“ I was born in 1943 on the 2nd November in Griffith during the second world war. Dad worked in the rural bank. Mum and Dad were married 7 years before they had me and I was their only child. I may have been a mistake as I don’t think anyone wanted to bring a baby into the world during a war. Dad didn’t go to war for the simple reason that they needed some men to stay home and Dad being in the finance industry was kept back to look after the economy. He used to have to go to training once a week and he’d come home and say to my mum — ‘Glad I didn’t go to war, I got shot again today, I don’t think my reflexes are great’ (laughs). Dad was my best friend, he really looked after me and he made me breakfast every morning. I don’t remember Mum making me breakfast ever. Mum suffered migraines and there wasn’t much they could do for them back then.
Mum was born in Grafton and then moved to Lismore with her family. Her father owned a doll’s hospital and he also made violins. I still have one today. My Mum used to play and was only 4 years old when she played in the Lismore Eisteddfod. Mum and Dad married in 1936 and moved around the state due to Dad’s job as a Rural Banker.
When I was 2 we lived in Mudgee. Dad had a push bike with a seat made from an old wooden box on the back for me. We rode everywhere together. There was a weir not far from us which is now the local swimming pool but as a child I was told never to go there because the boogie man lived there. There was no way I was going to venture there. My Mum was an excellent dressmaker so I had some lovely clothes and she also cut and styled my hair right up until I married in 1964.
At 4 years old we moved to Lockhart as Dad was promoted to his first bank manager position. I started school in this little town with my hanky pinned to my school dress. I write with my left hand but in those days teachers used to make you write with your right hand. Fortunately our family doctor was left handed and sent a note to school. It worked but unfortunately other kids weren’t so lucky.
At 5 years old I came home from school one day and I had the best surprise of my life. It was a beautiful fully grown Border Collie and he had orange mud on his nose. I called him Rusty and he was my best mate. Apparently the Grazier who owned him couldn’t afford to keep him as he was not a good sheep herder so Mum rescued him. I use to dress him up in clothes with a bonnet and he’d just sit there all dolled up until Mum would save him (laughs). We had to have him put down when he was about 15 due to his arthritis.
When I was about 7 Dad was posted to Canowindra. We arrived and were greeted by flood at the Lachlan River so Dad put a sugar bag over the front of the engine to protect it and off we went into town. It was here that I had my feet badly burnt. We lived in the main street above the bank next door to the Dry Cleaners. I was playing with friends and jumped onto a pile of what I thought was cement but it was hot dry cleaning ashes. I sunk down. Mum and Dad had to wait 3 days to see if I would survive from the shock. The pain was excruciating and they didn’t have the drugs they have now. I was in hospital for 3 weeks. I met the most wonderful friend in Canowindra, Delma Campbell and we became life long friends. We still, to this day write to each other. She lives in Cowra now.
We then moved to Cooma right when the Snowy Mountain Scheme was happening. I remember really wanting to be an Architect but in those days girls weren’t allowed to do the courses that the boys did. My Dad even went up to the Headmaster to try and get me into Tech Drawing but the girls weren’t allowed. Unbelievable when you think back now. I did learn to ski in Cooma which was a good thing and my first boyfriend was a guy called Steve Liebmann who ended up on the morning show on Channel 9 I think. He was a lovely guy.
Penrith was our next home, once again above the bank. We got our first washing machine with a manual wringer so Mum was wrapped and they bought me an upright piano which I learnt to play reasonably well. I had a lung disease for a long while so I missed a lot of school so when we moved to Lismore I should have been going into Year 11 but was told to do Year 10 again. I ended up going to business college which was what all us girls did.
I got a job at the MLC Insurance Co on the corner of Club Lane. I was 16 and living in Cathcart St in Lismore. My future husband’s family lived across the street. His name was Bob Gates and he was a Cadet engineer with Terania Shire Council . He was studying to become a Civil Engineer by correspondence. His mates would want to party but he wanted to study so he decided to apply for a job near Swan Hill and ended up as Deputy Engineer. It was good money. While he was away I got friendly with his cousin Rae and we’d go to the dances. I saw a photo of Bob on their mantle piece and he was pretty handsome.
Going back even further , my mother lived a street away from Bob’s Mum Mollie and her family just after WW1. Mum used to dive into the Wilsons River off the trees with Mollie’s sister Lurline. Lurline went on to become the Empire (now Commonwelth Games) Women’s Diving Champion in 1938.
I won the Miss Northern Rivers Beauty Contest in 1962 (photo in comments) and we were engaged just after that. Long story short we got together when I was 17 and he was 23. We ended up engaged for 19 months. I had to go to Sydney for the Miss NSW judging. It was year after Tania Verstak (Australia) won Miss Universe. She was so beautiful. On the way down to Sydney we had to put my dress which had a big tulle skirt my Mum made over the suitcases in the boot of the car. It was way too big to pack. We got to the tick gates between Lismore and Grafton and we had to take everything out on the side of the road so they could check we didn’t have any fruit or vegetables.
I got on really well with Bob’s Mum Molly and we caught a train to Sydney to see South Pacific. Bob’s favourite song was Younger than Springtime.
Bob and I married in 1964. We built our first home and I drew the plans for it which were passed in Council, my one and only architectural job. The house was in Pine Avenue in Ballina overlooking Shaws Bay. It was all bush then, no houses. There was some wild winds and I worried about breaking windows. Bob’s job was here ijnn Lismore and they wanted him to live close so we moved to Wade St in Lismore. We then bought some land at Tyagarah which we subdivided and sold later plus 1,000 acres at Ellangown which we sold as well.
Bob was elected as Mayor of Lismore from 1999 to 2003. (photo in comments). Bob did all the work on the flood levee which he’d probably the worst enemy of everyone at the moment. He and his family lived over in North Lismore and always called themselves Northies. They went through some very big floods and he felt like the CBD needed protection. The Lismore Lake was also his idea and he designed the circular pool. He also designed the one out at Nimbin which is operating. The soil had been taken out where the lake is now and he suggested the idea of the artificial lake. At the time there were boat races and water skiing and it was a lot of fun for all the locals but with all the litigation, it all became too hard.
During those years we had 3 boys, Michael who is creative, musical, an amazing swimmer and a great seamstress. (AKA Maude Boate).… Matthew who is the Baseball star of the family and also in the finance business. He missed out by one spot to go the Seoul Olympics and the Chris who came along 6 years later and he has his electrical business in Ballina called Gator Electrics.
Bob died in 2003 from Motor Neurone Disease. He had a full medical in 1999 and not a thing wrong. He was 65 when he passed. It is such a terrible disease. I immersed myself in more charity work and the Rotary Club. I’ve done some travelling overseas and in 2007 I met a lovely man, Keith and we’ve had some wonderful caravan adventures. I still have the house in East Lismore where Michael lives and I have a unit which overlooks Coolangatta Beach and Greenmount Headland. I am 80 years old today. I miss my lifelong friends from Lismore..Joan and Cec Denny, Robyn and Hugh Baker, Helen and Bob Barnes and I miss my darling husband Bob even more.
