ascot Park Primary School on Marion Road.
In 1959 I returned to work in the LayBy Dept. at Myers in Rundle St.

My friend June Raggatt also started in the same office.

My husband Ron first became ill in 1957 with severe pain in his knees. The doctor thought it was arthritis. Pain eventually took over his whole body. He died just before Christmas on 21 Dec 1960 with what they called Collagan Disease. His death certificate named the cause of death as Periarteris Nordosa.

I was only about 35 at the time and decided to stay home for a couple of years until my children were a bit older, as they were only 11, 9 and 6 years old.

When I returned to work around 1964, I went from Lay By up to the office where I learnt a bit of everything in readiness for when they opened up the new shopping centre at Marion where I stayed until 1974 and my first grandchild Mandy had been born.

In later years, my two daughters, Kathie or Chris take me shopping each Thursday and quite often Chris and I go to the movies or go visiting on a Saturday afternoon.

Every other Wednesday Lyn and Brian used to pick me up and we go down to Gail’s house for lunch. My nieces Kaye and Kevin usually joined us and sometimes were joined by my niece Denise.

Before my sister-in-law, Dulce died, I went down to her house every Wednesday. We were long term close friends.

Around 1962 Ray came into our lives. He was great company and a big help to me and the children. Ray had one son, Raymond, to his wife Beryl whom he divorced after being separated for around 5 years.

Ray and I in our home at Hunt Ave. Morphettville

Ray took part in our lives for around 30 years and left a huge gap when he died in 1996.

I lived at the home in Morphettville for about 50 years. It was only meant to be temporary, but my husband Ron got sick and altered our plans. I always wanted to live at West Beach.

A couple of years after Ron died, I started to go out with his brother Ray. He was wonderful company and I think my children thought he was great,

I left the home at Morphettville to live at Richmond where my close neighbour was my sister Cath.

Now, well into my nineties, and indeed approaching the Century, I have now moved to an aged care home at Plympton where I can access the care that I need.

My Working Life

I left Thebarton Technical School at the age of 14.

I thought I would like to do dressmaking and got a job straight away but found myself only allowed to cut threads from garments made by more senior girls and constantly pick up pins from the floor with a large magnet.  I think I only stayed there around 6 weeks when I got a call from John Martin’s Department Store in Rundle St, where I had applied for an office job.

I started with John Martins in the sub-basement in the cash office. Initially it was very intimidating and rowdy. After a few months I graduated to the 6th floor office and sorted, then added on an adding machine.

I loved my job and the other girls and stayed around 7 years till I got married in 1947.
Most people left when they got married.

I loved my working life at John Martin’s up until I married, then in 1959 I went back to work this time at the Myer Emporium.

I always did office work and kept in touch with a couple of the “girls”. We met for lunch every 4-6 weeks – a wonderful 60-year friendship.

I started the same day as a girl called Shirley Cross.  I remember I had a lovely navy frock with tiny white spots on it.  My boss was a lovely man called Jim Gregory and I started in the Cash Office which was situated in the sub-basement. It was a bit scary going down a dark stairway and having to ring a bell and be identified before they would let you in.

Mr. Gregory insisted I be called Margaret instead of my usual Jean, as that was his favourite name.  It eventually was abbreviated to ‘Ag’ which I am still called by 2 of my closest friends.

My job was to sit at a large desk where all those air tubes came down.  They carried a thing called a carrier – so named as they carried dockets and money from various departments upstairs.  I had to open them up and pass them on either to a Cashier or Credit Officer.  Sometimes someone would send a rubber spider or rat down and you would nearly jump out of your skin.

After a few months I graduated to be an assistant to the Credit Officer a Reg Bailey and Steve Wellington, and we had a great time on Friday nights when we worked until 9pm. They would send me out after tea to buy lollies particularly chocolate roughs and when we were not busy, we would play squares or noughts and crosses.

Another chap I worked with was Phil Cawthorne who joined the Air Force and was killed during a raid over Germany.

I can’t remember how long I stayed down there until I was sent up to the 6th floor to work with Elmyra Williams.  To start with I had to help sort thousands of dockets each day then we had to add them on an adding machine.  Each docket was handled 2-3 times – first in department order then alphabetical before passing them on to the Ledger Machinist.

I mostly worked with Audrey Kelly who I thought was the most beautiful girl in looks and nature. A man called Frank Welsh used to say things to us and make us laugh and we both used to blush.  He was a nice man – we didn’t think of it as sexual harassment.

I also worked with June Ruggatt and Thelma Hann who I still have lunch with every 6 weeks or so. Altogether there were about 16 of us that I can remember.

Johnnies was a wonderful firm to work for and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I did leave for around 3 months after 4 years and went to the Telephone Exchange in the GPO but kept getting sick, so I left and went back to my old job where I worked until I got married in 1947.  I don’t think I ever had a sick day there.

Jeff was born in 1949, Kathie in 1951 and Chris in 1954.

Ron died in 1960 but I had already gone back to work in 1959.  This time I got a job at Myers and worked in the Lay By dept. where I met Dossie Ludwig and Molly Nichol who until recent years, still met up with for lunch along with June and Janice Summers.  We usually made it around our birthdays and just before Xmas.

My boss in the Lay By was Harry Marchant who decided after a short while I was to do the credits and help with the monthly balance.  In those days thousands of customers used to put things on the Lay By, especially a few months before Xmas.  It was a good way to shop as they only had to pay a few dollars each week and could take up to 6 months to pay it off.

In 1964 I went upstairs to the main office where June was in charge, and I had to learn every aspect of the general office for when the new store opened up at Marion.  I was to go to manage the Lay By and help in the Cash Office or on Payment of Accounts whenever needed.  With June I mainly had to add dockets and do the daily balance sheet.

I worked with a lovely bunch of girls when we went to Marion.  One girl I particularly liked was Jackie Crosbie who adopted 2 baby boys but unfortunately, she died suddenly from toxic shock around 30 years old.  My other close friend was Clare Rogers who I kept in touch with and visited every now and then.

All in all, I think I was truly blessed with the jobs I had and enjoyed every moment and only left in 1974 when Mandy (my first grandchild) was born. I helped Kathie with babysitting.

I joined the Legacy Club around 1965 and eventually became treasurer. My sister Cath was president at the same time.

After our monthly meetings some of us would go out to lunch and play the pokies after.
Didn’t win very often but enjoyed it!

We used to have 2 bus trips a year which legacy paid for. I especially like it when the bus driver would give a running commentary about the surrounding countryside.

We also had a couple of week-long holidays where we would go on longer trips.
..Very happy days!

My Children

My children Jeff, Kathy & Chris are all grown up now, and they have provided me with a lovely collection of Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren.

I always enjoy the regular birthday celebrations that we share like this one here when I turned 80.

My Life in 2024

As I recount my story, I am now 98 years old and live in an Aged Care home known as Bucklands, run by Southern Cross Care, and situated on Marion Road at North Plympton.

I am very comfortable, and the staff are very helpful and friendly. The food could be better with not much variety.

Most days there is entertainment such as Bingo, bowls, a bus trip or a concert.

I see Chris most days and sometimes we go out for coffee or to the movies and occasionally we go down to Aldinga to see my granddaughter Robyn and her partner Jeff. It is always a joy to see Jarvis. He is such a happy boy.

I look forward to seeing Kathie on Saturdays and our daily phone calls. Also nice to hear from other friends and rellies, and lovely to talk to neighbors.

At my age of approaching a century, I don’t have many old friends left, and I miss my sister Cath very much.

Things I liked to do most:

  • Minding the grandchildren
  • Walking along the beach
  • Taking my dog for a walk
  • Gardening, knitting and crocheting
  • Going out for dinner and drives in country

My Happiest occasions:

  • When all the family come home
  • Having lunch with old friends
  • Going to the beach

My Favourite Hymn:

  • Abide With Me

My Favourite songs:

  • Amazing Grace
  • Friends For Life
  • Delilah – Tom Jones
  • One Moment In Time – Whitney Houston
  • Time to Say Goodbye
  • American Trilogy- Elvis

My Favourite Artists:

  • Tom Jones
  • Engelbert Humperdink
  • The Seekers
  • Elvis Presley
  • The 3 Tenors
  • Jose Carreras
  • Domingo
  • Pavarotti
  • Anthony Caleras

My Favourite Films:

  • Sound Of Music
  • Moonstruck
  • War Of the Roses
  • The 15 Tenors
  • Anthony Calias