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Parents’ timelines

Events in the lives of my parents.

Dad’s timeline

1903

1 June

Thomas Francis McHale is born in Manchester to John Francis McHale (who was born in Ireland) and Margaret Egan. John McHale, an ornamental plasterer by trade, fell from a high ceiling in 1907 and was killed. Margaret Egan remarried to Frederick Cole and they had 3 children – Fred, George and Nellie. Frederick Cole had a daughter, Doreen; George Cole had a daughter, Patricia and a son, Anthony. Thomas McHale was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker. He then worked as an undertaker, coach driver, motor mechanic and an electrician.

1906

4 February

Gladys Winifred Enderby is born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, to George Enderby (circa 20/2/1875-1955) and Emma Elizabeth (1870-1965). Two of her brothers, Lionel and Reginald, died as infants. The other youngest brother, Frederick, died at 19 years of typhoid in Shanghai, China and was buried there; he had been working on a passenger ship. Florence, the eldest (born 1897) was the only other sibling to survive into adulthood. She was engaged during World War 2, but her fiancée was killed. She married later in life to the Binbrook village blacksmith, Fred Fell; they had no children. Gladys Enderby worked as a cook and, during World War 2, was an inspector in a munitions factory and served as an aircraft spotter. Out of the 5 siblings she was the only one to bear children.

1931

22 July

Thomas McHale and Gladys Enderby are married.

1933

30 March

Ronald Francis McHale is born to Thomas McHale and Gladys Enderby in Salford, Lancashire, England. He had blue eyes and brown hair.

10 May

Dad is baptized at the All Saints’ Church. Dad’s childhood was spent in the country village of Binbrook, Lincolnshire. His parents initially lived in Bolton, Lincolnshire, but Dad was sent to live with his maternal grandparents in Binbrook for 5 years before and during WW2. Thomas McHale was ill; and the village was considered to be safer from bombing raids. Dad’s parents then moved to Binbrook late in the war.

RAF Lancaster bombers were a familiar sight to Dad as they took off from the nearby airbase on bombing raids over Germany. This sight sparked off a lifelong interest in aviation (Lancasters remained his favorite aircraft).

Thomas McHale suffered several strokes, and was in ill-health for the remainder of his life. Once in a fit of temper he inflicted a blow on his son which left Dad permanently deaf in his left ear.

1939

14 May

Dad’s only sibling, Hilda McHale, is born.

1940-1947

Dad attends the village school: the Binbrook Church of England School. He was also a choirboy in the village rectory! Dad’s working-class parents lacked the finances to send him on to higher education, but this would not disadvantage his later career.

1947-1949

Dad works in the Binbrook service station, acquiring valuable mechanical skills. He also learned to drive during this period. Dad was nearly apprenticed as a blacksmith to his Aunt Florrie’s husband, but he decided to join the RAF instead.

1949-1959: RAF Career

Dad enlisted in the RAF on 19/2/1949, aged 15, as an Apprentice Boy Entrant Aero Engine Mechanic, initially training at the RAF Technical Training School in Locking, Somerset; then the RAF TTS in Casford, Staffordshire. His rank when he completed training was Aircraftsman First Class. The squadrons he was subsequently station with were:

Dad’s occupational title in the RAF was Aircraft Engine Fitter IIE. This involved mostly aircraft engine maintenance (on both propellors and jets), and some airframe work. Dad worked on many aircraft: Avro Anson, English Electric Canberra, HP Hastings, Hunting Jet Provost, Avro Lancaster, Avro Lincoln, DH Mosquito, Airspeed Oxford, Avro Shackleton, Hawker Tempest, Vickers Varsity, Vickers Wellington, Avro York. Dad’s rank progression was as follows: Boy Entrant; Aircraftsman 1; AC 2; Senior Aircraftsman; finishing as a Corporal (a non-commissioned officer next under a Sergeant).

Dad traveled to many countries during his service years:

Dad left the RAF in November, 1959. In his own words: “Finished my 10-year stint. Had had enough of moving around. RAF undergoing major changes at that time – not all good.” His impressions of the RAF: “Excellent training. Good conditions and comradeship. Many exciting experiences, learning about different aircraft. Satisfaction of always doing a professional job; never half-hearted. Saw many places I would not otherwise have seen. Broadened my outlook. Gave me the technical experience to be able to work on civil aircraft and, hence, come to Oz [Australia].”

1950

1 August

After years of ill-health, Thomas McHale dies of a stroke. Dad thus lost his father while still a teenager (17 years); Aunty Hilda was only 11. Michele and I would thus never meet our paternal grandfather.

1959

After resigning from the RAF in November, Dad then spent a few years working as an agricultural mechanic, repairing farm machinery (tractors, harvesters, bailers and miscellaneous small engines). His mechanical and handyman skills proved invaluable throughout his life. He did most of the repair and renovations around our house, and much mechanical tinkering with engines and such in the shed. A real “Mr Fix-It,” he was indispensable! It’s notable that the men on both sides of my family – Dad and his forefathers; Uncle Brian and Grandpa on Mum’s side – had great mechanical aptitude.

1964

November

Dad signs up with TAA (Trans-Australia Airlines) at their London branch office. As part of an Australian government English immigration program, he then flew to Melbourne, Victoria, on contract with TAA in exchange for his fees being paid, arriving on the 16th. Aircraft Dad worked on while with TAA included the DC3, DC4, DC6, DC9, Viscount, Fokker F-27 and Boeing 727 and 737. (He sat the exams for and obtained his LAME licence for jet engines in 1967.) Dad initially boarded with the Bennett family at 80 Sydney Road, Brunswick until late 1966. He then rented a couple of rooms in a house on Riddell Parade, Elsternwick (near the railway line). After he and Mum married, they stayed in the bungalow behind Gran and Grandpa’s home (at 14 Bridge Street, Elsternwick) until they bought their own home.

1965

Dad meets his future wife, Beverly Sayce, at a dinner hosted one evening by her former school classmate, Judy Leathley. Her husband, Tom, was a workmate of Dad’s at TAA. On Mum’s part at least, it was not love at first sight! They did not see each other for several months after, then they dated a few times; Dad was initially more keen on continuing their relationship! But he felt unhappy in Australia, being homesick for England. He returned home early in 1966, but decided to relocate permanently to Australia because of Mum.

1966

12 March

Gladys McHale remarries to Jack Kirk (born 18/4/1902), a farm laborer. They would have no children, but remained together until their deaths. To me, they were Granny Kirk and Uncle Jack.

1967

26 August

Aunty Hilda marries John Reilly (born 21/11/1937). They would have 3 children: Kevin James (10/11/1968 – he was born in Germany as Uncle John was stationed there for a couple of years while in the Army); Ian Matthew (11/9/1970) and Phillip Kirk (23/3/1972). Uncle John was a motor mechanic who served a few years in the British Army; Aunty Hilda did some work as a seamstress.

Timothy Stephen (24/4/1960) and Mandy Julie (3/10/1962) were born to Aunty Hilda’s first husband.

Mum and Dad also became engaged this year.

1968

Wednesday 13 March

Ronald McHale and Beverly Sayce are married in the Gardenvale Methodist Church. Mum’s parents hosted the reception in their home at 14 Bridge Street, Elsternwick. My parents then honeymooned in Tasmania, visiting Launceston, Hobart and Port Arthur.

1969

February

Dad joins the Department of Civil Aviation as an Airworthiness Surveyor. He was initially teamed up with an older, experienced surveyor.

May

Mum and Dad move into their new home at 93 Tucker Road, Bentleigh, paying $11,000 for the post-WW2 Austerity-style white weatherboard (2 families had lived there beforehand). Dad told me once that he’d had thoughts of moving back home to England with Mum and raising a family there, but Mum wished to remain near her parents, so Dad decided to stay in Australia. He retained his English citizenship, though not his accent – the latter he deliberately lost!

CAA Career

December

After completing the “№ 14 Induction Course” in September, Dad applies and is accepted for a position as an Airworthiness Surveyor with the DCA in Victoria. He worked as a Sectional Airworthiness Surveyor for the rest of his career. He was mainly concerned with general aviation aircraft engines, checking maintenance standards and applicability to DCA regulations. He attended a number of light aircraft accidents to sift through the wreckage in search of evidence showing why the aircraft crashed (sometimes encountering bodies – or body parts – in the process!) and then writing up reports. Other duties included:

Dad spent 9 years in the Mechanical Systems Section of the Central Office, responsible for all types of civil aircraft in Australia. He then transferred to the Regional Office on Lonsdale Street. As part of his work, Dad traveled to numerous locations in Victoria and Tasmania. He was variously based at Moorabbin Airport, South Melbourne and the Field Office at 108 Lonsdale Street. The DCA became the Department of Transport circa 1970, then the Civil Aviation Authority in 1976. The CAA in turn became the Civil Aviation Safely Authority after 1991.

Some of the aircraft and airlines Dad inspected included Cessna, Piper, Beechcraft, Aero Commander, Tiger Moth, Partenavia, Bell Helicopter and De Havilland. He also visited all Vic/Tas aircraft maintenance organizations, as well as Ansett, TAA (Qantas), Government Aircraft Factory (later ASTA) and the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation

Dad retired on 18/11/1991, made redundant due to reorganization and downsizing. Many of the CAA’s other older experienced employees (including Dad’s friend Bill Waters) also left during this dysfunctional period, which would later have repercussions upon the organization. Dad’s impressions of the CAA: “Quite good – for a Govt. Dept. Enjoyed the variety and the traveling around. Final 2 years rather tiresome due to lack of direction from above.”

1970-1972

Mum and Dad’s first child, Suzanne Bronwyn, was born on 9/11/1970; my sister Michele Anne followed 21 months later on 1/8/1972.

1975

March-April

Dad and family visit his homeland of England for 2 months, staying with his parents. We visited Dad’s other relatives: his Aunt Florrie, and Aunty Hilda and her family. My grandparents lived at the Corner Cottage in Spridlington; Florence and her husband Fred Fell were in Binbrook and Aunty Hilda in Waltham. All these villages were in Lincolnshire. It snowed while we were there, late in the season (autumn).

1978

15 May-17 July

Our second and last England family holiday, visiting and staying with Dad’s parents and relatives as before. We also holidayed in the seaside town of Penzance, Cornwall for 10 days. My parents could only afford these overseas trips because they had paid off their mortgage in 1977 and the currency exchange rate was favorable. Unfortunately, these would be our last overseas trips as a family.

1981

23 April

Aunty Hilda, Uncle John, Kevin, Ian and Phillip emigrate to Australia to live in the suburb of Springvale, Victoria. Tim and Mandy remained behind in England.

1982

Dad becomes a committed Christian, influenced by a CAA workmate, Bill Waters. Mr Waters and his wife, Pam, became close family friends (they lived at 2 Lascelles Court, Frankston and had 6 children). Dad and family joined the Bentleigh Baptist Church where Dad was eventually elected a Deacon and served as Church Secretary.

1983

6 July

Jack Kirk passes away. After his death, Granny Kirk moved out of the Corner Cottage and took up residence at Ancaster House, Winteringham until her death. In December Granny Kirk visited us and Australia for the first and last time, initially staying with Dad and family (she accompanied us on our annual week-long Inverloch holiday), then with Aunty Hilda and her family before returning home.

1991

18 November

Dad takes an early retirement package from the CAA as the government organization was undergoing a major restructuring and downsizing (it subsequently became CASA). He had spent 42 years in the aviation industry, in an interesting and mostly rewarding career.

1992

Saturday 2 May

Michele marries Christophe (Chris) Andre Robert Perona (born 12/11/1968) at the Bentleigh Baptist Church.

1993

20 January

Dad becomes an Australian citizen. He still retained his English citizenship and passport. Aunty Hilda, Uncle John and their 3 boys also moved up to Townsville, Queensland this year, residing at 33 Samantha Street, Kelso. Kevin, Ian and Phillip later moved out to begin their own independent lives.

1995

17 November

Granny Kirk dies peacefully in her sleep of a stroke at Ancaster House, aged 88.

2025

1 October

Dad is found unresponsive in his room at Camberwell Gables residential care home in the early morning. He was taken to Box Hill Hospital and an MRI scan showed a massive brain bleed (intracerebral hemorrhage or hemorrhagic stroke); it was too large to operate on and had caused irreversible brain damage from which he would not awaken, though he breathed on his own. He transferred to Ward 7.1, Room 17 – the stroke ward. He was given pain medication (morphine) to ease any discomfort. Family and friends visited him at various times until his passing.

Saturday 4 October: the end

Dad’s long life comes to an end. I had decided to remain behind overnight (my sister Michele had kept vigil the previous night). Between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. his breathing became laboured. Near his end, around 8:03 p.m., he breathed … a minute or two of stillness … another breath … then the final stillness as his body decided to let him go. I sat next to him, holding his hand; he departed peacefully. This was the first time I had seen the process of death. My sister and her husband, Chris Perona, made the long drive back from where they were staying in Seaford with friends to be with him also. We sat with him for another hour or so.

His death certificate stated his cause of death as being a haemorrhagic stroke. (The date of his death was recorded as being on the 5th December, but this was explained as it was likely Dad wasn’t seen by the doctor until after midnight.)

Friday 10 October

Dad was cremated by Oakdale Funerals at 4 p.m..

Saturday 11 October

Dad’s memorial service was held at Frankston Presbyterian Church this morning, at 11:00 a.m., led by Pastor Jared Keath. My sister picked me up from home, and Mum from Camberwell Gables. Three of my sister’s children – Josiah, Margaret and Timothy — were able to fly down from Brisbane and (in Timothy’s case) Canberra to attend (Trinity could not, and remained in Brisbane). Some of Michele’s friends (Jan Leigh, Lea & Rob Beer) and our family (cousin Warren Sayce & his wife Julie May) also attended. Michele and I read out our eulogy; the rest was religious prayers and hymns.

Mum’s timeline

1896

17 November

William Luty Sayce is born to John Sayce (20/10/1856-2/1924) and Margaret Jane Cormack (22/3/1863-8/2/1916) in Burnley, Melbourne; the youngest of 4 siblings. He grew up in neighboring Richmond. His mother attended the Presbyterian Church in Lennox Street (where Mum was later baptized). He became a fitter and turner by trade and also a violin tutor and orchestra conductor. His music studio was at Gossard’s Music House on 136 Bridge Road, Richmond.

1898

19 April

Annie Hectorina Tiley is born to Henry John Tiley (19/10/1843-20/8/1927) and Mary Isobel McLean (2/7/1865-26/3/1941), the 11th of 13 siblings. She was born in the family’s small miner’s cottage at 8 & 17 Midland Highway, Clarendon. When Gran was born, a couple of her siblings were ill, and her mother couldn’t cope with looking after another baby, so Gran was sent to live with her maternal grandmother, Euphemia McLean (nee Colquhoun), who also resided in Clarendon. Gran stayed there until she was 6 – she became very close to her grandmother – then she returned home to live with her parents and many brothers and sisters (2 of whom died at birth; 2 others died at 3 and 19 years). They attended the nearby local school in Clarendon.

Mum & Michele outside Gran's cottage, 1975mum

Mum and Michele outside Gran’s childhood home in Clarendon, 1975 (I was sulking in the car!)

1914

Gran leaves school at 16. She left home to stay with her sister Phyllis in the Mallee in northeast Victoria then traveled to Melbourne to work as a waitress and a domestic servant in large mansions. She caught the ’flu during the worldwide 1918 influenza epidemic which killed 20 million. Gran was sent to the Alfred Hospital where ’flu patients were isolated in outside sheds. She survived, obviously! Gran later met William (“Bill”) Luty Sayce at a dance in the city where he played the violin. Gran was quite attractive, having deep-set blue eyes and honey-blonde hair. She was conservative and reserved by nature; not demonstrative in showing affection. She was a Christian of the Protestant faith, though she didn’t attend church. She liked to look nice (she enjoyed having her hair set) and to be treated with respect. Gran was always small and slender. She had a poor appetite in her youth, and disliked meat and most dairy products (except butter) but enjoyed her vegetables. Mum said to me that she thought Gran might have been anorexic. Gran also loved her cups of black tea, virtually living on these!

Gran’s hobbies in later years were gardening and reading (she liked travel books and women’s magazines). She enjoyed listening to the old radio programs (“Marten’s Corner” and “Dad and Dave”). She preferred ballroom-style dance music, and barracked for the Richmond football team. Gran never learned to drive, relying on Grandpa (and, later, Mum) for transport. She never flew on an airplane or went overseas.

1926

31 January

Annie Tiley and William Sayce marry in the manse of the Burnley Presbyterian church. It was a low-key wedding; only Gran’s mother attended! Gran wore a navy-blue crepe-de-chine dress. They rode pillion to the church on Grandpa’s Harley motorcycle (which he’d built himself) with Mary Tiley in its sidecar! They couldn’t afford a honeymoon as they had built their first home in Camberwell; a small weatherboard house. At the time of their marriage, Grandpa lived at 24 Moorhead Street, East Camberwell, and Gran lived at “Myoorah” in Irving Road, Toorak.

1927

4 February

Brian Luty Clyde Sayce is born, in the miner’s cottage in Clarendon.

1938

4 February

Beverly Margaret Anne Sayce is born in Bethesda Hospital, Richmond. She had hazel eyes and initially blonde hair, which later darkened to brown. Having come from a family of 13 siblings, Gran had no desire to have a large family herself, seeing the hardship this had brought upon her mother.

1941

3 February

The electricity is connected at 14 Bridge Street, Elsternwick to which the Sayces had moved this year. Previously they had resided at 20 Vale Street, East Melbourne (a circa1862 terrace apartment which is still standing as of 2015); and before that at 24 Moorhead Street, Camberwell. Gran would remain at №14 until 1997.

1943-1944

Mum attends Hazelor Kindergarten, then begins school at Elsternwick State.

1951-1952

Mum transfers to Elwood Central and completes Year 9 at MacRobertson Girls’ High. She had an interest in art history, literature and ballet, but these were never encouraged and her parents did not have the finances to further her education. Mum did undertake piano lessons for a time, though.

1953-1955

Mum studies at the Zercho Business College (157 Collins Street, Melbourne) for 12 months, acquiring secretarial and clerical skills. Her first job in 1954 was as a teller in the Commercial Bank of Australia for 18 months.

1956

Mum decides to train as a nurse. She felt attracted to the caring profession, regarding it as an opportunity to “help her fellow man”. It was also one of the few career paths open to women in that era (some others being teaching and secretarial work). She began training at the Royal Melbourne School of Nursing for 18 months. As part of the course she worked in the Royal Women’s and Royal Children’s Hospitals, both public hospitals. She found these places impersonal and hectic; the pace tiring. She resided in nearby student housing which was hellishly hot in summer (no air conditioning, then!). She was homesick at first, though home wasn’t far away, at least. Mum gained her driver’s licence at 21 but could not yet afford a car, utilizing the tram instead. Due to her lack of high school education, Mum struggled in her studies and failed the exams (held on 4 and 5/9/1957) at the end of her training period.

22 December

Uncle Brian marries Bae Aileen Gillespie, a primary school teacher. Mum was a bridesmaid at their wedding. My Aunt and Uncle would have 3 children: Colin Andrew (born 10/4/1958), Warren David (16/8/1960) and Heather Jane (5/12/1964).

1958-1959

1 September-3 January

Mum works in the Melbourne Head Office of the Commonwealth Bank as a typist. But she still wanted to do nursing, regarding it as more interesting and fulfilling work, so she then enrolled in Epworth Hospital’s General Nursing course (Surgical, Medical, Pediatrics, Gynecology) on condition she resumed her studies from the beginning. She coped better this time, Epworth being a private hospital and thus not so busy. She studied Obstetrics, Midwifery and Gynecology at the Royal Women’s Hospital; a tutor there gave Mum personal tuition which assisted with the theoretical aspects of the course.

1962

20 January

Mum successfully completes her exams and graduates from Epworth, now registered as a General Nurse. She found employment in a Hampton GP’s surgery for 12 months as an assistant nurse and receptionist. Later in the year, Mum and some fellow nurses visited New Zealand’s North Island on a coach tour. They sailed there on the passenger ship Oriana, returning by plane.

1963

19 May

Mum completes 12 months’ training at the Royal Woman’s Hospital in Midwifery and is registered as a midwife on 18 June. Mum then applied to various hospitals and was accepted at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, but Gran opposed this, fearing Mum would “catch” cancer! (In those days, some believed cancer was infectious.) So Mum regretfully withdrew her application for a fulfilling job with good pay and instead found a position at Jessie McPherson as a Sister in Midwifery. She worked in several other hospitals over the next few years: Prince Henry, the Royal Alfred and Sandringham.

1964

July-August

Mum and a friend, Pat, fly up to Brisbane in Queensland for a holiday, also driving to Cairns.

1965

Mum is introduced to Ronald Francis McHale over dinner hosted by Mum’s former school friend, Judy Leathley (her husband, Tom, was a TAA engineer, a workmate of Dad’s). Mum was initially unimpressed with her future husband and she didn’t see him after that for several months. They then dated a few times but Dad was unhappy in Australia, clearly longing to return home to England!

1966-1967

Mum had met a New Zealand man and traveled to NZ a second time to visit him, while again touring the NI by coach with some fellow nurses (they flew there and back). But she realized that a relationship with him would be a mistake as he was a drifter, and decided that Dad was preferable! Dad, in the meantime, returned to Australia to live permanently; he was initially more keen on their burgeoning relationship than Mum. They became engaged in 1967.

1968

Wednesday 13 March

Beverly Sayce and Ronald McHale are married at the Gardenvale Methodist Church. Gran and Grandpa then hosted the reception at 14 Bridge Street. Mostly Mum’s relatives and friends attended. My parents then honeymooned in Tasmania, visiting Launceston, Hobart and Port Arthur.

1969

March

Mum quits work – this was normal practice for women then after marriage. She wouldn’t resume paid work until 1975.

May

My parents move into their first home at 93 Tucker Road, Bentleigh (-37.926265, 145.049491), paying $11,500 for the small white weatherboard (equivalent to $57,230.91 in 2012 using an inflation calculator). It had been previously lived in by 2 other families (the last being the Robinsons) and was a post-WW2 “spec” home, one of the first in the street to be built, and initially only had 2 bedrooms, with one added later by the Robinsons (who had 4 children). Shortcuts were taken in its construction as people kept stealing the building materials which were in short supply then! Mum and Dad were able to pay off their mortgage by 1978.

1970-1972

9 November

Suzanne Bronwyn McHale is born in Bethesda Hospital, Richmond. I had hazel eyes and brown hair. My sister, Michele Anne McHale, followed 21 months later on 1/8/1972. She had blue eyes and initially blonde hair which later darkened to fair (a shade between blonde and light brown).

1975

March-April

Our first family holiday to England to visit Dad’s relatives. It snowed during our stay, late for that time of year. We flew on Singapore Airlines to London and Qantas back home to Melbourne. Mum resumed part-time work after returning from England, desiring the extra income and mental stimulation! She was no longer able to undertake General Nursing at the major hospitals, having been absent for so long; study requirements were now too demanding. She instead worked in nursing homes for the remainder of her career. This was not a highly-regarded area of nursing, but was still necessary work. Unfortunately, Mum suffered from back problems over the years due to the heavy lifting of elderly patients. The added income Mum’s work brought in aided my parents in paying off their mortgage quickly and enabled Michele and I to attend Kilvington (Dad paid the school fees; Mum paid other bills).

Mum began at St. James’s in Elsternwick, spending approximately 3 years there. She then worked at Bayview Private Nursing Home in Sandringham (26 Fernhill Rd.) for around 4 years, finishing at Kalimna House Private Nursing Home in East Malvern (107 Darling Rd.) for 8½ years. Mum worked part-time, mostly on weekends.

1978

15 May-17 July

Our second holiday to England, flying British Airways this time, and visiting Dad’s relatives as before (we stayed with his parents). Michele and I were too young to fully appreciate these holidays; they are now fond, dreamlike memories.

1980

Uncle Brian divorces Aunty Bae after an increasingly troubled marriage. Uncle Brian returned home to 14 Bridge Street, living in the bungalow behind the main house for a few years until he moved to a unit at 8 Golfwood Close, Dingley Village. His 3 children (my cousins) remained with Aunty Bae until they left home. Aunty Bae eventually moved up to Queensland.

1982

20 February

Grandpa dies in Caulfield Hospital of a ruptured aortic aneurysm; he had been a heavy smoker for many years. He was 85 years old. He was cremated at the Springvale Crematorium.

1991

Wednesday 5 June

Mum is diagnosed with ovarian cancer after feeling unwell for several months. She was booked in for an exploratory operation at the Mercy Private Hospital, East Melbourne, on Tuesday 11; Dr Robert Zacharin (who delivered Michele and I) was her surgeon. The 1 ½ -hour operation resulted in the removal of a football-sized tumor from her ovaries and she was given a hysterectomy. The tumor was removed just in time; a few more days and it would have burst and spread cancer through her system, requiring chemotherapy. Mum was very fortunate as ovarian cancer has a high mortality rate. Mum came home on Sunday 16; it took her many months to recover. She continued to have checkups at intervals over the next few years to ensure the cancer didn’t return.

1992

Saturday 2 May

Michele marries Christophe Andre Robert Perona at the Bentleigh Baptist Church. She had met him only a few months before at the church, in late 1991. I did not attend the wedding. The wedding reception was held at Tudor Lodge Receptions, 60-66 Patterson Rd., Bentleigh. Their children were: Josiah Ronald (22/6/1994), Margaret Renee Anne (25/12/1996), Timothy Joseph (4/9/1998) and Trinity Jane (13/12/2000).

1993

Saturday 4 September

Gran breaks her left humerus in a fall at her home. She was out of action for a couple of months, bedridden; and Mum had to drive over to Gran’s place daily to care for her – an added burden, but one which Mum carried out heroically. A District Nurse also came in 3 times a week to shower Gran.

Friday 15 October

Mum quits her part-time job at Kalimna House where she worked on weekends as a Matron in charge of nursing care, bookwork, etc. and retires from nursing altogether. On the whole, Mum enjoyed her nursing career, though she disliked working in the busy, impersonal large hospitals.

1997

Friday 4 April

Gran has a blackout – Mum arrived at 14 Bridge St. to find Gran lying unconscious on the floor of her kitchen with a broken upper right femur. Gran was taken by ambulance to Sandringham Hospital where she was operated upon. Mum and Uncle Brian had previously arranged for Gran to stay in a hospice for a few weeks (as she had in 1996) to give Mum a break from caring for her, but these plans were now shelved. Gran was then moved to the Kingston Rehabilitation Centre in Heatherton on Saturday 12/4.

Wednesday 21 May

Gran is moved to accommodation at Southleigh Baptist Community in Bentleigh (24-34 Robert St.). It wasn’t suitable for Gran, who needed intensive nursing care, but it had to suffice for the present. Formerly active, Gran now needed a walking frame, which she could only use with great difficulty. She had become increasingly senile during the 1990s, and was slowly declining. Sadly, her home had to be sold to pay for her boarding at Southleigh.

Saturday 21 June

14 Bridge Street is sold at auction to a developer for $470,000; its fate was sealed. The developer didn’t take possession until October, so my family spent the interim clearing out the house. To her chagrin, Mum was not quick enough in securing items of Gran’s furniture, so most of it was grabbed by Uncle Brian, Heather, and Warren and his wife Julie. Michele and Chris did, at least, get the mirrored cabinet from the lounge room.

Friday 17 October

Mum, Uncle Brian and I visit 14 Bridge Street for the last time; they had to wait for an electrician to come and read the indoor meter, and disconnect the power (which was first connected on 3/2/1941 when my grandparents moved in, 56 years ago!). I wandered around disconsolately. The developer took possession of the house in the next week and began the process of demolition. Four ugly 2-storey townhouses eventually crowded the once-spacious block, completely destroying the amenity of the street. The area had once been working-class (Gran and Grandpa paid 800 pounds for the house), but the region had unfortunately become gentrified over the years so that only the wealthy could afford to live there now.

Monday 3 November

More broken bones for poor Gran when she was found by Southleigh staff on the floor of her bedroom. She had broken her upper right arm and again cracked her right femur. She was taken to Caulfield Hospital for treatment, and spent the next few weeks there until a place was found for her in a nursing home.

Friday 5 December

A nursing home is found for Gran at last – Siesta Private Nursing Home, at 11 Sheppard St., Moorabbin, just off South Road and only a few minutes’ drive away from my parents’ home. Gran was installed there in the next week.

1998

Sunday 19 April

Gran’s 100th birthday is celebrated at a family gathering, hosted by Craig and Heather Drummond in their spacious 2-storey home at 1 Cannery Plaza, Dingley. In attendence were Mum, Dad and I; Michele, Chris and children; Warren, Julie and children; as well as Mum’s cousins – Dawn Parker and her daughters, Jenny and Dianne; and Dawn’s sister, Pat Dobbyn and Pat’s daughter Debbie (Dawn and Pat were daughters of Gran’s sister, Clarise Mary Tiley). Colin Sayce and his family couldn’t attend due to Colin’s work commitments as a Qantas pilot. Gran was by then the last surviving member of her immediate family, but she had many great-grandchildren – 17 before she died.

2000

Friday 6 October

Gran dies peacefully in her sleep, aged 102, around 5 a.m.. A lady from Siesta rang Mum at 6 to inform her. Gran’s death was inevitable as she had been deteriorating markedly over the last year, but it still came as a shock as she had seemingly been around forever. The funeral was held on Monday 9 at 1 p.m., at John Alison/Monkhouse in Springvale. A lot of relatives (Uncle Brian and family) and friends came. Mum, Michele and I viewed Gran in her coffin, an unsettling experience (my first sight of a dead body) as Gran had lost a lot of weight and was tiny and shriveled up. Lying still and lifeless there, she looked nothing like the Gran I had known. The funeral went well; Michele read a moving eulogy. Gran was cremated and Mum, Dad, myself and Uncle Brian drove up to Clarendon cemetery on Wednesday 29 to scatter Gran’s ashes over her parents’ and uncles’ grave.

Looking back, I am now sad she died by herself in a strange place; I wish she could have gone with her family around her.

Wednesday, 12 November 2025 at 12:31:31 pm