Index
School for Meredith and Cathy
In 1955 Life was hectic for Mum with many important decisions to be made.
One was my secondary schooling. I had loved St Albans and Mum decided that a private school would be best for me. Methodist Ladies College was chosen. I had hoped to go to the same school as my best friend Merilyn Bagshaw but she was going to Saint Peters Girl’s School. I sat for a scholarship for Saints Girls but got nowhere with that.
MLC was accessible using the train and a tram. It turned out to be a good choice for me and I was very happy there.
Cathy was ready for school by 1956 and Mum chose St Albans which was just over the road and had been a very happy place for me.
Our lives were busy. And there were two schools’ fees to pay.
Eventually Cathy changed to Largs Primary School and she was happy there.
Return to teaching
Mum returned to teaching for 3 days a week for a couple of years and then fulltime at Taperoo Primary School.
Ralph loved the racing and pencilled for a bookie at the horses on Saturday. His brother Don Parker trained and bred race horses at his property at Kalangadoo. Horse racing was an important part of their lives.
Ralph wanted to make money to help Mum with house payments and school fees etc but unfortunately for Ralph and Mum his love of horse-racing developed into a gambling addiction. This was something of which Mum had no experience or understanding. During this time he earned a regular salary with his work at Customs however the financial situation was still difficult.
Music continued to be a happy part of our lives together. This must have been great compensation for Mum.
Ralph’s Illness and Death
However Ralph was very unwell in the late 1950s and it took some time before it was diagnosed as Prostate cancer. In about 1959 Mum told me about his illness.
He gradually became weaker and weaker. Mum was his carer and main supporter.
Joy Webber was a trusted confidante throughout this difficult time. As a trained nurse she could offer much advice and support
I believe Mum also confided in Aunty Ada so it was terrible loss when she died in march 1961.
Ralph died at home in 1961.
He was buried at Centennial Park.. General AC section, Path 8, 522
Cathy was staying at Aunty Win’s when Ralph was in his final days and was not home for the funeral. Mum must have thought that that was best. Kate still feels that not being there had denied her the necessary closure. She was only 9 years old when her Dad died without her knowing or being able to say goodbye.
Support from friends
The family had always thought the children shouldn’t be part of funerals. I was not a child. I was 19 in 1961, but didn’t actually go to Ralph’s funeral myself! My friends Geoff Shepherd and Dale Bagshaw came down to Largs and stayed with me during the funeral time. We played the piano and drank cups of coffee. It was weird. How very strange not to have been part of the final farewell. Again I think Mum was struggling to cope and felt it best to do it on her own.
We had lost Aunty Ada in March 1961 and Ralph in September 1961.
Mum was a widow again.
I actually remember feeling that Mum was back again. Suddenly she was talking more with me and it reminded me of the 1940s.
The closeness with Cathy also developed further. Together they went to the footy with Joy Webber on most Saturdays in the footy season. They barracked for Glenelg because that was Joy’s team. Each Saturday it was off to the match with a basket which had raincoats, an umbrella plus a thermos and sandwiches. They were ready for unashamed yelling and applauding. “Car n The Bays!” This continued for many years until the Crows took over as the new favourite footy team
Granny’s love of sport was in evidence as a spectator on the fenceline of the footy and occasionally the cricket and watching the tennis on the TV. She could always talk cricket with Jim and the other Longies and footy with Kate and me and any one else in interested in sport.
Mum was teaching fulltime and became the librarian at Taperoo Primary School.
She loved being back with children again and the social satisfaction of working with other staff members. It has already been acknowledged that Joy Webber became a special friend. Joy had been a registered nurse but retrained and changed to teaching when she had a young family. Their friendship lasted for decades.
Doss Clements was also a close teaching friend.
Taperoo was a challenging school with many students from struggling households. However Mum communicated easily and successfully with all children and she had many delightful stories of children enjoying her programmes and making headway despite many disadvantages.
The following letter was written by Doss for Mum’s 75th birthday in 1986. It contains memories from the Taperoo teaching days.
“Those Taperoo days were not always easy, but never dull. Your tactful handling of all situations – always a lady – never the need for a raised voice or anger – just a look of disbelief and disappointment and the most recalcitrant infant would feel ashamed.”
The letter is special so here is the rest.
In 1961 I was in second year at University. Cathy was at Largs Primary . There were no more school fees but it must have been a difficult time financially. The Repat were paying my course fees and giving me a small living allowance but Mum still had all the normal house fees and food costs to face. At least and at last she could budget carefully and accurately.
Breast Cancer
In 1962 Mum developed breast cancer. It was very serious and it was decided that she needed to have a mastectomy. She was in hospital for some time after the surgery and began a slow recuperation.
I was very concerned but couldn’t help other than visiting Mum in hospital as much as possible and then helping at home when she was recuperating.
Suddenly Jan Bagshaw came to help. This was a wonderful thing to happen. A Mary Poppins type event! Thankyou to our family, Auntie Nell and especially Jan.
I think I was fairly overwhelmed with the situation. …I was very concerned about Mum. I was trying to be helpful with 10 year old Cathy, cooking, washing and still attending Uni. I did not manage it all. It is a complete blur in my memory.
Gradually we began to function again- Cathy with school, me with my Uni course and Mum with the daily personal company and caring that was necessary.
I was in Second year at Uni and had been feeling that I should have been doing Social Work and not Phys Ed. Fortunately I was suddenly aware that I needed to get through my course and be independent as quickly as possible . If Mum didn’t get better I needed to be able to look after Cathy. I needed to be qualified and employed ASAP.
I worked hard and stayed in Phys Ed. Thank Goodness. I loved teaching Phys Ed and found dance within it.
Mum recovered fully and was able to return to teaching at Taperoo.
Cathy was growing up and in 1964 started her secondary school years at MLC.
Mum had surfaced from a sad and challenging few years.
Her very good friends at Taperoo – Doss Clements and Joy Webber – had been helpful and supportive.
Joy in particular had helped her through the months of Ralph’s sickness and death.
Together Joy and Mum began walking the beach from Largs to Semaphore every day. Together they planned an amazing trip overseas. The goal was fitness and to save for a trip in the 70s. They did it!
Except for when Ralph was very sick, we always had somebody renting a room or the flat with the large kitchen. Our house was perfect for enabling this extra income. What a great choice Mum made in buying 18 Alexander St in 1947.
I can recall the people who rented at 18 Alexander St over the years included Mr. Dollard, Mrs Matheson, Gwen Toogood and Ruth Biele, Miss Guidera, Wendy Philp and Cousin Roger….and another couple whose names I’ve forgotten. On reflection they were mostly teachers. It enabled Mum to budget tightly but successfully. She paid off the house, paid our school fees and even paid for our music lessons for 6 years.
For me the University years were excellent. The Uni Revues were great fun at the end of each academic year and I performed in them for 1961, 62 and 63
In 1963 I left home as I won a job to teach at Immanuel Collège and it included being a boarding house mistress. Mum and Kate now had some special time together.
It was in the Uni Revues that I met Wayne Anthoney who was a science/maths student and a very funny man on stage. We fell in love and became engaged in 1963.
Meredith and Wayne’s Wedding
We were married in January 1965.
Our wedding was on Jan 2nd. 1965 at St Peters Church Glenelg and the reception was at the Largs Pier Hotel.
Uncle Rex Bowman, my father’s brother “gave me away” and walked with me down the aisle. He was kind and supportive but on reflection I should probably have had Mum giving me away. It never occurred to me!
(I really loved the ritual of almond blossom in the lapels of the men’s wedding suits. It was the wrong time of the year and they had to be plastic almond blossom. Wayne was appalled at this. Embarrassingly I won this argument! Sorry Wayne.)
The wedding was at St Peters Church, Glenelg.
The wedding party from the left are Barry Warren, Paul Haines, Wayne and Meredith, Anne McInerney, Wayne’s sister Deirdre Anthoney and Cathy.
Our wedding reception was at the Largs Pier Hotel
Mum looked beautiful in a blue silk dress and a matching blue silk organza coat.
We bought a house at Rostrevor and had 2 children – Christie born in 1969 and Tom born in 1971.
Kate at this time was working as a Travel Consultant and living at Alexander St.
She often came to stay with us at Rostrevor and there is one significant and very memorable time.
On this occasion, Kate needed some cheering up as she had broken up with a boyfriend. I decided we should go out for a cup of coffee in the evening. There was a coffee lounge in a cellar on the corner of Hackney Rd and Fullarton Rd called “the Catacombs”. It had a ‘hip’ vibe (for the 70’s) – dimly lit, candle wax down the side of bottles with candles flickering on the tables and a singer/guitarist strumming away. He played and sang well. Cat Steven’s songs he sang beautifully. He was also young and handsome. I asked the waitress to invite him to have a coffee at our table after he finished singing. As he joined us, the venue was unfortunately closing. So I gave it another try. As we were ascending the stairs to leave, I invited him to come to our place at Rostrevor for a cuppa or a drink, which he accepted. His name was Jason.
I suggested Kate go with him in his car so she could show him the way.
He walked towards the Jaguar parked out the front of the Catacombs. Kate thought wow he looks like a prospect, but he passed that car by and opened the door to his car which was a bomb – with bales of hay in the back seat for his horse.
Never mind, they settled down in our lounge at Rostrevor and they were still there in the morning with candles burning right down and it was the start of something BIG.
Our house at Rostrevor was the beginning of many interesting events and the one above won a major prize.
The births of Christie and Tom won special prizes too.
Mum was still teaching at Taperoo. And now enjoying being a grandmother.
She retired in 1973 at the age of 62. There were many happy memories of her teaching years at Taperoo.
A breakthrough in her teaching life was when she developed a school choir at Taperoo. Music had been a central interest and a success story in her teaching in the previous rural schools. Taperoo was a new challenge yet she could win over the most recalcitrant boys and girls with her approach to music and singing.
There was a weekly music programme for schools from the radio ABC and the choice of songs was made by this programme. It developed into the annual Schools Music Concert at the Adelaide Town Hall. The children had to be dressed up in their best clothes –white dresses for the girls and smart white shirts and shorts for the boys. Most Taperoo families could not afford these extra costs so Mum found a way of raising some funds and buying second hand clothes for the children. These were kept as the Taperoo Music Costumes, freshly laundered and kept in a special cupboard at school.
This was a joy and an unforgettable experience for the children every year.
I remember a story of a Taperoo School Reunion held in the 1980s and Mum returned for the occasion. One man came to her and said “I only got out yesterday but I wanted to come and see you again. I loved being in the choir!”
Decades later, in 1995, granddaughter Jasmine was a soloist in her school’s song in this annual concert.
The Festival of Music continues to this day and it was with great delight that Wayne and I attended the 2021 concert in the Entertainment Centre where Edie our granddaughter and Mum’s great granddaughter, was performing with the Alberton Primary School Choir.
This music programme has been a huge success for primary Schools in South Australia for 60 odd years. In 2021, the year Edie was performing, it was held over three nights to accommodate the large number of schools participating.
Mum knew the aesthetic and developmental value of the Arts in children’s education.
The plans for the overseas trip for Joy and Mum were at last happening.
The World Tour
They sailed off in the Himalaya on their Grand Tour of the World . It was the Womens Weekly’s last tour in 1974.
They had a wonderful time and the letters to and from our families were an exciting read. It was a dream came true.
Mum’s only overseas trips had been when she was 5 years old coming from New Zealand to Australia and in the 30s when she went to Tasmania with Auntie Grace. Never had she expected to see America, Japan, Europe and England. They did it. She even travelled up to Newcastle in the UK to stay with Jim Longmire and his family. (Jim was the only family member overseas. She had a very special time with them.) If there had been others she would have found them.
Mum’s atlas of the world was highlighted by dots on the map where the family were living or had lived. King Island and Bright are Colin’s dots on her map,
Goondiwindi Queensland’s dot was for Richard and Trish’s, Aunty Nell had dots in Saddleworth, Bessiebell, Portland, Kingston, and Avenue Range, Molly had a dot in Thevenard, and Cockatoo Valley, Jan in Melbourne etc etc
What a special delight. It was a great reward for surviving many tough years and being a great carer, mum, wife, teacher, sister and aunty.
At this time, the 70s, the letters and phone calls between the aunts were flourishing. All were grandmothers at this stage.
Mum, Aunty Nell and Aunty Kath were particularly close. Kath and Win were now living closer together in the South East. Bill and his wife Helen had a farm close to Keith in the South East and Kath and Les had retired to Keith. Win was in Bordertown close to Helen and Sandy. So the South East was a new hub for some years.
1974 was a very significant year.
Wayne and I shifted from Rostrevor to 11 The Parade Norwood.
I started full time lecturing work at Adelaide Teachers College (Called ACAE at the time).
Christie had successful major heart surgery in May 1974 and then she started school at Norwood.
Granny was on her overseas Tour of the World.
Wayne left work in order to follow his desire to act and to write.
Kate and Jason Croughan were married in 1974
Kate and Jason’s Wedding
They were married in Pilgrim Church Flinders St Adelaide by the Reverend Brian Phillips. Horses and coaches were used to transport them from Norwood to the church and then to Rymill Park for photos and a reception was held at 18 Alexander St Largs Bay.
Moyle Family History 