Dad’s father’s name was Ethelbert Curry Munroe or Bert for short. He was born in 1887 and passed away on the 2nd April 1940 aged only 53.
Bert’s grandfather started up HANDSOM CABS in Melbourne with stables and horses at Mary’s St, Richmond. He had 7 brothers; In order from eldest - Henry, Bill, Frank, Jack, George, Bert and Jim. Henry and Bill were twins. I didn’t find that out until I was 7 weeks pregnant with my firstborn, yep, twins! My eldest sister Vicki roared with laughter, “OMG, all your life you’ve invented short cuts to do anything, but this takes the cake!”
Bert gambled all his money away and started earning it back again by becoming a SP bookmaker. Just as things were looking good, he developed asthma at 44 years of age. Having all his teeth pulled out was the probable cause. Sadly, the same procedure repeated itself when my father was 14yo.
The small family moved to Warburton as it was thought the fresh air would be good for Bert’s health.. His asthma was treated with self administered adrenaline needles which resulted in him having many holes to his stomach and arms. He only worked 20 years during his lifetime due to the illness.
Dad’s mum, Amy Priscilla Valentine was born on Valentine’s Day, not sure of the year but 1880 would be close. She passed away about 1970. At the time of her death we were living at123 Hayes Ave, Mt Yokine. It was, back then, a simple 3 x 1 weatherboard house on a quarter of an acre that housed the six of us. My memories are vivid of the awful arguments between my mother and father while he prepared to go to Melbourne for the funeral. I was about 10 at the time and all I knew was that I hated the constant fighting between them. My mother never liked Amy and this , I believe, deprived us of a grandmother. As a child, I never knew why she didn’t like Amy, and the one time she did come over to visit, with my Aunt Molly, (we were living at Lot 1 Forrest Street Goomalling opposite the hospital), I remember mother commented scathingly about the two dollars we children were given, which was, in her opinion, a paltry amount. Other comments my mother made years later while Amy was in hospital were unkind and vicious. I remember playing a Rolf Harris LP for Dad while he was working in the shed to try and cheer him up.
Amy had foot problems and problems walking because she was flat footed. She was told she would never have children and so it was a pleasant surprise when she became pregnant.
My father, Ethelbert Alexander Munroe, or Alex as his preferred name, was born 17.07.1926 and was their only son. They lived at 458 Kooyong Rd, Caulfield, Melbourne.
Amy was 45 years old when she gave birth. Amy did not want to give up her lifestyle and so Dad raised by a 14yo nanny called Elsie Harris. Bert discovered her in the local convent where she and her sister Tessie were being mistreated. (They were there originally because she was abused with her mother by their alcoholic father). The mother superior wouldn’t let Elsie go but after a row Bert took her where she was made a member of the family. Elsie had red hair and was of fair complexion. She was kind and compassionate, the perfect substitute mother. Dad had fond memories of her. Whenever they went to Melbourne he would visit her.
In later years Elsie married and had five children. Her husband was regularly unfaithful to her. She celebrated her 90th birthday in June 2003. When she died a short while later, four hundred people turned up at the funeral. Her generous, kind nature touched everyone she met. Sadly, none of us kids ever met her.
DAD'S CHILDHOOD STORIES
When my twin daughters and I visited Grandad in Royal Perth hospital on 5.04.03 he reminisced for two hours, entertaining us with his childhood stories.
Dad was known as ‘Spud’ because when he was asleep a potato was put in his mouth (aged 12). At Warburton the nickname ‘Cash’ was used derived from Money Munroe.
The Drowning
“I was a regular swimmer in the rivers and creeks in Warburton. Me and my mate Jim Wheeler used to catch feral dogs and put them in sugar bags (size of chaff bags) add a weight and dump them in the river. One day Jim asked me to put him in a bag and put him in the river because he wanted to know what it would be like to drown. I did this and when the bag went under I could see lots of water moving on top. I grabbed the bag and dragged him in. He was spitting out the water and not wanting to try the experiment again!”
Rabbiting
When I was about 12 years old, all my pocket money came from shooting rabbits. I had two pet ferrets (used to breed them), and would take them with me to help chase the rabbits out of their holes. I made nets to catch the rabbits. The nets were made out of thin twine, (thinner than brown string). Dad still has the needles he used to make these nets! Gubby (named after an English cricketer Gubby Allen), and Cash were the main ones with ferrets. They would skin, gut and dress them and sell the skin separately, hanging them up on wire. With mates Bill, George & Jack Vernell they would tie the dead rabbits to a belt around our waist and sell them for one and sixpence a pair.*
This link gives you the value of money at that time.
Lindsay was another of Dad’s mates and the driver on their outings. One trip they did the steering wheel came off! (Years later when my elder sister Vicki let me drive her Morris Minor we had driven down the steep Toodyay Rd Millendon. As I turned into the driveway the steering wheel came off!)
They drove to Taggerty. (Taggerty | Victoria - Australia's Guide) where there were heaps of rabbits. Warburton was too difficult to get through the bush as there were too many black berries and ferns.
They also went to Footscray to shoot rabbits. (Footscray, Destinations, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)
“One day we all sat around, Gubby, Bill, George, Jack and I and one of us threw a bit of gut at the other. Then another would throw a bigger bit. It was on! By the time the gutting was finished we were all wearing it!”
* Footnote: 18c ~ $10 Homemade pies with sauce cost 3 pennies or 3p. One cabbage cost 1p. Newspapers halfpenny, ½p. ( Say ‘hapeney’).
CHRISTMAS PRANK
“We used to go to the local camp site at Christmastime. Each one of us would be at one tent and on the whistle, we would straighten the wooden peg supporting the tent and let it go so that the tent would come down. By the time any occupants were out we had run 100yards away (30m). Occupants had kerosene lanterns so it was lucky none caught alight! As silly young boys, we never worried about that!”
You Rat!
“I would make a rat out of newspaper and stocking, then attach it to a string and hide behind a hedge. When the unsuspecting walker would come I would pull the string and watch with glee the panic and dashing antics of passersby, many were adults. It was hard to suppress my laughter which would end up with the woman screaming and the men with their walking sticks belting the rat while at the same time saying, “Look at that rat!” When they realized it was the kids, they joined in the fun.”
Drop Your Money?
“I would have a brick and penny, hide behind the hedge and drop the coin onto the brick. The walker would stop to look for the penny they thought they had dropped, until they heard us laughing!”
The Slide
It was a 12 mile ride from Warburton to Mt Donna Buang.
When Dad was 12 yo……”We walked 4 mile up this 45° slope of Mt Donna Buang which took us about 2hr. We were very warm when we got there! We would use bits of tin made from corrugated iron and fly down to the bottom. Our feet were frozen in our gum boots when we were finished. There were sheds at the top where people used to sell savaloys and rolls. We boiled our savaloys in boiling water and had a lovely meal. There were Liar birds up there that built mounds. The Whip birds were lovely too”.
Bush Rangers
“During school break we would play in the bush. My best mate Gubby was the son of our Headmaster who was an excellent teacher. In this game Gubby was a bad guy and was tied up to a tree. Soon the bell rang and we all went back to class. “Where’s Gubby?” asked the teacher. We’d left him tied to the tree!”
Danger Ride
“I rode with Ted Hall at a place between Warburton and Milgrove. Millgrove | Visit Melbourne's Yarra Valley - Official Site
Ted later became an apprentice jockey. We went on a bush track to race our horses. Unfortunately my saddle was loose and I fell dragging my arm and shoulder along the ground. I had to let go to stop losing my arm as I could see the skin ripping off. One of the horses hooves imprinted right on my buttocks. I mounted after catching and re-saddling my horse. My horse went very skittish and would not settle down. As I was riding down the street Constable Theobold came peddling down the main road. “Get that horse off the road Munroe” he yelled and then rode straight into a ditch!
The Dead Body’s Rifle
“While rabbiting in the thick bush in Warburton with Gubby (we were about 14yo), I found a rifle that was wrapped in canvas while ferreting. I had just crawled over a log when I found it and did not look under the log.
“This is a great find!” I thought.
I opened the bolt and it had an empty shell. I hid the rifle under the floor boards of an empty house 2 miles from home. I used the rifle to shoot rabbits. Weeks later the owner of the land was looking for a calf. He saw a boot under the same log. He picked it up and to his surprise there was a foot in it! He went to the police who found the body. There was a big search printed in the papers… Who Is He? News spread like wildfire in a small country town. The search went to Where’s the Weapon? After the body was found a Detective from Melbourne was looking for the firearm. I told all my mates not to tell because I didn’t want to lose my rifle. One of the boys at school, Cedric Trickett, told his mother that I had found a rifle and was using it to shoot rabbits. The next day Constable Theobold rode around to our house and said, “I believe you have a rifle hidden under a house.” The constable told me his informer was Cedric. Later on I chased Cedric down the road to beat him up.”
“We both rode around to the old house where I showed where the rifle was hidden. I had to accompany Melbourne detectives to show them the exact location of ‘my’ rifle. After the detectives had seen the body they had cleared ½ acres of scrub trying to find the rifle.”
“The headlines now read; Warburton Boys Find Rifle. I had to attend the inquest in Melbourne weeks later; full of fear and to see my name in the Melbourne paper.”
Shanghi
“We would ride around on our bikes and learnt how to do this no hands. It was necessary when we used our shanghi’s (wire frame with elastic band around ends), to fire stones into the street light globes. Another thing we used was galvanized clouts that builders would leave lying around. They are a nail about 1 inch long and were used to put plaster on.”
Plaster & Pull
“Once, while staying at Gubby’s place in Burwood, (Burwood, Victoria - Wikipedia)
we went into where a house was being built to collect clouts. While we were there we decided to take some of the plaster down. Gubby gets on the ceiling and decides to push plaster down. A man,(probably a neighbour), came around and caught us. Gubby was on the roof pulling plaster there. “What are your names?” the man said. We all gave false names except Gubby”.
“That’s not your name”, I said.
“Poor Gubby. He was so honest!”
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