Dream team

Berwick’s Tim and Jane Moore have formed a team in marriage, business, and community service. Both have put their hands up when there was need for someone to take on a job for the community. Nevertheless they are quick to recall the support they received from people when things weren’t going so well such as when illness and disaster struck.
Soon after they were married Jane became ill, was having a baby, and the Ash Wednesday fire took their home and possessions.
Jane was in hospital with husband and family around her when their home was burning down.
They worked through both.
Tim was born at Brighton and perhaps learnt a little about selfdiscipline at an early age because his father was a lieutenant colonel in the Australian Army.
He received his schooling at Haileybury College, firstly at Brighton and then it was on to the Keysborough campus.
He trained as a commerce teacher at Monash University and got his first studentship at Bonbeach High School.
This led to 20 years’ teaching but there was an underlying interest in information technology lurking within him.
They were two young people in the community, apart, but forging their lives when good fortune brought them together at Tim’s year 12 celebrations.
Jane was born at Ferntree Gully, Jane Russell, to Bardi and Margaret Russell.
The Russells owned the Shell fuel agency at Ferntree Gully so the thought of being in business was not something strange to Jane.
She was educated at Monbulk High School and later at St Margaret’s School, Berwick.
Jane probably began her community service when she was made a school captain at St Margarets.
They began dating when Jane was 18 and last month celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary.
Four wheel driving was one of their key interests and Tim proved to be a real handy man when they set out to build their first home.
They said there were a few barbecues around that time and Tim estimated that the roof cost one or two slabs of beer.
Alas, their prized home was lost in the Ash Wednesday fires.
Jane said: “I was in hospital that week.
“I was having a baby and I had a cancer scare.
“These things seem to push losing our house into the background of our lives.
“But we lost everything, our photographs, our memorabilia, our clothes, and really it was very sad.”
This was when they realised the worth of people who came from everywhere to help.
Their main focus then was to get a new home.
“We were newlyweds, but we were given enormous support from our parents and friends.
“People just wanted to help.”
Jane left university to go teaching at St Margarets and they even stayed at St Margarets for a time with Jane the house matron.
Life progressed for the couple and with this, two young children, Jayce and Ebby, were growing under their care.
Jane as a very young girl had worked for Loveridge Brothers, and later in life took a job at the Langmore Lane Clinic.
They were about town, well known, and got themselves on a range of committees.
“When we look back all this gives us a feeling of fulfilment.
“We also experienced really strong support from people.”
One day Jayce broke his arm at school and his parents couldn’t be found.
Friends took over and had him in hospital without much fuss.
The couple said people could be involved in the community even when they had a busy work life.
“We got into things and this let our children mix with a range of people.
“Community can be where and how you make it, but we believe that Berwick still has a strong community fabric.”
Tim became keenly interested in computers during the early 1980s and found this to be helpful because he was a commerce teacher.
“I could see really big benefits and worked on some programs at home.
“This proved to be a pathway for promotion so I went to the Gippsland TAFE for retraining.”
Just as a sideline Tim worked as a wedding photographer so when did he have time to study computer programming?
“I did four years parttime study at Churchill and became a qualified computer science teacher.”
After seven years at Frankston High School he developed a hankering to have his own business.
“I was still happy with teaching, but didn’t want to die wondering ‘what if?’”
With their house paid off, children grown up, and everything going well, the timing was right.
Tim said it was scary, but consoled himself with being able to go back to teaching if it didn’t work out.
They established their business in the home and the calls came in.
“The Yellow Pages got our advertisement wrong and instead of calling us Computer Initiatives listed us for online services.
“We were getting 20 calls a day so we set up a service in our garage and provided what they wanted.
“I had stacks of modems set up in the garage.
“We grew that service, but later sold it.”
Business grew and this meant more and more people calling at the house so the decision was made to buy the office block in Intrepid Street, Berwick, and there they established a strong business.
They now employ 10 people and are one of the biggest computer service providers in the region.
Tim joined the Rotary Club of Berwick and Jane joined Innerwheel.
Both put lots into Rotary and Tim is the current club president.
Both have been and are strong supporters and workers for the Berwick Village Chamber of Commerce and Jane worked the chamber through a sticky time when she took on the role of secretary.
One of their achievements for the chamber was that with Paul Beck from Berwick Auto Electrics they brought the Enterprise Avenue precinct into chamber activities.