Adele Norris Copeland 1921 -

 

Adele Norris Copeland, nee Clarke Born 28-12-21

I was born in Moonee Ponds in a dwelling behind a second hand shop owned by Mum's sister and her husband

Dad had already bought the fruit shop at Ormond so Mum had to wait till I was born to follow. I was 2 weeks old when we went to live behind the fruit shop - one bedroom and four children.

I used to get upset when Mum and Dad used to say they got me from a second hand shop. Probably the same shop today would be called an Antique Shop.

Two years later we moved to a new house in Dalmore Av, Dad's two brothers Perc and Bill, both carpenters, built it.

Dad used a horse and cart to go to the market. I can't remember it but Vera and Ron do.

Bill was born when I was 5 1/2. When I was 12 we bought a new house - brick and for those days very flash - Dad bought another house in Dalmore Av. - he owned the three houses and the business.

We all went to Ormond State School. Ron & Vera went to Brighton Tech. Bill went to Mordialloc High. All for a very short time. We'd all left school by the time we were 15..

Dad bought a grocers shop two shops down from the fruit shop. I think what happened was the grocer who was there moved further down the street, so Dad took this shop over to create a few more jobs for the family. This was right in the Depression. He put Ron in the grocers and his brother Perc (a carpenter who couldn't get work) in the fruit shop.

In those days people didn't pay the grocer - mostly paid monthly if at all. abut the fruit shop was cash - the debts got so high in the grocers, that in the end Dad had to put it in a debt collectors hands. After a while when Dad didn't hear from the Debt Collectors he went to the city to his office and found he'd gone - Dad had no way of knowing who had paid and who hadn't because all his account books were gone too. There had been more than one thousand pounds owing. Probably most of it would never have been paid anyway, as people used to just move house - I heard this story from Dad many times.

Dad was part of the first co-op buying schemes - It was then called Melray but is now Composite Buyers.

Crofts, a big chain store grocer took over - Ron came back to the fruit shop and Uncle Perc opened his own fruit shop in Surrey Hills. Dad's other brother Bill also opened a fruit shop.

We had a car always that I can remember, and Mum and Dad did have a few good holidays, always with the Duus's. Ron was working in the shop when war broke out and joined straight away. His number was VX 1264 - more I'm sure to get away from the shop than any patriotic reasons. He was amongst the first lot to leave Australia and went to England first, then to the Middle East and was taken Prisoner of War - taken first to Italy then to Germany. He was amongst the last to get back to Australia.

Vera worked in the shop till she married and the part time for a long time after.

I worked in the shop - Dad always praised me saying I was the best worker he ever had, so of course I worked all the harder! Bill came in the shop off and on, but never really liked it.

The shop ran our lives a lot. We never had much time off and the hours were long. Ten o'clock closing in the summer - 7 o'clock in the winter and open all day Saturdays. The reason Dad was so successful was because he had the family working for him.

I used to go ice-skating once week - most of our outings were to relations - to Bacchus Marxh to Mum's brother's - the cousins were all older than me- so were more friends of Vera's and Ron's.

Mum's sister lived in Deepdeene and we used to go there for Sunday tea or they'd come to our place. Also Dad's brother's family visited a lot. Uncle Bill's daughter Pearl and I were good friends.

When I was 16 I was bridesmaid at a wedding - Dad's half-sister  (Louise) (I don't know much about her), but Dad was very good to her family of sons after she died). Anyway, one of these boys Tas Smith married Doris Firth, the daughter of a very big caterer in Footscray and when they asked me to be bridesmaid it was very exciting, especially as I'd been very excluded from Vera's wedding when I was 14 1/2.

The reception was held in the Footscray Town Hall - they did become rather snobby - we last saw them at Bill's funeral.

Looking back, I think it did a lot to help me overcome an inferiority complex.

I was 18 when the war started. Mum used to have a lot of interstate boys home for tea on Sundays. One Sunday, Vera heard that a lot of interstate boys had been taken to the Caulfield Race Course (it had been turned into an Army Camp - so she baked cakes and packed cigarettes and things to take there - she asked Mavis and I to go with her, but we said no - we were meeting some boys - so she went on her own. She said they all looked so lonely and young - she asked if they had any leave to come back home - there were 4 or 5 came with her - When Mavis and I got home and saw all these good looking soldiers playing billiards with Dad! It was very exciting - I married one of them and Mavis another! Vera always said she found both our husbands for us. We walked back to the camp with them already paired off that same night. After that every bit of leave was spent at our place. Then they were moved to Seymour. Dad took us up there on Sundays or they had leave and came down - (sometimes without leave). This was in 1940 - we decided we would marry when the war finished - believing then it would only last months. Col & Frank were then sent overseas to the Middle East. We decided to become engaged and Col sent the money £15 - for the ring. Uncle Ray took me to a jeweller friend to buy it - in 1942 he came back - The troops were returned because the Japanese war had started. They arrived in Adelaide and from there I received a telegram "arrange wedding for Saturday - May 2nd" - Don't know hom Mum managed, but she did - a sit down meal for about 40 people - there were about 6 soldiers in the unit all married at the same time. Roy & Sylve Arnold were one of the couples. We all kept in touch till after your Dad died - but of course I still stayed friends with Roy & Sylve.

 We didn't have much time together  - a few leaves and I went to Bonegilla a few eekends while they were stationed there. Then they were sent to Darwin - by this time I (and two other brides) was expecting a baby. Col returned just in time for the birth 21-11-43 then back to camp. Very little leave and then was sent to New Guinea. Gerald was 18 months old when he returned.

During this time Dad bought the orchard at Wantirna South and put a manager in the shop. Mum never really liked the orchard - Dad loved it. There was no water, phone elecricity or even a septic tank. Dad had a lot to do with the Progress Association who were working hard to get these things but it was after the war before they came.

Dad was also an on-course bookmaker. He was partners with a Jack Doran who held the licence. I forget how it happened but Jack Doran finished owing Dad a lot of money then died before it was aid and Dad couldn't get it from the estate.

Your Dad was quite willing to go into the fruit shop instead of returning to his trade (a Wireless Technician). Ron had nothing else - so Dad talked Ray out of the Fire Brigade (the lure of big money to be made) Vera was very against it and Ray always regretted it.

So the arrangement was Dad & Ray to run the farm and Ron & Col the shop - it didn't last long as Ron's nerves were in a bad way after being PoW for so long. So he went to the orchard and Ray to the shop. We didn't make a lot of money, but we decided by the time we had four children we wanted to get out on our own. (we had 3 children living in the rooms behind the shop). We had built a house in Tyrone St. Ormond and it was there we had Ken. We had a hard job convincing Dad that we wanted to get out. We sold our house and bought a fruit shop in Waverly Road East Malvern. I think we were much happier there working for ourselves. After two years there we had worked the business up to its limit so decided we'd buy a General Store - We tried for the Wantirna South Stroe because even in war years I'd written and told your Dad how I'd love it, or a place like it. Anyway it was not for sale, so we looked at a lot of others and couldn't find anything suitable (you kids were going to Murrumbeena School while we stayed at the farm deciding where to go). Dad and your Dad heard of this shop at Balwyn and went to see it - liked it. so we decided to shelve the General Store idea for a few years.

We had a good business in Balwyn, but after three years heard that the Store at W. South was for sale so made another move.

We were ther just 6 weeks when your Dad died. The only complainthe'd ever mad was that he got a lot of indigestion. He was always sucking Quik Ease. He only went to see the Doctor at Veteran Affairs because I used to say maybe he had an ulcer. He saw them for the first time on the Monday 14th May - came home laughing saying what a wasted day as all he'd done was fill in forms and couldn't remember all the dates of his children's birth.

The next day after a game of golf - he died of a heart attack. I never found out  whether he'd really been examined by a doctor or not. We were just so lucky it was accepted as a heart attack due to his war service. If he had not been in to see them the day before I'm not sure I'd have got the War Widow's Pension.

With a lot of help I got the Milk Bar opened and the Store sold.

From the Milk Bar to Ringwood.

My first job there was for Norm Pincott in East Ringwood in a fruit shop - for a year - then to Manageress of Ringwood High School Canteen (about 3 years) then to Ray Bullock - the opened the Milk Bar when Ray moved to the new shop - sold that - back to Bullocks' - then back to the Milk Bar in Wantirna South - sold that Freehold as well this time. Back to Bullocks again - then when they sold out worked at Holeproof  for 6 weeks (terrible). About this time I bought the house in Bayswater and sold the Ringwood one. Worked in a supermarket in Stud Road for a few months, then to Ferntree Gully High canteen - there three years then moved to Woori Yallock and from there worked another three years at Mooroolbark High canteen.

Gave that up and worked another year at Hazlemere Hospital. Then took on the mail run with Fred - sold the Woori Yallock  house and moved to Alpine Bvd., Launching Place. Cleaned the kindergarten for four years.

We had five years in Alpine - very happy years till Fred got sick - sold Alpine bought the house in Mooroolbark owned it for 10 weeks before coming to the village - looks like the end of the road, as far as moving-