Our father was such a private person we have been concerned that we would receive instructions that he had no wish to attend this funeral. Sadly we are no longer obliged to seek his approval.
How can we describe our Dad ? The words that come to mind are; fiercely independent; proud; a caring husband and father; honest as the day is long; hard working; a good provider and complex of character;
It is only recently that we have gleaned from Dad some of his personal family history. His father, John McLean Davidson, lost his right arm in WW1. He operated a corner store in Subiaco, Perth and, over time, he delivered various products to the local citizens including regular orders for Fauldings. During the depression he lost the store and to sustain the family he delivered fruit and vegetables by horse and cart in the vicinity of East Perth.
Father (John) and brother, George, died from pneumonia in 1929, during the Great Depression. His mother was without the power of speech and she could not care for him.
He was fostered by the Prentice family and he moved from Thomas St, Subiaco to the Prentice house, in North Perth. He then transferred from the Highgate Primary School to Perth Boys School.
Dad`s first employment was with Dunlop as an office boy. He was a member of the Sea Cadets. In June, 1939 he joined the RAN as a “Boy Seaman” and moved to Westernport, Victoria. This was the beginning of a time of major adventure and with it a high level of danger. His first commission was on the destroyer, the proud but aged, HMAS Stuart. The exploits of the Stuart and the other Aussie destroyers of the time are well documented in the book, The Scrap Iron Flotilla. Dad`s cousin, in Edinburgh, the Reverend George Davidson Wilke told me of Dad visiting Edinburgh as a teenager, in his Navy uniform
In 1943 Dad married our mother, Gloria Joyce Hardey. Thankfully, Mum is here with us, today. As the war came to an end along came the first born, John, at St Vincents Hospital, in Darlinghurst, Sydney. Dad was transferred to the Flinders Naval Depot , in Victoria. My sisters, Fran and Maureen came along while we were living in Ballarat. Fred Prentice encouraged Dad to discharge from the Navy and return to Perth and to take up residence in and to farm his property, at Kelmscott. Soon after we arrived at Kelmscott, in 1951, along came Barbara. Fran and i can remember Barbara arriving at # 41.
The Kelmscott property was situated between the Albany Highway and River Road. The residence was the old homestead at # 41 River Rd, now a National Trust property. Dad commenced a mixed farm with enterprises associated with poultry keeping, a flower nursery and a small orchard. To supplement the family income from “the farm” Dad contracted to deliver the royal mail to the districts of Roleystone,Karagullen and to much of Kelmscott. Looking back it was quite remarkable that Dad, given his limited experience, could develop a farming property so.
I recall a most difficult time when Dad was obliged to put up a poisoned leg. To fill in, Pop Edgar and Mum were obliged to deliver the mail. One day, on the home stretch, at the bottom of Peet Rd, the brakes failed in the old blue Oldsmobile. Mum received severe lacerations to her neck. There was a small notice in the West Australian. The support from the small Kelmscott community was overwhelming. I can remember Mrs Salter bathing us kids in front of the open fire in our dining room. In those days several large families dominated the population of the town. Some of the family names were Fancote, Hicks, Salter, Creyk, Hewitt, Brierty, Buckingham, Thomas, Bradley all wonderful country folk. George Hicks was my godfather.
The 20 odd years we spent at Kelmscott were a defining part of our lives. The first thing that I recall is the endless hours that we spent on the paddocks and in the fowl houses. With the assistance of a few old Navy mates including Vic Every, Dad built the asbestos clad sheds from ground up. I can remember one morning, just on daylight, walking around the corner of the house to find that the notorious “east wind” had flattened all of our work from the day before.
Then there were some happy times. These memories would seem to be of little consequence to others but they were of massive significance to us. My sisters will have different occasions to reminisce. For me it was the visits to the Gosnells drive-in theatre, the infrequent Sunday visitors, the rare Sunday trips to the beach, at Como and feasting on fish & chips on the Fremantle esplanade.
An important weekly event was the arrival of Pop Prentice on Saturday and / or Sunday mornings. We were always standing by for our chocolate Freddo Frogs. I don`t believe that Pop ever missed us with this weekly ritual.
The whole family was obliged to spend significant time assisting to work the farm. I can remember quite clearly, just on daylight, the procession of myself and my sisters carrying gladioli from the paddock. Then there was our sport. Dad and Mum encouraged us to participate in team sports. The girls played hockey and I played football and cricket. For a couple of seasons we played together in the same cricket side. Dad was the Hon Secretary of the Kelmscott Football Club in their premiership year of 1962. In this year Jim Brierty was the President and Sandover Medallist, Sonny Maffina, the coach. As a youngster, Dad`s preferred sport, nurtured from his early days in the Navy was Soccer. He played Soccer for North Perth. I can remember mention of the brothers, Howat. One of them assisted us with the build of the farm.
Dad made every endeavour to grow a soccer team at Kelmscott. This initiative failed after only a single season. The team was reliant on the attendance of a number of orchardists, mainly from Karragullen. Unfortunately, if there was fruit to pick or gardens to plant then the soccer team was very much of a lower priority.
Above all else we all took from River Rd a very strong work ethic. The long hours and work became a habit and this has sustained us well throughout our careers and beyond
In 1957 we took on another family business, the Kelmscott Newsagency.
In 1959 Dad commenced as a Survey Hand at Alcoa`s Jarrahdale mine. Over the next few years he completed a Survey Certificate and then worked his way into a role that had him reporting direct to the Chief Surveyor (and mentor), Ken Grey. He was well into his 40`s at the time that he completed his tertiary studies.
By any measure this was a major achievement. He spoke much about Ken and the opportunities that had been afforded him there. He mentioned that one day that a visiting senior executive call at the survey shed and asked many questions. This gentleman was none other than Sir Arvi Parbo ! Dad retired from Alcoa in 1978 and soon after they moved from Kelmscott to a unit in Rivervale. In 1984 a sea change beckoned and they moved to Moore River where they remained until their final move to the RAAFA retirement home in 1995. The house at Moore River also holds some wonderful memories. All of the grand children spent time there on school holidays. Dad always retained his fondness of the sea.
One of the most difficult times that we experienced as a family was the loss of our dearest sister, Maureen in a car accident in April, 1972. Maureen was pursuing her nursing career in Sydney. At the time she was holidaying with husband, Graeme at Narooma, NSW. I was living in distant Bougainville. The rest of the family attended the funeral, in Sydney. I arrived the following day.
It has been a source of pride to have been a member of 7 RAR and to have served in Vietnam. Christene and I are quick to embrace any opportunity to attend reunions and meet old soldier mates.
This was not always so. It took me many years to seek such engagement. In 1949 there was much less understanding and empathy towards returning defence personnel. For many years subsequent to his return we can safely presume that Dad was just too busy to dwell on such matters. However in recent times this may not have been so. Many years ago he ceased receiving anybody who was not close, immediate family. There was a notable exception and that was the Fancotes.
Fanny and Mary are here today. Dad never joined the RSL or any of the RAN unit associations to which he was connected by his service. Going back some years, Mum kept contact, via Xmas cards only, with a few shipmates based in the Eastern States. Dad served on HMAS ships throughout the war including on the Stuart, Quiberon, Shropshire, Warramunga and the aircraft carrier, Sydney. On the outbreak of hostilities he travelled to the Mediterranean on the Stuart.
From a newspaper cutting of the day I gleaned that the crew of the Stuart completed 2 years of war at sea on the Mediteranean prior to receiving any leave back in Australia. In due course Dad returned to the Pacific theatre where he took part in the Battle of the Coral Sea, other defining battles of the war with Japan.
For many years I have lived in Brisbane. Fortunately for my family relationships my work has brought me to Perth every several months. However Fran and Barbara and their families have always been close by. They will take exception to my “close by” description of the long road to Merriwa. We are all most grateful for their diligence in journeying to visit Mum and Dad at the RAAFA home. Except for one notable exception their life at Merriwa has been quite uneventful. (Relate the story of the fire) Thank you Dad: Rest in Peace.
