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NOTES 1 Sr Carmelo was a very caring person. I recall the occasional visits she made to our home in Croydon and the kindly support she gave to my wife Anne in the late 1960s. “My great-grand-parents came from Ireland to Australia in 1843. With their son, John, 14 years of age , they landed in Victoria where they took up land at Kilmore. The third youngest (child) , Mathew James, was my father. At the age of 30 he married my mother, Helen Hill, in Melbourne. Helen came from Violet Town where her father and mother reared their family of 8 – 4 boys and 4 girls. Grandma Hill’s father came from Glasgow in Scotland and her mother from Ireland. Her father was a solicitor. Before her marriage Helen Hill was a governess in Sydney. Matthew and Helen took up residence in a hotel in Kilmore where their first child was born. Grandfather Nunan died in 1900. My father went to the farm and the rest of the children were born there: James Joseph, John Laurence, Edward and Allan (twins), Thomas Henry, Vincent Harold, Eileen Mary, Rita Margaret. I can’t remember anything of Kilmore but a few things Joe told me on his 40th wedding anniversary: He told me his brothers went to school with the Sisters at Kilmore. Later he went to the Brothers there. We had a small Shetland pony which was very pig-headed. If it didn’t get its feed, it just stuck its four feet down and wouldn’t budge. One morning Joe, as was his custom, was showing off on the pony. He slid right under and and landed on the other side where, alas, Brother was standing ! Didn’t he get the works for showing off ! Another time Joe (about ten at the time), Jack and Matt took themselves across to Shepparton without saying anything to anybody. They went across country. By the time a hue and cry went up from Kilmore, they had reached the Shepparton district, but a man in a gig picked them up and took them back to Kilmore. Of course the attraction at Shepparton was Aunty Liz and Grandma Nunan. Another time Jack (or Tom) got lost. A search was made for him. He was only very small and fell asleep behind a stump. Fortunately he was wearing a bright red jacket. That’s all I can remember of Kilmore . The first thing I can remember of Crystal Creek is when Tom, who was about 5 years old, pushed the pram with Rita in it .and sent it down the path. Mum came running out of the kitchen and saved it from tipping over. Dad had an old draught horse called Jack . As children we used to go in and out between its legs and it never hurt us. On Sunday afternoons, Mother and her brood of little ones used to go for a walk in the back paddock and gather wild flowers . One particular day a big snake got in our way. As the snake rose up to strike Eddy, our little fox-terrier sprang at it. It saved Eddy, but the little terrier died, much to our sorrow. About this time Rita and I started school. We walked, of course, with our brothers. I think that at this time Matt had left school and Joe had started at St. Patrick’s College in Ballarat. I remember one day the teacher – I don’t know for what reason – sent Rita to walk home all by herself. She was only about 7 and was too afraid to cross the paddocks so she kept to the windy road. We used to cut off this by taking a short – cut through the paddocks. We used to go rabbiting with our brothers. On Sundays we went to Mass in a two – seater buggy drawn by a pair of horses. I remember my mother giving me a penny to put on the plate. I put on my penny and took off threepence – until my mother saw me. As we got older, a girl who used to ride to school used to pick us up- three-on -one! Well, the three of us were on, but not for long! Before I could get a grip of Iris she started off. We both fell off. Rita cut her head and both my knees were badly cut. I still have the marks! We went to a Mrs Laid who was always very good to us on the way home from school. She bandaged us up and took us home. There was a beautiful creek running through our property and in the cool of the evening Mother used to take us down there. The boys would swim while we paddled in the crystal clear water. In the winter months the logs in the paddocks would be burning out. The red hot coals were just right for cooking unpeeled onions! Jack was once bitten by a snake but he survived. We left Alexandra after seven years and went to Gippsland to live. There we had a three-mile walk to school. We had plenty of apples so we took a good supply with us for the day. Mum, dad and the boys milked 80 or more cows. The dairy was a long way from the house and Mum used to sing all the old songs on the way home. They started milking about 3.30 a.m. I think Eddy, Alan and Vin were the only ones at home. Tom was with Grandma Hill at Violet Town. I remember Vin getting too close to a dog kennel and a big German dog bit him on the leg. The man got a rag, plunged it in kerosene and bound it tightly round his leg. He had no ill effects. In 1924 we went to Wangaratta to a farm. Here we had about 40 cows. We also had a horse called Ginger and every time Rita or I would go to catch it, it would tear down the other end of the paddock. Dad would just go out and catch it. We went to the State School at South Wangaratta for a few months. Then the boys got us bikes and we rode to St Patrick’s School at Wangaratta. Just before this, Rita and I had made our first Holy Communion. We walked three miles there, fasting, and then back. On the First Fridays we used to go to 7 o’clock Mass and the Sisters used to give us a cup of hot tea afterwards.On winter days a big pot of soup used to come over from the Convent. The ingredients were donated by the locals. I spent two years there and then went across to the convent for another two years. I was a very keen basketball player and several times we went to Beechworth to compete. When I was sixteen and a half, I started nursing at St.Mary’s Private Hospital. Here I had some great experiences which helped me very much in later years on the missions. In 1931 I started my religious training. Of course, I had to get my parents’ permission. When I asked Mum , she said, ’Ask your father.’ When I asked dad he said, ‘Ask your mother. ‘ So I eventually got permission from both of them. The Novitiate was at Bowral on a large property. I stayed here till 1933 when I was professed. The day after the ceremony I went to Kensington and stayed there till August, 1934. That year I was transferred to Bentleigh where I did the cooking and numerous odd jobs. My father died in September. One night ,about 9.30 p.m.(considered very late in those days ) a Sister came to me and told me Rev. Mother wanted to see me in her room. I thought , ‘ O Lord , what have I done !’ Mother was in bed so she told me to sit on the side of the bed . After asking how I was she said, ‘How would you like to go to Nauru?’ The Nauru mission had only been opened in January, 1935. It took 10 days of travel. We called at Ocean Island for a night. The Father , who was very kind to me , was later killed by the Japs. The Island of Nauru was just a small speck on the ocean. The Father and Sisters were there to meet me. I settled down very quickly, doing all kinds of things . The Sisters taught in the schools from 8.30a.m. – 3.30p.m. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons were for religious instruction. We began with Grades 1 and 2 as that is all the government would allow but each year we went ahead another class. The Director of Education called in quite regularly, sometimes twice a week. The children were beautiful to teach. One girl ,who could speak English quite well, stayed with us. I remember the first time we went for a walk to visit their houses. We were offered a coconut. Though we did not like it, we drank the milk for we were afraid we might insult the people if we did not. Later we learnt to love them. World War 2 broke out . On 7th December, 1941 , a ship flying a Japanese flag came in very close to the reef. Owing to the westerlies and the very rough seas all our British Phosphate Company ships had gone out to sea without even unloading the passengers. Next morning we received word that the Japanese ship was going to bomb the oil tanks. All the natives came tearing down the road past the church carrying their mats and what- have-you. We were at the 6.30 a.m. Mass. When we came out from Mass they told us the Japanese were going to bomb the settlement. It was really a German boat; in fact there were two of them. They said they would send a warning shot out to sea. They did this. Then, loud blasts and the oil tanks were on fire. Black, thick smoke went rolling up into the sky. These burnt on for about a week . No one was hurt . The German raider also sent word across that they had sunk three ships - about six altogether since they left Australia. They had two raiders and one would sneak up on either side. One, the Triona, put up a bit of a fight but it was useless. There were several casualties here - the passengers were taken off our ships and put on the raiders where those who needed medical care were attended to. The raiders came back three days later with the intention of putting off all British personnel , and taking on food, but the sea was too rough. Eventually after notifying the Australian Government, they put them off on a small island north of Queensland. I was due to come back to Australia on sick leave on the 8th of December. But the ship I was to sail on sank. We had black-outs and lean meals till another ship and convey arrived . About the end of January a convoy and another ship came up with food and mail. We had had nothing since November. I sailed on this ship, sharing a cabin with another lady. Alas, in the middle of the night, there was a terrible explosion. My friend jumped out of her bunk but I decided to stay. There was soot everywhere. They said the big funnels blew up! That was the nearest I came to war! Three months later I was ready to return to Nauru . I had even got as far as Melbourne. But word came not to go any further because the Japs had entered the war and ships had been sunk in Western Australian waters. So it was five years before I eventually returned to Nauru. Altogether I spent nine years there. After my return from Nauru I spent 10 years at Bowral, 9 years in Toowoomba, 12 in Bentleigh and 10 at Randwick . In 1983 I celebrated my Golden Jubilee of Profession at Kensington. Some of my relatives were present on this occasion.”
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