Birth to Nanna Lyons

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From Birth To Nanna LyonsThe

Rhonda Alicia Beattie Story

by


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Mal Lyons

Rhonda Alicia Beattie Ancestors

Great, Great, Grand Parents (Neeld)Frederick Neeld Snr, was born in 1830. at Stangate Str eet London and Di ed 28 April1916 aged 86 at Wy along NSW. H e left London f or Au str alia on 15 th May 1849 on

board The "Duk e of Bron te". He married Elizabeth Wootin (Bn 1835 ) and the ymarried at St Peter s church Melbourn e on 6T h Se ptember 1852. Eliz a beth died 23May 1898He was pr esent at the Ballar at Gold Ru sh and the Eur ek a riots. He was at the goldrushes at Cast lemaine, Daisy Hill , K angaroo Fl at and Bendigo.His Son G eorge moved to the Wy along Di strict and selected 2560 acr es of land.Fr ederick and his family soon f ollo wed. The f ir st bark hut was situated in what is now known as Neeld Str eet oppo site Wy along Hou se in West Wy along. T he Neelds discover ed Gold and by D ecember 1893 they had discover ed every r eef on the gold

f ields. Mr N eeld was De puty Sherrif of the district.The All S aints Church building at Wyalong was a gift of Fr ederick N eeld Snr.Although Fr ederick was the Pion eer of Wy along , history cl aims that his Son G eorge was the r eal Pion eer because he was the f ir st pros pector and if any r ewa rd by the Government was due f or the discovery of Wyalong then that should go to the son of Fr ederick N eeld Snr , George Neeld

Children Of Frederick Snr and Elizabeth Neeld (nee Wootin).Richard Neeld born 1856 at Maldon Vic toria He married Anna Francisca HelenaWeise at Hark awa y, She was born at Hark awa y Vic toria Jose ph George Neeld, born 1857 Dunolly Vic toria married Ber tha Ernest Neeld di ed 1947John Neeld born 1867 Kno wn as" Lock sley" the Champion S hooter died April 1924Henry Ed ward Neeld Di ed 1944Willi am Neeld, married Cathe rine Alic e Gagie died 1942Loui sa Fr ederick N eeld di ed 1913Fr ederick N eeld Jnr born 1859 T albot Vic toria died 14 M arch 1913 at Wy along. H e married Ada Lori in M elbourn e Ernest Alf r ed born N ew bridg e Vic toria1863 di ed Natha lia Vic toria 25 Se ptember 1947George Woo ton Neeld (di ed Infancy)George Woo ton Neeld (the second) born 1871 Vic toria died 1902 in M elbourn e

Great,Grand Parents (Neeld)

Richard Neeld born 1856 at Maldon Vic toria He married Anna Francisca HelenaWeise at Hark awa y, She was born at Hark awa y Vic toria 2Anna was the daughter of Wilhelm Weise and Ann a Eliz a beth Riega Richard was a Black smith Richard di ed 3 Nov ember 1934 aged 78 y ear s.


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Anna died 21 M ay 1935 aged 72 y ear s

Children of Richard and Anna Neeld (nee Weise)Anni e (became Mr s Roveston) D etails unkno wnWalter Weise Neeld ,. He served in the Army during the Fir st World W ar and

par ticipated in the Gallipoli c ampaign and later in Fr ance afte r his Brothe r Harry was

KIA. A fter the War he continued in his tr ade as a brickl ayer. H e met and marriedAlma Violet Beckett . He continued in his tr ade until the out br eak of World W ar Twowhe n he enlisted again bu t r emained in Au str alia, serving at the Cowr a NSW.Wilf r ed (Wil f y) Neeld.. D etails unkno wnAlice (became Mr s J Tool e) Details unkno wnFr ederick Willi am Neeld born 1881 at Hotham Vic toria and di ed 29 D ecember 1901aged 20 y ear s he was a Black smith Harry Ar thur Neeld. Priv ate, 18T h Batta lion. H e enlisted into the Army on 1 M arch 1916 and left with the "Corn stork s" He was killed in action in Fr ance on 6 Oc tober 1917 aged 21 year s.

Grand Parents (Neeld)

Walter Weise Neeld , married Alma Violet Beckett at the Par sonage West Wy along NSW on 13 Nov ember 1924. Alm a was the daughter of Willi am Fr anklin B eck ett andMary Lavina Clark e.Walter Weise Neeld di ed of a hear t atta ck wh ile he was out shooting with his young est son Ron ald 29 Jun e1954. H e was aged 62 y ear s. His wish was not to be

placed in the Neeld vault at Wyalong he elected instea d a simpl e buri al at a gr avesite nearby the vault in West Wy along C emetery.Alma Viol et Neeld (nee Beck ett) lovingly kno wn as Nanna Neeld or mor e commonly

Nanna Lithgow by our c hildr en because they visited her often whe n she lived at Lithgow. She died at Garr awa rr a hos pital near Wollongong 24 S e ptember 1979 aged74 year s. Her ashes wer e incase d on the gr ave of Walter at West Wyalong C emetery.

Children Of Walter Weise and Alma Violet Neeld (nee Beckett)

Walter Fr anklin N eeld (kno wn as Dook) , born 21 Augu st 1925 at Wyalong NSW. H e was a motor Mechanic by tr ade and served in the Austr alian Air Forc e during the 2ndWorld W ar as a aircr aft mechanic. H e s pent many year s as a Hold en Dealer sh ipmechanic at Lithgow until he join ed the Lithgow Council whe r e he tended to the mechanics of heavy Vehicles and pl ant machinery. H e r emained with the Council inLithgow until his r etir ement. He moved to Bribi e Island Qld in the late 1980 ,s.3He Died at Bribi e Island on 6 th May 1999. H e r equested that he be cr emated and be interr ed by m e anywhe r e in the Bris bane ar ea. He was positive that he did no t want his r esting pl ace to be back at Lithgow or West Wy along. T he ashes wer e interr ed by

R honda and I at the gardens of Pinnaroo C emetery Alb any Cr eek Qld. R honda and Ihave r eserved a place beside him. W alter never married and had no c hildr en

Sybil Joan Neeld, born W est Wy along NSW 12 Jun e 1927 m et Stanley Beattie bornWollongong NSW 6 th Se ptember 1924.Ronald Neeld born W est Wyalong m arried and divorc ed. Still r esides at Lithgow

NSW. H e has no childr en


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Rhondas Parents (Beattie)

Sybil Joan Neeld, married Stanley Beattie at West Wyalong M ethodist Church on5th June 1947. S tan was the son of Stanley George Beatt ie and Alici a Bark er of Wollongong. H e served in the Austr alian Army f or a bou t 4 year s during World W ar 2.Serving with a Tr ans por t Comp any in N ew Guin ea and later in D ar win. Tog ethe r Stan and Sybil liv ed at Wollongong whe r e Stan was f ir st a bus Conduc tor and later drove buses f or many year s. Sybil atte nded to home duties.

Stanley Beattie died at Wollongong f rom a hea r t atta ck on 16 Augu st 1992 aged 68year s and his ashes ar e interr ed in the rose garden at Wollongong Cr ematorium.Sybil Beattie (nee Neeld) died of hear t failur e afte r und ergoing kn ee surgery at Figtr ee private Hos pital on 17 April 1998 aged 71 y ear s. Her ashes ar e also interr ed at Wollongong Cr ematorium b eside Stan.

Children of Stanley and Sybil Joan Beattie (nee Neeld)

Rhonda Alicia Beattie, was born at Por t K embla NSW , 31 Augu st 1948.

Michae l John Beatt ie, was born at Wollongong NSW 10 Oc tober 1952. H e marriedMichelle Suddick at Bulli NSW. Mic helle, was born 31 D ecember 1956 and is the daughte r of Joe Suddick and Jean ???Michae l and Mic helle have 2 Childr en, Gemma Lee Beatt ie, born , 1978 and Jo elEbben Beatt ie, born 17 M arch 1982.Gemma married David Bro wn and the y have 2 childr en, Henry and Melanie


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Rhond a Alicia Beattie

From Birth To Nanna Lyons

By

Mal Lyons

Self Published 2006Not For general publication and Not for Sale

All Rights Reserved. No Part of This PublicationMay be Copied, or Reproduced Without the

Authors Permission.Except for study, research, criticism or review.

Copyright Mal Lyons

Reference to Mal Lyons4 Emma Place

Deception Bay, Qld 4508Ph: 07-32041908

Books bound by :


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Schuurs Publications Ph. 07-3880 0244

Rhonda The Rose Of my Heart.

Although, Ive now turned sixty, and living on borrowed timeI like to think I'm just as sweet, as a good matured win e.My heart still beats a steady tune as it did from the very start

And its all for the love of Rhonda; Rhonda the Rose of my heart.

For many years, this heart of mine belonged to only one,until I had to share it with my daughter an d my son.So I gave them every second beat until I reach my last The rest are all for Rhonda; Rhonda the rose of my heart.

Grandkids came and there are five, they needed love and careso my heart rate just got faster when I gave them a ll a share.My heart now beats for family, till death we have to part The strongest beat is for Rhonda; Rhonda the rose of my heart.

Mal Lyons2 April 2006


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P reface

I have compiled this book for many reasons. The main reason is my way of dedicating the true love that I have for my Wife Rhonda and my Family.

My aim is to present the life of Rhonda Alicia Beattie to our children; Shaneand Teresa and our Grand Children; Teagan, Tynelle, Stephanie, Lily andCaitlyn, so that when the time comes that both Rhonda and I are called toheaven, they will be armed with enough information to pass on to their children.

Maybe, I did not ask enough questions of my parents about my Family, and if they did tell me I failed to listen. This resulted in a lot of valuable informationbeing taken to the grave and lost forever. Taking information to the grave isof no value to anyone, least of all me. Ther efore, my intention is to leave it allin this book.

By compiling this book, I will try and leave no stone unturned and attempt tohave answers for anyone who wishes to know about, the life of .

Rhonda Alicia Beattie from Birth To Brisbane and Beyon d

Mal Lyon s


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D edicationI dedicate this book to my wonderful wife Rhonda, my son Shane, my daughter Teresa,their spouses Kalee and Karl and to my five granddaughters Teagan, Tynelle,Stephanie, Lily and Caitlyn.

I trust that this book will help them understand their origin and the information they gain from reading this book will be passed down to future generations with the samededicated love that I am giving to you.

In many, many years from now, I would like to think that a small child approaching hisor her parents and asking the question like many do; where did I come from? You will start by saying; Way back on the 31 st of August 1948, Stanley and Sybil Beattie had ababy daughter called Rhonda and she

Malcolm LyonsD ecember 2006

Rhonda, My Love Forever Malcolm


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C ontents

A Child Is Born 7

The School Y ear s 9Marching Girl s 14Fa bulou s Fifties 16Sensat ional Six ties 19Engagement, Marriage and Vi etnam 22A Son I s Born 25The Wagga Wagga Experience 28A Daughte r Is Born 29Super Seventies 32Bris bane Bound 45Exci ting Eig hties 48Unf orgetta ble Nineties 69

Ha ppiness Over sha dowed By S adness 73Gr anddaughte r s No1 and 2 Ar e Born and a Mo the r Lost 73Daughter G ets Married 77Son G ets Married 80Gr anddaughte r No3 i s Born 88Gr anddaughte r No4 i s Born 99Gr anddaughte r No5 i s Born 105We Met, Fell in Lov e and Gr ew Old Tog ether (Early P hotos) 123Ome Historic Ev ents 1948-2006 126


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A C hild Is Born

S ybil Neeld and St anley Bea tt ie 1946

She was born R honda Alicia Beatt ie on Tu esday 31 Augu st 1948.T he f ir st child andonly d aughter to Stanley and Sybil B eatt ie at Por t K embla. She s pent her very early

childhood living in a unit in Por t K embla until her par ents succeeded in g aining a commi ss ion house at 10 Buckl and St Fern Hill , which was late r r enamed FairyMeadow.


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W i th h er Fa th er St anley T h eir home a t Fairy Meadow

W i th Aun t y Mavis Around th e yard

This home was to r emain her r esidence f or her entir e childhood and it was not untilafte r she married that she left her e to live with her hus band.

W i th Aun t y Peggy Aunt y Joan, Aun t y Freda and Mo th er S ybil

In 1951 whe n she was just under thr ee year s old a near tr agedy occurr ed wh ilst with her fathe r. S he was seriously burn t whe n f uel that he was using igni ted. The hardworking eff or ts by doc tor s and nur ses at Bulli hos pita l saved her life. A fter a long stayin hos pita l she f inally went home.


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In 1952 a bro the r Mic hae l John was born and by th is stage she was looking f or ward tostar ting school at Tarr awa nna Primary Sc hool. S he star ted in 1954 and Mic hae l join edher in 1957

R h onda and Mic h ael wi th Fa th er St an

R h onda and Mic h ael wi th Mic h ael ready for S ch ool

T he School Years

R h onda 3 rd row from fron t 2nd lef t


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R h onda 3 rd row from fron t 5 from lef t

R h onda 2 nd row from fron t 4th rig ht


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R h onda 3 rd row from fron t 6 from rig ht

R h onda 3 rd row from fron t st anding 1 st lef t


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R h onda 2 nd row from fron t 6 th lef t

Pandor a


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R h onda 3 rd row from fron t firs t lef t

R h onda S ue Ca t er, R h onda and Mic h ael

R h onda and Mic h ael 1962 R h onda, Uncle W ilfy Neeld, R on, Mum and Mic h ael

Five months afte r she star ted School her Gr andfathe r Walter W eise Neeld passe d

awa y at Wy along NSW. I t was 29 Jun e 1954. H e was just 62 year s of age and had a sudden hear t atta ck wh ilst on a shooting trip with his son Ron. W alter was a veter anof WW1 and WW2. H e was at the landing at Gallipoli and served in Fr ance at the endof the Gallipoli c ampaign. H e was interr ed at West Wy along C emete ry. Hi s young er Bro the r Harry , who served with him, was killed in action in Fr ance.


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W al t er W eise Neeld 27 Nov 1892 29 June 1954

Lef t Grandfa th er WW Neeld, cen t re, Uncle W F Neeld, and rig ht , Fa th er S Bea tt ie

Marching Girls Whilst attending school she joined a marching girl tea m, and tr ained with the Wollongong Midg ets, along with her f riends Janet Walk er , K ay Haggett, Susa n Cater and o ther s. She enjoyed tr avelling and publicly p er f orming her marching ta lents under the wat chf ul eye of Mr s Haggett


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^ ^ ^ ^ Jane t R h onda Kay Mrs Hagge t

R e pr esenting the Wollongong Midg ets she per f ormed her skills in the Illawa rr a r egionand Sydn ey in NSW. Un f or tunate ly du e to f inancial str ains on her par ents she misse dout on a trip to Tasmania to comp ete in the inter state comp etition.

R h onda wi th S ue Ca t er on R ig ht R h onda wi th S ue on lef t


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R h onda wi th S ue Ca t er on R ig ht R h onda wi th S ue on rig ht

On Parade

R honda had many f riends around the ar ea of Buckl and S tr eet Fairy M eadow and f romthe primary Sc hool at Tarr awa nna. Including the f ollowing;

Terry Hornerman, Pam W h idde tt , S usan Ca t er, Linda Ca t er, Terry Purse and h is bro th er. Included in th is pic t ure is also Mic h ael a t rear lef t and R h onda fron t lef t kneeling


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T he Fabulous Fifties R honda and family s pent holidays at Lithgow and the Blue Moun ta ins. Tr avelling inher Fathe r s FX Hold en to visit her Gr andmo the r , Alma Neeld, Uncl es Wally (Dook)and Ron who had mov ed to Li thgow f rom W est Wy along afte r the death of her

Gr andfathe r , Walter W eise Neeld.

Alma Viole t Neeld (Nee Becke tt) and Husband W al t er W eise Neeld a t W est W yalong

R h onda, R on Neeld and h is wife Alma R h onda, Mic h ael, Mum & Dad and friend Elaine

W i th Mum and Dad Bea tt ie, Mic h ael, Pam R eid, R on Neeld and h is wife Alma and Nanna Neeld


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As we ll as visiting her Neeld r elat ives at Lithgow, she also s pent time visiting o the r s in Sydn ey and Wollongong. T hese includ ed her Gr andfathe r Beatt ie, Uncl e Merve and Aun ty Joan R eid and cou sins Merve, Neil (Winky) , Coll een and Pam. Uncl e Neil, Aun ty Muri el Beatt ie and cou sins Neil Jnr , Peter , Marie, Fay and Betty Beatt ie.

Rhonda with Mum and Cousins; Colleen, Winkie and Merve Jnr

St an Bea tt ie cen t re wi th Merve R eid S nr Lef t R h onda Lef t wi th cousins Pam a t fron t and Grandfa th er St anley Bea tt ie S nr and Colleen R eid


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R h onda and Mic h ael a t fron t , uncle Merve R eid, Fa th er St an a t back and cousin Pam R eid Top pic t ure includes aun t y Joan, and cousins Merve Jnr and Colleen R eid

R h onda and Nanna Neeld from lef t R h ondas Pop Bea tt ie,Aun t y Joan, Mum S ybil and Uncle Merve

R h onda aged 12


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T he Sensational Sixties R honda f inishe d Prim ary Sc hool at the end of 1961 and began Hig h School studies at Smith Hill all girl s high school in Wollongong at the star t of 1962 and r emained ther e until, with her par ents a pprov al and the offe r of a job, she left School in 1963 to tak e

up a position at Gr eens pa per shop in Wollongong.Unf or tunate ly this job was not to last long b ecause her employ er was k een to have her f or the busy Christmas period and pu t her off shor tly afte r wards.As a f ill in job she gained employm ent at the Burlei clo thing factory in Wollongonguntil a bette r position clo ser to home became availa ble. This eventuate d whe n she successf ully a ppli ed f or a position at Dandy Sm allgood s and D eli at To wr adgi.

By no w she had turned f iftee n and lik e most young teenager s at th is age, R hondas inter est turned to the oppo site sex, dancing and lo ts of f un.Early in the 1960 s the music cr aze was a mixtur e of rock and roll , tw ist and stompand some of the star s wer e Johnny O K eefe, Cr ash Cr addock , Ricky N elson, Little Patt ie, Col Joy e, Noelene Bat ley, Judy S tone, The DeKroo Bro the r s, and the very

young B ee Gees .R honda and her f riends f r equently attended the stomps around the Illawa rr a ar ea, but es pecially at Bulli. T hey ha ppily m et a lot of the enter ta iner s and eagerly sor t the ir autogr a phs.At wee k ends she alwa ys got togethe r with her f riends and r ecord coll ections to playmusic and gener ally have a lot of f un. S he was a r eal Cr ash Cr addock fan and gave his music a r ea l canning. H er favouri te song was Boom Boom B a by

R h onda wi th Elaine Luc h ett i

Cras h Craddock Jo h nny OKeefe and Col Joye R icky Nelson


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Early in 1964 , whilst wa iting f or a bus in Cro wn Str eet Wollongong , She was a ppro ached by thr ee young m en who gave her a casual star e and a wolf wh ist le. Her

beauty instantly caught the eye of the young est in the group; i t was me, MalcolmLyon s. T his meet ing late r developed in to a f ull on r elat ionship. A fter see king her

par ents a pprov al, R honda and I b ecame inse par a ble. She was 15 and I was 17.

R h onda and me early 1964

Just shor tly after we met, R honda left work at Dandies whe n she secur ed a job at Wool wor ths Fairy M eadow and began working f or them as a pack er , then later tr ansfe rr ed to Wool wor ths at Corrim al working in the ir new variety stor e doingcoun ter work. During th is time I was working f or the wate r board in Wollongong andliving at Lak e Illawa rr a.Tr avelling to see her f rom L ak e Illawa rr a to Fairy M eadow so f r equently by publictr ans por t or hitchhiking b ecame diff icul t. Her Mum and Dad allowed me to stay at the ir home on a tempor ary bas is which allowed us to be togethe r mor e often. I was accommod ate d on a sofa in the dining room muc h to my di sa ppoin tment, but in those days slee ping with a par tner bef or e marriage was out of the quest ion. W e did , however , manage to ha ve a cuddl e each morning b ef or e I arose and the pr esence of R hondas Mum in the kitchen ensur ed ther e was no hanky p anky.

Me 1964 R h onda af t er a day a t W oollies R eady for work

No t e: T h e old ki t ch en FENCE in th e background and very 60s fridge


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In Mid 1964 , R hondas Fathe r Stan, being a World W ar 2 v eter an convinc ed m e that the Army was the way to the f utur e. I took up the cha llenge and was enlisted in the R egular Army on the 16 Nov ember 1964. I d e par ted f or K a pook a near Wagga Wagga

NSW f or 12 wee k s mili tary tr aining.

Me wri t ing a le tt er t o R h onda prior t o Xmas leave me during Training a t Kapooka

Me Posing wi th th e 9 mm Owen Guns

R honda r emained with her Mo ther and Fathe r and eagerly wa ited f or m e to com e home on leave at Christmas with the knowledge that our engagement would b e announc ed. W e became engaged on C hristmas Eve 1964 and in tended to get marriedafte r a bou t 2 year s.


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E ngagement, Marriage and Vietnam

R h onda and me, now engaged R h onda posing in par t uniform 1965

In 1965 after corp s tr aining at Infantry C entr e Ingl e burn , I was poste d to the new lyf orming 5 th Batta lion Roy al Austr alian R egiment at Holswor thy and was warned f or active servic e in Sou th Vi etnam. In the time betwee n the warning f or active servic e and actual de par tur e March 1966 , I was awa y on tr aining progr ams in Pa pua New Guinea and also the Jungl e tr aining C entr e at Canungr a Queensland.

As a r esult of the Vi etnam tour i t was decided that our wedding pl ans would b e broug ht f or ward on e year and that we would m arry prior to my d e par tur e f or the war zone. The new date was set f or Saturday 1 J anuary 1966 and it was on that dayR honda Alicia Beatt ie became Mr s Lyon s whe n we wer e wed at Fairy M eadow Methodist Church at 2 PM.R hondas Bridesmaids wer e long time f riend S haron G addie, cousins Coll een andPam R eid and Sharons sister Tr acey Gaddie was the f lower girl.My attendants wer e Army m ates Barry Ho skin and Jo hn K elly.

She was a pictur e of beauty as I wat ched her wa lk do wn the isle on the arm o f her Fathe r. I was a little nervou s but at the same time very ha ppy and I fe lt lik e the lucki est man in the world kno wing that she would soon b e my Wi fe.

R h onda, 1 Jan 1966 R h onda wi th h er Fa th er St an


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T h e W edding Par t y

W i th h er paren t s St an and S ybil W i th my paren t s Cecil and Vera

T h e deal is doneWe had a shor t honeymoon in Sydn ey and N ewcast le. We stayed at Hampton Cour t Hotel King s Cro ss in Sydn ey whe r e we dined on c hick en and dr ank an or ange br andycluster bef or e f lushing the chick en bon es down the dunny. (T her e was nowhe r e else to

put the m). In N ewcast le, we took in the box o ff ice movi e M ary Poppin s , and what a bou t the beautif ul decor o f the Hotel room in Hun ter Str eet. The colour s wer e so badwe only stayed one night f or fea r of becoming sick so we hea ded back to King s Cro ss.


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R honda r emained with her par ents afte r our bri ef honeymoon wh ile I r eturned tomilitary tr aining at Holsw or thy and various tr aining ar eas in NSW and Qld un tilMarch 1966 whe n I f lew out f rom Ric hmond RAAF B ase on a mili tary c har ter edQantas Boeing 707 bound f or Saigon and 12 mon ths tour o f duty in war r avishe dSou th Vi etnam.R honda and her par ents wer e at Richmond to bid m e far ewe ll. S he was so sad and

af r aid that the doctor pr escrib ed a mild sedat ive to help her cop e with such a long anddangerous se par ation f rom the man she married only thr ee months earlier.

Me in Vie t nam 1966/67 During my a bsence she stayed with her par ents in Fairy M eadow and con tinuedworking at Wool wor ths Corrim al. She wrote letter s to me in Vi etnam every day andsent f ood p ack ages and gi fts when ever she could. H er comp any during my a bsence was mainly her par ents and f riends. In p ar ticular she s pent a lot of time with SharonGaddie and her family. R honda endeavour ed to enjoy li fe the best way she could bu t always in fea r that bad news would b e r eceived f rom Vi etnam.

W i th Jessie Peck wi th Mum Bea tt ie a t Bundamba R S L

New Fas h ion wi th Sh aron Gaddie Firs t anniversary and alone


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After what a ppear ed to be an eterni ty f or R honda, I r eturned f rom Vi etnam a dayearlier than she thought. She was at the local Tarr awa nna stor e with her Mo the r. I was k e pt comp any in the str eet surround ed by all the neigh bour s wh ile Sharon G addies Fathe r; K eith drov e to the shops in his black FJ Hold en, and broug ht R honda and her Mothe r back to my waiting arms. The date 3 March 1967.

After r euniting and s pending some time togethe r at Fairy M eadow, the Armyallocate d us a house at 70 Bardia Par ade Holsw or thy. Fin ally we could star t living as hus band and wife in our v ery f ir st home.R honda became an Army wife and living in an Army vill age. Tog ethe r we enjoyedmany ha ppy mom ents . We had good n eigh bour s; Noel and Cl air e Cr awf ord , Ron andHelen Sherringham and Jo hn and Jan K elly. Jo hn was my groom sman at our wedding.I was promo ted to Corpor al but ther e wer e still many se par at ions due to mili tarytr aining.

A Son Is Born It was now a good time to star t a family and only a few wee k s late r , much to our

delight, R honda was experiencing her f ir st pr egnancy. T he ba by was due late Fe bruary 1968. R honda and her mo the r became very bu sy buying and kni tting b a byclothes .

W e are Pregnan t Othe r than the norm al symptoms involv ed with pr egnancy such as morning sickness etc, all went r eas ona bly we ll f or R honda. However , when our b a by was not r eady toenter the World by the due date, the doc tor decided that hos pita l was the best place f or R honda and the bir th would b e induc ed if necessa ry. T he bir th was induc ed, and on3rd March 1968 at 6:40 pm S hane Colin Lyon s was born at Liverpool Public hos pita l

weighing in at 7 lbs 3 oz. and 20 inc hes long.Five days later I was allowed to tak e R honda and ba by S hane home f rom hos pita l andI had the f ir st oppor tunity to hold my Son. B ack in those days it was not permi tted f or fathe r s to be pr esent at the bir th . They could only vi ew the ir child throug h a window into the nur sery during vi ew ing times. Sound s a bit lik e Zoo arr angements . How the times have changed.


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Me wi th Sh ane a t 2 weeks Bardia Parade Holswor th yN S W

Sh ane 2 weeks R h onda wi th Sh ane Sh ane and Me

W i th Grea t Grandma Neeld wi th Grandparen t s Bea tt ie


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On 17 M arch 1968 S hane was ba ptised at the sa me church we wer e married; T he Methodist Church Fairy M eadow, and ba ptised by R ever end Hendrick Smi t. We selected Sharon and Lou M enin and R hondas bro the r Mic hae l Beatt ie to be Shanes God P ar ents.

Lou and Sh aron Menin Mic h ael Bea tt ie

Sh ane wi th R h onda and me Sh ane wi th Paren t s and God Paren t s

Sh ane wi th R h onda, grea t grandmo th er Neeld (L ) R h onda wi th Sh ane and Nanna Neeld Grandmo th er Bea tt ie ( R )


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T he Wagga Wagga E xperience After the christening I was sent to Canungr a in Qld f or thr ee mon ths to instruc t units

pr e paring f or servic e in Vi etnam. Onc e again Army commi tments f orced a se par ationwh ich was the norm al th ing f or Army wives es pecially In fantry Army wives.

In July 1968 , I r eturned f rom C anungr a, without the FB Hold en I had driv en ther e. Ismashe d it beyond r e pair in an accident at Beaudese r t on 25 April. T he 5th Batta lionwas warned f or a second tour o f duty in Sou th Vi etnam and it was a f or egone conclu sion that I would onc e again be serving in the war torn coun try early 1969.I took p ar t in in tensive tr aining in r eadiness f or the second tour. I p ar ticipate d in the far ewe ll cer emoni al par ade conduc ted by the Batta lion. Ho wever , a last minu te

posting ord er see n m e posted to 7 RAR f or a shor t period and then to 1 RTB at K a pook a near Wagga NSW as a drill and wea pon s instructor f or r ecruits entering the Army.

The posting to Wagga meant that we could enjoy a sta ble family li fe togethe r at last . Iwent unaccomp anied f or a coupl e of months wh ich was the normal proc edur e, until a

house became availa ble. W hen a house was allocate d, I acce pted it.I r eturned to R honda and Shane at Holswor thy to f inish packing. T he r emovalist collected our f urni tur e and my ste p bro the r Len Sheathe r drov e us to Sydn ey airpor t f or our f light to Wagga.R honda and S hane stayed with Jan K elly at Ashmon t, a suburb o f Wagga f or on e night until our f urni tur e arrived.In July 1969 , while man wa lk ed on the moon , our f urni tur e was deliver ed to Hun ter Str eet Mt Austin and I was ther e f or the unloading. Ho wever , when R honda arrivedat the house and the f urni tur e had been ha lf unloaded her imm ediate action was to tellthe r emovalist to stop unlo ading.Until now she had no t see n the house and whe n she did, the look o f disa ppoin tment was obviou s. Con sidering the hard work she put into cleaning and the immaculate condi tion she left the house at Holswor thy, she dese rved someth ing b ette r tha n; (inher words) the pig sty that I had acce pted.After con sultat ion with Army housing r e pr esentat ives the y gave us another house a few str eets awa y at 49 McK ell Av e and issued an ord er f or the r emovalist to r eloadand unlo ad in the new locat ion.The new house was f our b edroom s a bit large f or just R honda, me and Shane, and our dog C hi Chi so we conv er ted one of the extr a room s to a nur sery and the n set a bou t adding to the family.

31 Augu st, 1969 , R honda turned 21 , no big p ar ties just a normal day, we had each other. Mum and Dad Beatt ie boug ht her a 1957 Hold en sedan so I hitch hik ed toWollongong and drov e it back to Moun t Austin.The next day I drov e it to work and managed to r ever se it into a tr ee. It cost $50 f or r e pair s wh ich was a lot of money back the n.R honda was taught to driv e in the Hold en by a driving in structor. S he got her licence

without probl ems but the instruc tor did m anage to br eak the chrome horn ring duringa nervou s moment.December 1969 , we star ted off f or Wollongong to s pend Christmas with Mum andDad Beatt ie. Shane was just over one and indic at ions wer e that R honda may be

pr egnant again. W e had our dog C hi Chi with us and the car was f ully p ack ed.


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On the outskir ts of Wagga, one of our b ack whee ls passe d us and hit an oncoming c ar. No on e was hur t and no thing was damaged bu t it delayed our trip f or a coupl e of hour s wh ile the car was f ixed.On our way again and nearing Gund agai we developed heat ing probl ems and wer e f orced to con tinuou sly stop to let the engine cool and r e plenish the wate r. A t Yass we

had the r adiator f lushe d. We thought the probl em was f ixed un til a few kilom etr es south of Goulburn whe n a noise developed in the motor.

We stopped at a roadside petrol stat ion at Cull erin and onc e we turned the motor o ff, it would no t star t again. A loc al farmer towed us a bou t 10 kilom etr es to Br eadalbane whe r e ther e was a gar age that could do the r e pair s, but not until the next day. T heydiagnosed the probl em as a brok en timing g ear and that was a big job.

We r ang Mum and Dad Beatt ie to let the m kno w and they decided to des patch R hondas bro ther , Michae l in his EJ Hold en to tow us to Wollongong , still a bou t thr ee hour s drive awa y and the tr eacherous Macquarie Pass still to negotiate .Michae l towed us to Marulan whe r e we stopped because we felt it was too dangerous to tow any f ur ther. W e secur ed our c ar at a gar age and tr avelled the r est with Michae l;arriving at Fairy M eadow very early the next morning.

Dad Beatt ie and I purc hase d the par ts r equir ed to f ix the car. R ay Whiddett ; a neigh bour , who was a good m echanic o ffe r ed his ass istance. H e, Dad and I tr avelled

back to Marulan, and r e pair ed the car.Bef or e compl eting our holiday at Wollongong , we tr aded it on a 1964 EJ Hold en andhad an uneventf ul and good trip home.

In early January 1970 the doctor con f irmed that R honda was again pr egnant. This was gr eat news f or us all, including R hondas par ents who wer e still living at 10 Buckl andSt Fairy M eadow, which had now been r enumb er ed to 12 Buckl and Str eet .

Living at Wagga was hard times f inancially, the Army did no t pay much but at least the r ent was chea p. T her e wer e some diff icul t moments and f or a little extr a cash, we collected soft drink bo ttles to cash in at f ive cents f or each bottle.On wee k ends we enjoyed going to the f oot ball to suppor t the Army f oot ball tea m.I can still hear R honda barr acking f or Army , yelling f or the Tumu t barr ack er s to g et

back to bloody Tumu t whe r e the y belonged. I gu ess the fact that she was now eight months pr egnant was the only r eas on she got awa y with such cheek. She also had anArmy o f f riends on her side that wer e willing to com e to her aid if necessa ry.

A Daughter Is Born On the night of 17 Augu st 1970 i t snowed at Wagga f or the f ir st time in many year s and I had to scr a pe snow off the car at 4 am to ena ble me to driv e to work. I t was this day that our b a by was due but managed to get through the day without any signs of making an a ppear ance.The next day was a differ ent matte r; I had gon e to work as normal but r eceived a

phone messa ge. I handed over my drill l ess on to anothe r Instruc tor and was soon onmy wa y home to R honda. I took her to the Wagga Base Hos pita l at 9am. Shane was


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car ed f or by Lynn Mil ham, a neigh bour. At the hos pita l, nur sing staff told m e toleave her the r e, go home and com e back during vi siting hour s at 3 pm. T hey ass ur edme R honda would no t give bir th that day so I went back to work.I r eturned to the hos pital at 3pm and was gr eete d with the news that I was the fathe r

of a little girl. S he was born two hour s after I left. So muc h f or no t giving bir th that day, but who wer e we to argue against tr ained Nur sing Si ster s.

It was Tuesday 18 Augu st 1970 at a pproxim ate ly 11 am; Ter esa Minette Lyon s was born. W e wer e so proud to have a pigeon pair (a son and a daughte r). T er esa weighedin at 7lbs and a half ounc e and we could no t wa it to in troduc e her to the World.Medical r egulations made sur e that R honda and ba by T er esa had to stay in hos pita lf or 10 d ays as this was the pr actice in coun try hos pita ls f or second bir ths .

Michae l drov e Mum B eatt ie down to Wagga immediate ly afte r T er esas bir th to s penda few days and to ass ist me with Shane as well as meet her f ir st Gr anddaughter.We wer e so ha ppy to have the per fect family we decided no mor e childr en f or us, twowas enoug h. Tod ay, as I write th is, mor e tha n f or ty one year s afte r we married, I am

please d we made that choice and I am sur e that R honda is also.

W i th Teresa a t h ome 28 Augus t 1970

Sh ane wi th Teresa TeresaWe delayed the ba ptism of Ter esa f or a coupl e of r eas ons. Fir stly the ma jority of our r elatives lived in the Wollongong ar ea, and it was a long way to tr avel f or a Ba ptism.Secondly , I had r eceived a notice of intention to r e post back to 5RAR Hol sw or thy.


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The posting was to tak e effe ct 9 January 1971 so a lot of time was needed f or packingand r emoval pr e par at ion.R honda, Shane, Ter esa and our dog C hi Chi f lew to Sydn ey and wer e met by MumBeatt ie and Mic hae l at the Airpor t and the n drov e to Wollongong. I r emained at Wagga to compl ete pr e par at ions and cl eaning o f the house . Dad Beatt ie came down to

join me and help with the job.

When the task was compl eted we drov e to Wollongong in time to enjoy a familyChristmas . I r eturned to Wagga brief ly early 1971 to supervise the upli ft and hand

back the house .We wer e allocate d a house at Holswor thy vill age in Cavalry Cr escent. It was an oldArmy house. It was comf or ta ble and cl ean bu t mor e impor tantly at only $10 a f or tnight r ent it suited our budg et very we ll. It meant that we wer e f inancially $40 p er f or tnight better off tha n we ever wer e.After moving b ack to Hol swor thy we decided it was time to have Ter esa ba ptised. W e could u se the same church at Fairy M eadow wh ich was used f or our m arriage andShanes ba ptism. We set the date f or 6 Jun e 1971.

Ter esas ba ptism took pl ace on 6 Jun e 1971 by R ever end H endrick Smi t and we chose a good family f riend; K ay Gardner , R hondas brother Mic hae l Beatt ie and cou sinBetty Beatt ie to be her God P ar ents.

Teresa W i th God Paren t s Teresa wi th R everend S mi t

Paren t s Grandparen t s and a God Paren t s Family groupLife back at Holsw or thy was good. W e could eas ily vi sit family and f riends at Wollongong. Our wee k ends wer e ofte n s pent at Mum and Dad Beatt ies at FairyMeadow or they would vi sit us at Holswor thy.


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We also visited my p ar ents at Col edale and occ as ionally drov e to Lithgow to visit Nanna Neeld and Uncl es Dook and Ron. W e wer e now driving a Tor ana afte r tr adingthe EJ Hold en.

T he Super Seventies R honda decided that she would do a little ba by sitting, wh ich would earn u s a little mor e cash and she star ted sitting 2 c hildr en f or working mum s wh ich incr ease d toa bou t 10 within a few days plus our o wn two.

Teresa on th e Lef t Sh ane a t rear lef t , Teresa fron t 2nd from rig ht

W orking Mo th ers were h appy t o leave th eir C h ildren in R h ondas caring h ands

Sh ane and Teresa a t h ome

Ba by sitting con tinued f or some time betwee n 1971 and 1973 and whe n I was onleave or at wee k ends we endeavour ed to s pend as much time togethe r as a family that we could. W e enjoyed simpl e family ou ting lik e visiting theme park s or simplyhaving a picnic at Woronor a, Cata r act or Warr agamba dams.


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We visited family on a r egular basis and ventur ed awa y camping at Burr andong D amnear Mudg ee with Ross and Dol a Mull er and Gr aha m and Coll een Gr een.

Braidwood Fairy Meadow Dad sh owing a frog

Li th gow Sh ane bike ride wi th Grea t Uncle Dook Teresa Sh ane wi th th eir Pop Bea tt ie

R h onda, Sh ane and Teresa near Liverpool Sh ane and Teresa Sh ell h arbour


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Teresa and Sh ane a t W oronora Dam and in th e Park a t Corrimal

Picnic wi th Harkens Me, Teresa and Sh ane Blue Moun t ains

On 22 nd July 1972 my bro ther Gr egory p asse d awa y aged 22 at Mori sset Hos pita l near Newcast le NSW. H e was interr ed at Womb ar a Cemete ry near Wollongong.

Greg Lyons 1950 - 1972


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At the beginning o f the school y ear 1973 S hane sta r ted School at Holsw or thy Prim aryand I had to tak e him f or enrolm ent because R honda was in hos pita l f or a surgic al

proc edur e.

Sh ane s t ar t s S ch ool 1973

Firs t sch ool p h ot o. Sh ane is in th e back row cen t re, th e one wi th a mark on h is jumper. T h e t op p h ot o sh ows Teresa admiring h er big bro th er and can t wai t t o joinh im a t sch ool.


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May of 1973 , I was awa y with 5 RAR again. T his time I went to New Zea land f or a bou t six wee k s on an Army exercise. It was not all work we did g et some touringtime and Sam managed to catch up with some old f riends.

Me on lef t wi th Tubby Brewer and S am Mackerel

27 January 1974 my mo the r Ver a Alison Lyon s passe d awa y at Coledale NSW andwas interr ed at Womb ar a Cemete ry along side my bro ther Gr eg. S he was aged 64

Vera A Lyons 1910 1974

1st Class Holswor th y1974 Sh ane a t cen t er fron t


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The XY Falcon was giving u s a few probl ems so we tr aded on a XC F alcon.R honda had stopped ba by sitting and had tak en a job at Philips TMC at Moor e bank near Liv erpool and enjoyed her work on the asse mbly lin e and later in the stor e. She met a lot of good f riends wh ilst the r e and was ha ppy to con tinue working. S hane andTer esa wer e now being c ar ed f or by a ba by sitter muc h to the ir disa ppoin tment.

R h onda on th e rig ht wi th h er prize from S ocial Club R affle

Teresa Sh ane

Holswor th y 1975 Sh ane 2 nd row 3 from lef t


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January 1976 was the moment Ter esa had been wa iting f or. S he could join her bro ther at Holswor thy School. R honda enroll ed her and onc e again ther e wer e r ea l fee lings of

prid e see ing our c hild comm ence school activities. 1 st January was also our 10 th wedding anniver sary.

Teresa cen t re fron t Holswor th y 1976

Sh ane 2 nd row 2 from rig ht Holswor th y 1976


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P h ilips Xmas Par t y 1976

Betwee n 1976 and early 1979 we led a quiet life with R honda working at Philips and m e at Army R ecrui ting in Sydn ey. Li fe was sometimes a bit hectic bu t we managed to get through a coupl e of roug h patches.

Ter esa was admi tted to hos pita l by Dr G eoff r ey Edelste n f or a simpl e a ppendectomy , wh ich he per f ormed at Liverpool Priv ate Hos pita l. A coupl e of days after the oper at ion on her f ir st night at home she became very ill and we admi tted her toLiverpool public hos pita l with a dangerously high temper atur e. Ho s pital staff, including sever al doc tor s car ed f or her all nig ht but was una ble to get her temper atur e to a safe level and surgery was r equir ed.

Surg ery di agnosed peritonitis at the ar ea wher e the a ppendix was r emoved andr emedial action was tak en. R honda and I wer e f r antic because we thought we wer e going to loo se our b eautif ul daughte r. God look ed down on u s and T er esa r ecover edwell.

Our good f riends and next door n eigh bour s David and Vanette Rob er ts and the ir childr en Timo thy, Ste phen and K erry had the misf or tune of ha ving the ir house burndown. We could no long er stay in our house. Army housing allocate d us anothe r place at 26 Lae Road wh ich was a continuat ion o f Cavalry Cr escent.


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Teresa fron t 4th from rig ht Holswor th y 1977

Sh ane 2 nd row 1 st rig ht Holswor th y 1977


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23 Augu st 1978 saw the bir th of Gemma Beatt ie at Bulli. G emma was the f ir st childf or R hondas Bro the r; Mic hae l and wife Michelle. R honda was also chose n to be Gemmas God Mo the r.We compl eted the move to 26 L ae with help f rom Mum and Dad Beatt ie andmanaged to mov e most of our effe cts on the roof r ack o f Dads Tor ana and our Falcon. T he move being only a coupl e of hundr ed yards down the road meant the

kids still had the ir playmates f rom C avalry Cr escent; Mic hae l and D eana Hark en.

From lef t , Mic h ael, Sh ane, Teresa and Deanna in Harris Creek be t ween Cavalry Crescen t and Holswor th y Barracks

Shane enroll ed with the local Hol swor thy Cub group and enjoyed a shor t time with them wh ile Ter esa attended the 1/78 c hildr ens r ecr eat ional activities School holidays Progr amme (Cr ash ) held at the Army b arr ack s.

Sh ane in th e Cubs

Teresa 3 rd from rig ht a t 1/78 C R A S H course Holswor th y Barracks


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Teresa 1 st lef t fron t row Holswor th y 1978

Sh ane back row 3 from rig ht


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Brisbane Bound Our occup at ion o f 26 Lae road was shor t lived because at the end of 1978 , I hadr eceived a f ur ther po sting ord er and this time it was our f ir st inter state posting; i t was

to tak e effe ct f rom April 1979.Onc e again we wer e on the move but th is time to Qu eensland, whe r e I would joinHeadquar ter s 1 Cadet Group at K elvin Grov e, and base d at Moorook a as the Tech Sergeant in the Quar termaste r s Stor e.The oppor tunity of a posting to Queensland was exciting bu t we both wer e a little a ppr ehensive as we pack ed and cl eaned in r eadiness f or the move. I think i t was mor e a fea r of the unkno wn because this would b e our f ir st posting in ter state and the thought of being so far f rom any of our r elat ives was a little scary. Our f riends andfamily did no t mind b ecause the y lik ed the idea of a Queensland holiday to visit us

Easte r 1979 our f urni tur e and effe cts wer e pick ed up by the r emovalist and tak en in tostor age in Bri s bane somewhe r e at Gee bung and we wer e left with our tr avelling g ear

and enoug h clothing to last us until we wer e allocate d a house in Bri s bane. No on e could indic ate whe n that would b e.After far ewe lling our family and f riends in Wollongong , we set off on Good Frid ay1979 bound f or the unkno wn.

The Army allowed us 3 days to driv e and provid ed cash f or m ea ls and mo telaccommod at ion en rou te so we made the most of that situat ion you b et.We even had time to visit f riends at Bangalow on the way and also had a nice night in

beach house accommod at ion at Palm B each on the Gold Co ast bef or e proc eeding toBris bane.At Bris bane we got tempor ary mi s placed down a one way str eet, going the wrong way

just over the Story Bridg e. Eventually we made it to the Gaze bo Mo tel wh ich was to be our accommod at ion f or six boring wee k s eat ing tak eawa y and r esta ur ant f ood.Lucky all costs wer e paid f or by the Army.

R honda f ound i t diff icult coming to terms with this type of living es pecially as she and the kids wer e stuck in the mote l mo st times wh ile I drov e to Moorook a each dayf or work. W e needed to pu t the kids back in to school so that they would no t miss toomuch. It was hard enoug h f or the m as it was by c hanging state educat ion systems without the extr a hass le of miss ing v alua ble school time.We pr essur ed Army housing and eventually they allocate d us a house at Staff ordHeights and we drove out to ins pect it. NOT IMPRESSED , the place was not good at all and R honda told the Army ju st what she thought .

They offe r ed us othe r houses at Wacol and In ala but each one was wor se tha nStaff ord. T he whole th ing b ecame a f ight, R honda against Army with me in the middl e una ble to do muc h at all because I was the serving soldi er and r est ric ted und er Mili tary Law . R honda on the othe r hand gave it to the m. I will never f orget her look of anger whe n she was told by the housing sergeant; Mrs Lyons even if we gaveyou a cake of soap, you would still reckon it was dirty .


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We sought government help. Ho wever , the Defence Mini ster , Jim Kill en was toogutless or couldn t be bothe r ed.We wer e f orced to mak e a choice on the houses we had been shown. The choice was Staff ord H eights as it was the best of a bad lo t.R honda was so upset ; I thought that I was going to end up in Bri s bane alone until Icould secur e a post ing b ack do wn south.

Eventually we moved in to 67 F alkirk S tr eet and enroll ed the kids at Staff ord H eights State School, Shane to 6 th gr ade and T er esa into 3rd gr ade. We then proc eeded to mak e the best of a bad situation.We soon go t into the sw ing o f th ings as we f ound our way around with the help o f Ross and Dol a Mull er who lived at The Ga p and wer e once our n eigh bour s andf riends at Holswor thy. W e even went on some outings including a picnic at Canungr a.Onc e we gave the house a good cl ean and in sta lled our f urni tur e, it look ed muc h

bette r. S hane and Ter esa wer e ha ppy in the ir new school and m et a lot of new f riends.We all became muc h ha ppier a par t f rom S hane f inding the maths a little diff icult.Year six in Qu eensland was f ur the r advanced in maths than what he left in NSW andhe was having a few probl ems because of it.

24 Se ptember 1979 we r eceived news that Nanna Neeld had passe d awa y at Garr awa rr a Hos pita l so we tr avelled to Wollongong and bid far ewe ll to someone we loved so dearly. S he had long suffe r ed with Parkin sons disease .

Alma Viole t Neeld 1906 1979

Her as h es were in t erred wi th h er h usband W al t er Neeld a t W est W yalong Ceme t ery

Teresa, Sh ane, R h onda and Pebbles on th e t rampoline a t St afford Heig ht s

Nanna Bea tt ie, me and Teresa


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Sh ane Year 6 St afford Heig ht s 1979 2 nd row 3 from lef t

Teresa fron t 2nd lef t year3 St afford Heig ht s 1979


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Life in Falkirk S tr eet was getting b ette r all the time and we began to lov e being inQueensland. R honda was once again ha ppy no w that we ha d met some f riends. She even decided to become a r edhead again. Mum and Dad Beatt ie visited r egularly andenjoyed tr avelling f rom Wollongong with the car avan that once was our s. Dad in

par ticular lov ed driving bu t I don t think Mum enjoyed tr avelling by that means.

R ed h ead R h onda Family wi th ou t Sh ane bu t wi th neig h bour Ka th y

Dad Bea tt ie wi th Sh ane & Peppy R h onda, me & Dad Bea tt ie

T he E xciting E ighties

We see n a lot of Bris bane in the early 1980 s including S ea World and Dr eam Worldon the Gold Co ast, The Big Pin ea ppl e and T he Big Co w on the Sunsh ine Coast andmany o the r attr actions in and around Bri s bane. It was not all work and school; we gr a bbed every oppor tunity we could to enjoy time as a family.

One good time together was in late 1980 whe n Jack and Do t invi ted us to Jack s farmat Ingl ewood n ear Goondi windi. T his was a gr eat oppor tunity f or R honda, Shane andTer esa to experience a working c att le farm f or a wee k end.We all had an enjoya ble time helping with catt le mustering , dr enching, and br anding.Shane in par ticular had f un catching the calves wh ile Ter esa pr efe rr ed fee ding the lambs.


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Teresa Sh ane and R h onda a t th e ca tt le yard

Sh ane and Do t t ackle a calf me and Jo h n

Jack, Jo h n, Sh ane and I Teresa h and feeding a lamb

Sh ane and Teresa and friends


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By no w we wer e well esta blishe d and enjoying Bri s bane. It was clear that th is would be the place to sett le after my 20 y ear Army c ar eer , so we ll in fact that R honda star tedworking again. S he work ed f ir stly f or Qld El ectricity Board as a tea lady in Bri s bane.Then star ted working f or an Aluminium widow manufactur er wh ich only l aste d one day because she badly brok e her little f inger in a drill pr ess and was put on work er s comp ensat ion un til she could b e placed in to anothe r job.

After a year and two oper at ions on her f inger , R honda was f inally r eady to face work again. S he was tr ained at a telecommunic at ion comp any at Wil ston. T hat job was toodiff icult because of the r estrictions on the use of her little f inger.

We purc hase d a block o f land at Jindalee and needed extr a money to help with the mor tgage so the r e was a r equir ement f or R honda to con tinue working. S he was luckyenoug h to gain employm ent at the Masonic Club in Bri s bane.

R h onda ready for work a t Masonic Club

Our Land a t Lot 475 Minyara St Jindalee boug ht for $ 18,000and sold af t er abou t 14 mon th s For $ 31,000


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Sh ane 2 nd row 2 from lef t year 7 St afford Heig ht s 1980

Teresa back row 4 from rig ht year 4 St afford Heig ht s 1980


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I was poste d f rom C adets to 1 Tr aining Group at Wacol 8 April 1981 and promo ted toStaff Sergeant. This was to be the beginning o f the end to my Army c ar eer. I thought that this would b e my last posting un til I took di scharge wh ich was due in Nov ember 1984. Ho w wrong was I?

By 1982 bo th Shane and Ter esa wer e advancing at School with Shane playing crick et

and f oot ball wh ile Ter esa enjoyed junior n et ball. Shane also par ticipate d in Armyschool C adets .

Junior ne t ball t eam Teresa 4 th from lef t 1982

Sh ane in Army Cade t s a t Kedron Hig h S ch ool

Sh ane a t cricke t


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17th March 1982 R hondas Bro ther Mic hae l and Si ster in l aw Michelle had anaddition to the ir fa mily whe n Joel Ebbin B eatt ie was born so we tr avelled toWollongong f or a holiday and to attend his ba ptism. R honda was also chosen to be his God Mo ther.

R h onda, Teresa and Dad Bea tt ie R h onda wi th Joel

I982 was also the year Bri s bane hosted the Common wea lth games. We did no t attend but it was fascinat ing to see how the city of Bris bane was tr ansf ormed f or the event.Shane had mov ed on to Hig h School f ir stly at K edron f or 2 y ear s 1981 and 1982 andthen to Ever ton Park. T er esa was compl eting the f inal year s of Primary at Staff ordHeights .We had many good f riends at Staff ord and the y includ ed Alan and Nol a Good win, Mac and Ann H ar tman, Ian and Barbar a Bak er as we ll as good n eigh bour s, Bob andTerri Wi se, Dot and Jack , Dillon & M eryle and Steve and Sandr a McL eay.

Christmas was always a good time es pecially N ew Year whe n we all go t togethe r at Mac and Ann s f or an all nig ht sess ion to see in the New Year.

R honda sta r ted Tenpin bo wling r egularly at K edron Bo wl with her f riends Yvonn e Sk elly, Ann H ar tman, Nola Good win and o the r s.

R h onda wi th T h e rebels t eam

Shane, Ter esa and I join ed her in a Sund ay nig ht league, 1985 throug h to 1988.Bowling as a family with some added f riends we f orm ed a team called BeeGees andhad many ha ppy events including a booz e cruise to Tangaloom a.


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Sh ane 2 nd row 3 from rig ht year 9 Kedron Hig h 1982

Teresa fron t row 3 from lef t year 6 St afford Heig ht s 1982


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I was ha ppy to see my Army c ar eer end at 1 tr aining Group. Ho wever , the Army hadother ideas and issued a post ing ord er to tak e effe ct 8 April 1983 to 8/9 RAR at Enogg er a. I was not too thrilled a bou t going b ack to a Field Forc e unit so late in mycar eer bu t thats life.I went to 8/9 RAR and yes, th is would d ef initely be my last posting as I only had a little over one year to compl ete twe nty year s servic e and I in tended to elect discharge.

Me on pos t ing t o 8/9 R A R 1983

R honda was still working and commu ting by public tr ans por t to Bri s bane and our li fe togethe r as a family was very good , the longer we wer e in Bri s bane the mor e we lik edit so we decided that it was time to buy a house of our o wn.We needed one bef or e I was discharged because we could no t r emain in Armyhousing. I t was a case of buy or look f or a r enta l prop er ty.

We elected to Purc hase and so star ted the f righte ning bu t exciting tas k of house hunting and mor tgage see king. W e wer e entitled to a war servic e home loan of $25,000 so that and the proc eeds of sa le of our block o f land at Jindalee, gett ingf inance would no t be a probl em. W e would ju st have to get bridging f inance untilVeter an Affa ir s a pprov ed the home loan.

We made a good pro f it on the sa le of the land and f ound a house at 241 P atrick s RoadFerny Hill s so the whee ls wer e put into mo tion.

241 Pa t ricks R oad Ferny Hills


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The sett lement on the house was compl eted by the end o f October 1983 and we moved in to our v ery own home on 7 th November 1983. W e wer e convinc ed that the r e would b e no mor e moving b ecause th is is wher e we would sett le f or good

Soon afte r we moved in I thought that we could m anage f inancially without R honda working so she left the job at the Masonic Club.

My judg ement was wrong; es pecially with Shane attending Hig h School no w at Ever ton Park and T er esa a bou t to star t in 1984 , it was imper at ive that she see k f ur ther employm ent to ass ist with our budg et.Luck was on our side; with the help o f Ann H ar tman R honda got a job at the Summi t Centr al Apar tments in Bri s bane and later at Hillcr est Centr al Apar tments as a House maid.

S ummi t Hillcres t

I had sett led in at 8/9 RAR and was soon awa y to Shoalwate r Bay f or an exercise, Shane was now f inishing in Y ear 10 and Ter esa f inishing y ear 7. R honda was busyworking and togethe r at the end o f 1983 we enjoyed our f ir st Christmas in our o wnhome and a ha ppy star t to 1984. W e tr aded the XC F alcon on a XD mod el.

Sh ane 3 rd row 1 st from lef t year 10 Ever t on Park Hig h 1983


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Teresa fron t row 4 from lef t year 7 St afford Heig ht s 1983

Shane Star ted year 11 and Ter esa joined him at Ever ton Park Hig h to comm ence her secondary education in y ear 8. I con tinued working in the Q stor e at 8/9 RAR as the internal auditor and simply f illing in time wa iting f or the big d ay of discharge.

June 1984 I star ted 3 mon ths long servic e leave and imm ediate ly b egan working f or Worm ald Securi ty at the Four ex Br ewe ry. I t was gr eat being p aid by the Army each f or tnight on top o f my Worm ald f or tnight ly pay. I con tinued doing th is until the endof 1984 whe n, on 7 th December I was off icially di scharged. I had compl eted just over twe nty year s. I con tinued working f or Worm ald at the br ewe ry and the new Bris bane domest ic airpor t construc tion Si te.

Me in a differen t uniform W ormald S ecuri t y


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26 Se ptember 1984 , my fathe r died at Toor adin in Vic toria. We attended his f uner al at Bulli and he was placed to r est near my Mo the r and Bro ther s gr aves at Womb arr a Cemetery n ear Wollongong.

R oy Cecil Lyons 1925 1984

After r eturning f rom D ads f uner al I was moved f rom the Br ewe ry to TAA p asse nger termin al at Bris bane Airpor t and was r es pon sible f or scr eening p asse nger s.

In our time togethe r at home we continued to mak e improv ements to the yard andgardens as well as some internal and external r enovat ions.We became good f riends with our n eigh bour s John Schwa rze, on on e side and the

Page family on the other. A t the back wer e Bob and Shirley McC ar thy with daughte r s Janelle and Vanessa . The McC ar thy family would b ecome a very impor tant link inour family in f utur e year s.John and I b ecame r ea lly good m ates ; we wer e both Vietnam veter ans and had a lot incommon. W e began to go f ish ing r egularly; r ar ely caught anything bu t enjoyed our adventur es to Mor eton, Str adbrok e and Fr ase r Islands.R honda and I with Shane and T er esa took a liking to Nor th Str adbrok e Island andenjoyed a holiday ther e on a few occas ions,

On th e beac h in Jo h ns land rover h eading across on th e Barge


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Sh ane fron t row 3 from lef t year 11 Ever t on Park Hig h 1984

Teresa fron t row 3 rd from lef t Year 8 Ever t on Park Hig h 1984


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Early 1985 S hane wanted to leave school and whe n he secur ed a job with QueenslandR ailwa y we a pprov ed even though he had only ju st star ted year 12. T er esa at this stage was in year 9.Shane began work at Enogg er a Stat ion and look ed set f or a long c ar eer. Ho wever , things did no t go well whe n he became ill.Shane was left at home alone but under close supervi sion by our n eigh bour s and

f riends wh ile R honda, Ter esa and I drov e to Princ e Henry hos pital in Sydn ey to be with Mum B eatt ie wh ile she under went hea r t bypass surgery.

Shane became sick and und er doc tor s r ecomm endat ion I imm ediate ly drov e back toBris bane. Ter esa came with me wh ile R honda stayed with her Fathe r un til after surgery and the n f lew home once she was sat isf ied her Mo the r was ok.

I think i t was the str ess of star ting a new job and the fact that Shane had no family tosuppor t him wh ile we wer e in Sydn ey that he became ill. W e all decided that it would

be best if he left the r ailway and r eturn to compl ete his f inal year at school to achieve his HSC. T his he did and at the end of the year he f inishe d Sc hool and attended the year 12 f ormal night.

Sh ane back row 2 nd from rig ht Year 12

Sh ane wi th formal par t ner 1985


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R h onda and I wi th Sh ane ready for year 12 formal 1985

Teresa fron t row 3 from rig ht year 9 Ever t on Park Hig h 1985

1986 and 1987 wer e r elat ively quiet year s. Shane was out of School and attending a hor ticul tur al cour se at TAFE Coll ege, he turned 18 on 3 rd March 1986 wh ile Ter esa successf ully compl eted year s 10 and 11. I mov ed back to the Br ewe ry f rom TAA.Shane by no w was very in ter este d in J anelle McC ar thy who lived behind u s. He always was k een on her bu t she had a boyf riend and was unavaila ble.

Janelle became pr egnant to her boy f riend a bou t the middl e of 1986. H er boy f riendimmediate ly dese r ted her because he r ef used to tak e r es pon sibility. S hane got togethe r with Janelle and suppor ted her throug h the pr egnancy and even though the child was not his, he stuck by her. J anelle gave bir th to Cour tney Ann McC ar thy on 20 th March 1987. S hane took on the roll as fathe r and togethe r , Shane Janelle and the McC ar thyfamily r aised her.July 1987 I was advised to giv e up smoking whe n I was diagnosed with vascular disease in bo th legs. I did so f rom that very mom ent.


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Teresa fron t row 1 st lef t Year 10 Ever t on Park Hig h 1986

Teresa fron t row 3 rd from lef t Year 11 Ever t on Park Hig h 1987


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R honda stopped working at the Hillcr est whe n a supervisor decided that the work would b e bette r don e by employing women o f her own origin and lesse ning her hour s.Under those condi tions it was not wor th her wh ile continuing so she look ed f or employm ent elsewhe r e.Coun try Mu sic r ecording ar tist Rod Willi ams was running a comp any called Dial a Domest ic so she a ppro ached him and began as a domest ic work er. Und er th is syste m

she would b e sent to clients homes to do cl eaning and her wage was a small r ate afte r Rod took his percentage. Fir stly she was employ ed at Samf ord by R ea l Estate Princip als Val and Charles Rym an and on the ir r ecomm endat ion she was thenemploy ed by G eoff and Hil ary Harley who lived only a shor t distance f rom the Rym ans.Geoff and Hil ary wer e well kno wn loc al identities in the ar ea and G eoff was a senior

par tner in a promin ent Law f irm in Bri s bane.R honda work ed one day at Rym ans and anothe r at Harleys with Rod Willi ams enjoying the bette r percentage of her wage. She con tinued this until Val Rym anagr eed to mak e her employm ent a private conc ern and cut out the middl e man, Hilarydone the same and she star ted a long ass ociation with the Rym ans and Harleys.R honda late r left Rym ans but con tinued working f or Hil ary and Geoff .

I was working as a guard Sup ervisor at Mack Truck s asse mbly pl ant at Richlands. It was during my time her e that I r esurr ected my po etry writing with my old m ate SamPark er urging m e on.

In Fe bruary 1988 , Ter esa met K arl Pacey whe n she visited the Bris bane Airpor t with f riends. K arl had just arrived home afte r living in N ew Zea land f or a few year s. Theyfell in lov e afte r a shor t cour tsh ip and became inse par a ble.

Teresa and Karl a t Bribie Island and a t Ferny Hills

Karl and Teresa 1990/1991


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Karl and Teresa Karl at W illowbank

We wer e a little unsur e of K arl at f ir st, es pecially whe n we discover ed that his onlymeans of tr ans por t was a motor bik e and he turned up on a Suzuki GSX R 750compl ete with, hot exhaust system, enoug h power to blo w othe r s awa y at Willo w bank and a helmet f or our d aughte r to rid e pillion. W e neednt have worried because he was an experienced bik e rider and our d aughte r s safet y was his upmo st conc ern.

Teresa

Teresa and Karl 1990/1991


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Ever t on Park Year 12 Girls 1988 Teresa 3 rd row from fron t 1st lef t

Ever t on Park Year 12 boys 1988


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Year 12 Formal Teresa fron t 2nd from lef t

Teresa wi th R h onda and h er formal par t ner The star t of 1989 T er esa was employ ed as a dental ass istant brief ly f or a private surgery at Mitchelton and later she was successf ul in g aining a position with Queensland H ea lth working in the School d enta l vans on the Nor th side of Bris bane.K arl and Ter esa moved in to a unit at Gaythorne a bou t Se ptember 1989.

We wer e still living as a family , but Shane and Janelle wer e s pending mor e and mor e time togethe r so the y announc ed the ir engagement. The par ty to cele br ate would b e held at Wil ston Gr ange Socc er Club.

Our family ou tings togethe r slowed down because R honda and I, Ter esa and K arl, Shane, Janelle and Cour tney wer e all doing our o wn th ings. Ter esa and K arlannounc ed the ir engagement f or 23 rd Fe bruary 1991. W e decided to have the par tywith a true Auss ie style barbeque in our b ack yard.


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T he Unforgettable Nineties On the 1st January 1991 , R honda and I c ele br ate d our Silv er wedding anniver sary.

R honda con tinued working f or Hil ary on e day a wee k , norm ally Frid ay and she also

took on some casual work at the Austr alian Wool she d at Ferny Grov e f or the thenowner s Margar et and K en

Shane f inishe d the hor ticultur e cour se and could no t f ind work in that tr ade anywhe r e.Employ er s wanted experience as well as qualif icat ions but in Shanes case he onlyhad the qualif icat ions because no on e would employ him to get experience, it is a cruel World. H e gave up looking and star ted driving T axis working long hour s f or little pay. H e per sisted in that job f or a numb er of year s and m anaged to surviv e r easona bly ok.Abou t July 1991; S hane and Janelle announc ed that Janelle was pr egnant. They, togethe r with Cour tney mov ed in to a f lat in Ferny Grov e at the end of 1991 and

planned to marry in 1992.

Shane, Janelle, K arl and T er esa had many good f riends and this was obviou s by the attendance at the ir engagement cele br at ions.

Teresa and Karl Engagemen t 23 rd February 1991

In th e back yard a t Pa t ricks R oad

Cu tt ing th e cake wi th R honda and I


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Sh ane and Janelle Engagemen t W ilst on Grange S occer Club

Sh ane and Janelle wi th Teresa, you and me lef t ph ot o and your mum and dad rig ht P h ot o

Cu tt ing th e cake wi th Cour t ney wa t ch ing on


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During 1991 , R honda and T er esa wanted to get f it so the y join ed Glori a Mar sha ll andconscientiously attended tr aining sess ions each wee k. A fter a bou t 12 mon ths the y

both had achieved gr eat success . R honda even go t a trip to Sydn ey to a ppear on B er t Newt on show. She f lew down on Comp ass Airlin es which became non existe nt soonafte r.Her pic tur e a ppear ed in Glori a Mar sha ll adds in news pa per s all over Au str alia.

R h onda

1992 star ted off very we ll f or R honda and m e with a holiday at Tangaloom a R esor t onMor eton Island in F e bruary.The accommod at ion was not the gr eatest ; it was a small studio room at the back o f a lodge with a view of the side of a hill. Ho wever , we still had a gr eat time in the wee k we wer e the r e. Besides it was much better tha n our pr evious holiday on Sou th Str adbrok e Tippl er s r esor t in Se ptember 1991 , it only l aste d one day.I was going to inser t a photo of that trip bu t decided the best memory o f Tippl er s was leaving i t.

R h onda on th e Tangalooma je tt y


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me a t Tangalooma

R h onda a t th e back of th e uni t We enjoyed Tangalooma so muc h we purchase d a time sha r e unit in Oc ean Lodg e.

Janelle at this time was in the last few wee k s of pr egnancy and everyone was anxiou s f or the big event. We all knew she was having tw in girl s and everyone was excitedlywa iting the ir arrival. Cour tney could no t wa it to meet her sister s, she was nearly f ive.

Janelle la t e February 1992


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Tynelle wi th Nanna McCar th y Teagan wi th Daddy Sh ane

Sh ane and Tynelle Tynelle wi th Grea t Nanna & Pop Bea tt ie

Sh ane and Teagan Teagan wi th me a t h ome

Tynelle lef t Home a t las t 15 April Teagan rig ht


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Nanna Lyons feeds bo th Teresa h as a nurse

Daddy Sh ane and Family Off for a walk t o Nanna and Pop McCar th y

R h onda wi th Teresa wa t ch ing on W e are ge tt ing bigger now abou t 6 mon th s


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Janelle was far ewe lled and pl aced to r est at Albany Cr eek cr ematorium. S he was wea ring the wedding dr ess that she boug ht f or her marriage to Shane. Her f uner al, attr acted a very large attendance of family , f riends and tea m mates f rom the soft ballClub that both her and Shane wer e ass ociate d with.

The sadness and devastat ion to us all was over sha dowed a little with the excitement of

the tw ins coming home. Shane had to get back to work and he did th is wh ile R honda took c ar e of the girls. It was a case of becoming a Mo ther again f or R honda eventhough the tw ins wer e her f ir st Gr and Childr en. She coped extr emely we ll. Allo wingShane to com e to terms with what had ha ppened and try to get on in li fe as we ll as

being a r es pon sible fathe r.R honda could always r ely on help f rom family and f riends es pecially Nanna and PopMcCar thy who lived behind u s and the tw ins Aun ties Ter esa and Vanessa .For R honda, now at the age of 44 i t was lots of dir ty na ppi es, fee ding at all hour s andlots of slee pless nights . The last time she had to cop e with this was 1970 at Wagga whe n Ter esa was born. Ho wever , her mo the rly in stincts and lov e soon b ecame obviou s and she was an ins pir ation to us all. S hane helped as much as poss ible; whe nhe was not working and I r eferr ed to him as Mister Mum.

As if the sadness and devastat ion o f the past events wer e not enoug h; On Sund ay 16 th Augu st 1992 , I r eceived a phone f rom Mic hae l in Wollongong with mor e bad news .This time it was the sudden death of Dad Beatt ie. Ag ain our liv es and es peciallyR hondas wer e shatte r ed. Mum and Dad Beatt ie had only b een with us a coupl e of months earlier to meet the tw ins; the ir gr eat gr anddaughte r s.We made arr angements to tr avel to Wollongong. R honda, Shane and the tw ins f lew down to Sydn ey and I l eft the next day by c ar with Uncl e Wally (Dook) who, in 1990had r etir ed f rom Li thgow and sett led at Bribi e Island.The loss of R hondas Dad was so sudden and without warning , he was just 66 year s old and had a mass ive hear t atta ck. H e was cr emate d and pl aced to r est in the rose garden at Wollongong Cr ematorium. H e was a tr emendou s loss to us all.After a brief stay to con sole Mum , R honda, Shane and the tw ins f lew back toBris bane. I had r eturned with Uncl e Dook a few days earlier.

St anley Bea tt ie 6 S ep 1924 16 Aug 1992 St an served in New Guinea during W orld W ar Two


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We managed to get throug h the r emainder of 1992 un scathe d, tha nk f ully , continuingwith the task of helping S hane r aise Teagan and Tyn elle. We holidayed at Tangaloom a with the Twins in Oc tober 92 and took Mum B eatt ie with us. She hadf lown up to sta y f or a few wee k s.I cease d working f or Worm ald Securi ty whe n I secur ed an off ice job in the maintenance de par tment of Mack Truck s and late r became Maintenance Manager.

R honda was still working f or Hil ary at Samf ord as we ll as being a Mo the r , Gr andmo the r and Wi fe all at the sa me time. She had her hands f ull bu t to her cr edit she coped well and don e the job exemplary even und er some r ea l pr ess ur e situations.Mum B eatt ie stayed with us until after Christmas and she was thrilled to ass ist with her Gr eat Gr anddaughte r s. She misse d her loving Hu s band Stan terribly. Ho wever ,

being with the tw ins and R honda helped f ill the void tempor arily.

Even though R honda had many th ings to k ee p her occupi ed, she still had time to ass ist Ter esa and help org anise her and K arls wedding wh ich was now only a bou t 5 mon ths awa y. T hey had set the date f or Saturday 1st May 1993 and f inal pr e par at ions now hadto be done.We we lcom ed the New Year 1993 with open arms and pu t 1992 b ehind u s. It was gone but it will never be f orgo tten f or obviou s r eas ons.

Shane continued driving taxis and pl aying soft ball, the game he and Janelle loved. Hi s f riends f rom soft ball helped him get throug h the grieving p hase and it was her e wher e he met K alee Donaldson who work ed at the Royal Bris bane Hos pita l Pathology.

Our Daughter Gets Married

The big d ay f or T er esa and K arl f inally arrived, 1st of May 1993. R honda was just as excited as Ter esa and f usse d over her to ensur e the occas ion went smoothly. I was a very proud D ad with the privil ege of escor ting her down the isle at the Anglic anChurch Ar ana Hills, to her soon to be hus band K arl.

T h e beau t iful bride Teresa wi th Nanna Bea tt ie and Mum R h onda


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Teresa and R h onda R h onda and I wi th our beau t iful Daug ht er

Me, a proud Dad and beau t iful daug ht erTeresa

Karl wi th h is bro th er Trevor and Sh ane Lyons Teresa and Karl exc h ange rings


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S igned and sealed wi th a kiss

T h e seal of approval wi th Karls paren t s Eric and Joan on th e lef t

The r ece ption was held at the Austr alian Wool S hed at Ferny Grov e and a good time was had by all. K arl and Ter esa late r headed off f or their honeymoon to the Whitsundays in tropical Nor th Queensland. S taying at Club Crocodil e near Airli e Beach and tripping around the Whitsunday Islands.

The r emainder of 1993 was r elat ively quiet. R honda continued going to Hilarys onFridays. Nanna Shirley McC ar thy car ed f or the Twins on these days.

I was unha ppy at Mack truck s and str ess was taking con trol o f me due to the heavyworklo ad. I was not getting muc h ass istance f rom higher management so I r esignedand went back to Worm ald securi ty whe r e I could b e employ ed in a normal job f or anaver age living without the added r es pon sibility of being a manager or supervisor.

I work ed at Brook side shopping c entr e f or a while doing shift work and later went toBris bane Airpor t to work f or Qantas in the Worm ald Con trol room and the n Group 4Securi ty whe n they won the contr act f rom Worm ald.

Shane and K alees r elat ionsh ip had now blossomed and even though Shane had a family; K alee was ha ppy to tak e on the r es pon sibility of being the tw ins Ste p Mo ther and sha r e her life with Shane. They r ented a house at Ferny Hill s, became engagedand star ted planning the ir wedding f or 2nd April 1994.It was a r elief that Shane could sett le down at last . On the othe r hand it was a little sadthat Teagan and Tyn elles room in our house was now empty bu t it was always availa ble should the y ever need to use it


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Family bick ering b etwee n K alee, Shane and the McC ar thy family b egan to get troubl esome, bas ically ov er how ofte n Teagan and Tyn elle should have access with them. Und er standa bly the y wer e still gri eving ov er the loss of Janelle and f ound i t diff icult that Shane was moving on with his life. Shane and K alee wer e just trying to

be good p ar ents.Our eff or ts to k ee p the peace fa iled and we decided to se ll our house and mov e out of

the ar ea to star t a new life. At the same time mainta in a close r elat ionsh ip with our family.

Our Son Gets Married At Clayf ield Uni ting C hurch on the 2nd April 1994 S hane and K alee wer e wed. T he wedding was well attended by fa mily and f riends, including Mum B eatt ie who, incid enta lly, was still living in the origin al home at Fairy M eadow. Teagan andTyn elle also attended. No w at the age of two, this was the ir second weddingattendance; the ir f ir st was at the age of 14 mon ths at Ter esa and K arls marriage.

Sh anes lovely bride Kalee and wi th h er fa th er Glenn Donaldson

Sh ane wi th h is a tt endan t s wai t ing Kalee and Sh ane


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S igned and S ealed wi th a kiss

Sh ane and Kalee wi th Nanna Bea tt ie R h onda and I wi th Sh ane and Kalee

R h onda, me and Sh ane wi th Kalee and her Paren t s Colleen and Glen

The r ece ption was held at Downy Park Club room s and was hosted by K alees par ents Glen and Coll een Don aldson. S hane and K alee ha d a shor t honeymoon at the GoldCoast while R honda and I took c ar e of Teagan and Tyn elle.


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.Teagan and Tynelle aged 2 1994

Teagan and Tynelle Oc t ober 1994

15th Augu st 1994 we r eceived word that my Gr andmo the r Lilli an Lyon s had passe dawa y in Sydn ey aged 86. S he had a long hard li fe and was active to her last days.We attended her f uner al in Wollongong and she was placed to r est at Lak eside Memorial Park K anahook a. We stayed with Mum B eatt ie at Fairy M eadow.

Lillian May Lyons (nee St ewar t) 18Nov 1908 15 Aug 1994


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We r eturned home and holidayed at Tangalooma f or the f ir st wee k of Se ptember as we did each year. Al wa ys in the 35th wee k of the calendar year which was late Augu st and in to the f ir st wee k of s pring.

Shane began working at Royal Bris bane Hos pital Pathology as a wardsman on 8 th November 1994.

Early 1995 , we took ou t a bank lo an and purc hase d a block o f land at Dece ption B ayand hoped that our F erny Hill s prop er ty would soon sell. W e wer e k een to mov e awa yf rom F erny Hill s so we borro wed extr a money and signed a con tr act to build a new home with Pioneer Hom es.Building comm enced in Jun e 1995 and we wer e now dee p in d e bt pending the sa le of our P atrick s Road prop er ty, which still hadnt sold afte r nearly two year s on the mark et. Inter est r ates had rock eted to a bou t 17 percent.

.

Lo t 472 Emma Place Decep t ion Bay June 1995

18 June 1995 12 Jul 1995

July 1995


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30 July 95 Teagan h elps 2 Augus t 95

11 Augus t 1995

Teagan and Tynelle doing some brickwork and h aving a pre t end s h ower


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20 S ep t ember 1995

When the new house was buil t we r ented it to Shane and K alee to at least ass ist with the mor tgage wh ilst we des per ate ly wa ited a sa le at Ferny Hill s.

Se ptember 1995 , Shane and K alee had mov ed in to our n ew house at 4 Emm a Place Dece ption B ay and comm enced esta blish ing law ns and gardens. R honda and Icontinued trying to se ll our o the r house as well as provid e prop er fences and gates f or Emma Place.

R honda was now 47 year s old and still working f or Hil ary. I had turned 49 and stilldoing shift work at Qantas f or Group 4 S ecuri ty. Our f inances wer e str ained and we began to wonder if we ha d don e the right thing by building. I t was no use worryinga bou t it now, we pushe d on in the hope that everyth ing would eventually work ou t f or us.

Tuesday 17 th of October 1995 c er ta inly c hanged my li fe and no t f or the bette r. I t was also the bir thday of Ter esas hus band K arl who turned 27 y ear s old; T er esa was now 25, Shane 27 and K alee 23. T eagan and Tyn elle wer e 3 year s old.

I was on afternoon shift that day and decided to do some work on a gate f r ame Ineeded f or Emm a place bef or e going to work. C hest pains put a stop to that and I was

given an ambul ance ride to Roy al Bris bane Hos pital. R honda tr avelled in the f ron t of the ambul ance.

Tests showed that I had a hear t atta ck and I und er went coron ary proc edur es. Luckilynot much damage to the hear t was done and I did no t need surgery. I did. Ho wever , need hear t and blood pr ess ur e drug s f or the r est of my li fe.

After a coupl e of days I was out of intensive car e and back in to a ward whe r e I s pent a f ur the r 2 wee k s bef or e being allowed home.

I was very gr atef ul to have R honda and all our family with me. They all gave me hea ps of love and suppor t, but the n I always knew that I had a beautif ul loving andcaring wife and family. I had a f ur ther 2 wee k s off work b ef or e r ecomm encing at the airpor t doing shift work.

We s pent Christmas 1995 with Shane and K alee at Emma place f or a family g et togethe r. S hane s pent the night in R edcliffe hos pita l whe n he suffe r ed badly with moving kidn ey stones. H e came home the next day and r ecover ed well with no f ur ther effe cts.


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Sh ane, Kalee, Tynelle and Teagan go t in t o th e Xmas spiri t 1995

Ter esa and K arl in the meantime wer e leading a quiet, ha ppy li fe at Gaythorne andvisiting with us r egularly. T er esa was still working f ull time with the School d enta lclinic s and K arl bu sy working as a chef at Gaythorne Theat r e Caf .

Teresa and Karl

R h onda wi th Teresa 1994 Teresa and Karl wi th Teagan & Tynelle By March 1996 the r e was still no sign o f a sa le f or P atrick s road, we wer e k een tomove into our n ew house and star t living at Dece ption B ay. To ena ble us to do th is, Shane and K alee and family mov ed to Patrick s road and we moved to Emm a place.This situat ion suited all of us because it meant less tr avel f or S hane and K alee whower e both working at Royal Bri s bane Hos pita l, and it allowed us to get on with some home and yard improv ements at Emm a Place. The move was compl eted in what mayhave been the last good long and stea dy r ainfa ll in Sou th East Queensland bef or e the

big droug ht star ted.


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20th Se ptember 1996 I turned 50 and R honda surpri se d me with a par ty at Shane andK alees . All the family and f riends wer e ther e including Mum B eatt ie and Mic hae l andfamily. I was surpri sed and very , very honour ed that my family did th is f or m e.

Me saying some th ing abou t t urning 50 Mum Bea tt ie, wi th Mike, Mic h elle,Gemma Joel and uncle Dook

Just prior to Christmas 1996 we wer e close to a sa le on the house at Ferny Hill s.However , a r eta ining wa ll wh ich was in the back yard when we boug ht the prop er ty in1983 was deemed un safe and the pros pective purchase r r equeste d that we have it f ixed or drop sixtee n thousa nd doll ar s off our asking pric e. We declined his r equest and the sa le fell through.

We took imm ediate action to r e pair the r eta ining wa ll and hir ed a contr actor to build a besse r block wa ll in f ron t of the old on e. We had a r es pon sibility to tr eat it with urgency f or the safet y of Shane, K alee and fa mily.This turned to tota l disaste r whe n the wa ll coll a psed because of hea vy r ain during anafte rnoon storm. In my opinion , the f ootings wh ich wer e dug f or the new wa ll without r einf orcing the old wa ll con tribu ted gr eat ly to the colla pse.It cost a lot mor e tha n the quoted pric e and caused a tota

Birth to Nanna Lyons

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