Faith Newham

My father died when he was only 38 after contracting TB and my Mum was killed as a result of a car accident when I was just 16. Because of that I was an orphan. We went to live with Mum’s sister who was totally different to my Mum. She was kind in a cold sort of a way.

I always wanted to go to Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy in Melbourne which was in a building that looked like a wedding cake and it’s part of RMIT now. I know my Mum would not have been able to afford that so after Mum died Legacy took me on and I was able to do a 3 year Diploma which meant I could teach, which I did.

At that time there was a shortage of teachers so you got a job if you had the skills, you didn’t necessarily have to have the teaching certificate. I ended up going to Bowral. I didn’t know anyone in Bowral. I got on a train and I ended up teaching in this boarding school for 2 years and then the school closed and I went to Skeggs Moss Vale and taught sewing for 4 years. I also had house mistress duties and I loved it even though it was far away from everyone I knew. I had only just met my David and he was teaching at the Migrant Centre in Albury. David was a relieving School Principal so we were sent to the country which I loved. I didn’t work for 2 years, I learnt to play golf with the ladies and I cleaned the school.

Going back a bit, I went to the local Sunshine Technical School and it happened that the Head Mistress was the Head Mistress at Box Hill Tech where I studied. She remembered me because my mother had died in that year. I asked if she’d give me a job and by then I’d had 4 years teaching experience. The Unions had just brought in that you needed a teaching certificate so I went and got my qualifications. There were a lot of migrants and I loved the Maltese girls. I got the job and ended up teaching there for 4 years.

�David and I bought a very old house up in the Dandenongs for $25,000. We think it was built by a Shipwright. It ended up being pulled down after we sold and they built a mansion on it which was sad. It was a lovely old heritage house. By this time we had our 2 daughters, Sally and Jane. After we bought the house David applied for an exchange teaching and we went to Oxford University in England for a year. In between taking maternity leave I took a year leave without pay for the 12 months we were there and it was fantastic. When we came home to Australia we were a bit dissatisfied with teaching. David’s father had an upholstery business and had passed away so his Mum had taken it on. She’d had enough and wanted to move to the Gold Coast so we decided to take it on. David didn’t like it. I had a little retail shop in Hawthorn which I really loved. We did that for 3 or 4 years before coming north.

We moved up here in 1981 because we wanted a tree change before tree changes were a thing. We owned a block of land in Byron but we didn’t like the way Byron was going so we sold it. Sally was about 8 and Jane was 6 and we rented a place in Arthurs Rd in Dorroughby. It had been a restaurant that was only open one night a week. It was owned by a couple who had taught in New Guinea and then moved back here. They partied hard but they couldn’t meet people so they opened up the tractor shed and invited people to come for dinner. They ended up moving to Canberra so we continued the restaurant called Dorroughby Farm and built up a bit of a reputation.

We wanted to live here for a year before we decided where we wanted to buy. There used to be a tip in Dunoon so we’d come over and there was a house on 5 acres for sale at Whian Whian next to the falls called Whian Whian Pottery. We didn’t want to see it because we knew we’d love it and wanted to wait the 12 months. Finally we saw it and loved it so we bought it and opened the Whian Whian Pottery Restaurant We loved that it had an In and an Out driveway. This was originally the old road before they built the bridge. We’ve lived here for 42 years now.

I’d always had a passion for cooking so had to put my head down. We had a set menu and a set price and we opened on Friday and Saturday nights only. We could fit 60 people but we always had about 50 people. I’ve got all the menus from way back and I framed the last 2. It evolved over time as to what was fashionable. I used to do a bit of teaching with Helen at The Peppertree Kitchen too. After 20 years we decided that we’d had enough so we gave it away. Sally was baking bread at that stage so it became a Bakery and she was doing the organic market in town and I applied to the Byron Market. Sally lived in the Cottage here with her son when he was little and he is now 24. We did the bread together. I’d bake Sourdough and buns all night and off we’d go to the markets. We did that for 9 years. I used to have classes here too. We know this property will probably get too much for us because David is also 80 and he has Parkinson’s but we do love it here.

The big flood of Feb 2022 was awful. We didn’t actually flood though we got lots of mud through the house and we had to evacuate for 2 nights. The creek was terrifying and we didn’t think our cottage would still be standing. All these huge rocks were coming down and the noise was so intense. That was the start of David’s Parkinson’s, and anxiety is the worst thing. He still suffers from the PTSD from it.

We’ve enjoyed travelling over the years. We were lucky enough to win a bit of money many years ago which paid for our mortgage and enabled us to take the girls on a beautiful trip. We backpacked through Malaysia and Thailand. I went to England and did a Cordon Bleu cooking course for a month. We bought a camper-van and travelled through Switzerland and Germany. We flew to Vancouver and went on the train to Canada, hired a car in Seattle and came down the West Coast of America. It was amazing to do that with the girls. Sally ended up going to Sweden on exchange because of that trip, which was great because I got to go to Sweden and we had another exchange student here. We also had an elderly lady stay who is now 98 and we still keep in touch. .

We are trying new things for David with different nutrition, music, different meds so he’s not so anxious. He manages and I don’t really want to leave here. Jane has 2 kids and lives in Dunoon. She’s been in Dunoon for 5 years and loves her tennis. She has Olive and Angus. Sally’s son is Tarn which means a small mountain lake. She went up the mountains and saw the tarns in Tasmania and called her son by that name. He lives in Clunes now.

My stove got wrecked in the flood and I’ve had it for 30 years. I knew though that all the parts were available so I’ve only just had it fixed. It’s got 2 big ovens. I made 30 Pan Forte at Christmas for a friend. I make cakes for functions so I’m still busy and I joined Story Dogs with my dog Trixie (story coming on Dogs of Lismore) so that’s lovely and the kids read to her at school. I am a Quilter and I still love to cook. I bake bread for my neighbours and I still do the occasional class and I really love to garden. I think our travelling days are just about over. We’ll see! I reckon we have one more road trip in us.”