Dinner named after grand lady

THE Berwick Pakenham Historical Society has honoured former life member Florrie Thomas by naming its annual dinner the Florrie Thomas Memorial Dinner.
Star News Group proprietor Ian Thomas, guest speaker at the dinner, said his mother was born at Invermay near Ballarat on 5 May 1907.
Mr Thomas said his mother later enjoyed a carefree life with her sister, May, on a property at Burwood where the family ran a poultry farm with 44,000 birds.
“Mum loved those years,” Mr Thomas recalled, “and said on a tape I recorded in 2000:
‘We lived a mile from the school. We walked there each day, meeting up with friends along the way. Of course there were paddocks all around us in those days. We had four teachers and as we got through to sixth grade (qualifying certificate) and eighth grade (merit) we were given more responsibility to look after the younger pupils and run errands for the teachers. With the cemetery opposite the school, often on the way home we saw a funeral — with horses pulling a carriage, on which the coffin was mounted. I was at school when trams were first introduced and we got a halfday off to see the first trams run.’
“She remembered enjoying tennis, church activities and gymnasium classes at night in her spare time,” Mr Thomas said. “She also recalled fondly the zoo her father set up with numerous animals and birds and the many enjoyable hours spent in the swimming pool.
“Using horses and a plough, her father excavated a big area, left an island in the centre and constructed a connecting bridge.
“The water was syphoned out once a year and replaced.”
“She commented: ‘I enjoyed those growing up years. We spent many enjoyable hours with friends in and around the pool. We also had several horses and often went on family outings using the horses and buggy.’
“After completing her schooling and obtaining her merit certificate, Mum had a brief period at home before studying at the College of Domestic Economy, which later became Emily McPherson College.
“But with three aunts (her mother’s sisters) in the nursing profession, she was destined to follow; and that had always been her preferred profession.
“She recalled that first she had to produce a health certificate and then be interviewed by a committee.
“She began training as a nurse at the Royal Children’s Hospital and many memories lingered during her lifetime of those very enjoyable and yet very challenging youthful years.
“Long after her nursing days and right up to the turn of the century she retained a keen interest in the Royal Children’s Hospital League of Former Trainees and Associates, taking out a life membership in the year 2003.
“During the period between 1932 and 1933 Mum’s lifestyle was about to change.
“Relatives living at Pakenham Upper asked if they could bring two friends to Mum’s parents’ home in Burwood.
“This was agreed and the two people turned out to be Mum’s future husband, Herb, and his sister Trixie.
“Several weeks later, when Mum visited those friends at Pakenham Upper, there was the fleeting remark by one of the hosts: ‘I bet Herb Thomas will turn up today.’
“Sure enough he arrived on his motor bike and the rest is history.
“They were engaged in 1932 and married on Saturday 15 April 1933 at Burwood Methodist Church.
“The following morning they made their long trip to Healesville for their honeymoon, which lasted at least 15 hours, because Herb had to be back at work first thing on Monday morning.
“He was, of course, working in the family newspaper business at Pakenham.
“Life had changed and she immediately helped with the proof reading and assisted on publication days.
“In those times the Gazette was printed on Thursday nights, but often they didn’t finish until 2 or 3am Friday.
“Production night was a team effort, Herb turned the flywheel on the printing machine by hand, Trixie fed the blank sheets into the machine, where they were collected by grandpa Thomas and taken to the family home where my grandmother and mum did the folding and wrapping of the 600 newspapers.
“What a difference these days with the family newspaper company printing something like an aggregate of one million copies a week.”