MISCELLANEOUS:

Asthma: Wilf Keenan suffered badly from asthma all his life. In his childhood (probably in 1918) it was decided that for health reasons he should move out of the mountainous region of Batlow to a milder climate. Consequently he was sent to live with relatives from the Skein side of the family, in Wagga Wagga. It was there that he went to primary school. He may have stayed there for a few more years. But later he worked in various fruit growing areas of NSW, including Batlow. It wasn't until 1969 - with the discovery of salbutamol - that he obtained effective temporary relief from asthma. By then he was 59 years of age.

History. Compiled from a number of sources but mainly from the man himself:  Wilfred Keenan was born on 15th January 1910 in Batlow, NSW. He went to school in Batlow and Wagga. His first job was with a motor mechanic in Batlow. Not long after that he went to Wagga where he worked in a barber shop owned by his uncle Jack Skein. In 1926 he returned to Batlow and began work at the packing house.(See reference by HV Smith dated 9th April 1938.) On some weekends he worked at Brick Bradford's barber shop. Throughout the 1930s he worked mainly at the Batlow Packing House. During seasonal breaks he worked at the Gosford Packing House (1931), The Summit, Queensland (1932), the Selbest Packing House. Griffith (1933-34), Latrobe, Tasmania (1934) and Orange (1939).(See references from these packing sheds.) During World War 2 he was foreman at the Batlow Packing House. He and his family left Batlow in August 1950. From there they moved to Young, then Leeton, and then, in 1953, to Shepparton, where Wilf and his wife, Venda, remained for the rest of their lives.

References:

Mr HV Smith, General Manager, The Batlow Packing House and Cool Stores Rural Cooperative Society Ltd, 9th April 1938:

"I have very much pleasure in saying that Mr Wilfred Keenan is one of the best and fastest packers of apples and pears who has been in my employ. In my opinion he is one of the best packers in Australia. Mr Keenan has an excellent character and is thoroughly reliable honest and trustworthy. However I cannot speak too highly of his capabilities as a packer. He has had a long experience and thoroughly understands his work. Personally, I regard him as outstanding in this regard an opinion which our Floor Manager also shares. "

Mr B. M. (Field) Newton, Proprietor, The Selbest Packing House, Griffith, 31st January 1934:

"Wilfred Keenan has proved a very reliable and efficient supervisor and packer. I will be very sorry to lose his services, as I can safely say that he is the best man I have had in my employ for the past two years."

F Brand, Manager, The Orange Producers Rural Co-operative Society Ltd, 20th June 1939:

"Mr Wilfred Keenan has been employed as manager of our Fruit Packing House and during that time he has given entire satisfaction. He is keen and has ability well above the average. I wish him well in the future and can recommend him to anyone wanting a good man connected with the Fruit Industry."

Diaries: Wilf kept diaries for many years. Those for the following years have been located and read by the author: 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1940, 1944, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1954, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971,1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979 and 1980. The most common entries by far are particulars of who he worked for and what work he did. He recorded his many jobs, his achievements, his hours of work and his pay. Clearly he worried about being unemployed. He recorded the weather and the days when he was sick. He also wrote of family events, who won the weekend's football game, and the comings and goings of family and relatives.

Interviews/research: Naturally, as Wilf's son, I had many discussions with him and Venda regarding their lives and what they new of their parents and other relatives. An important and lengthy discussion, which I recorded on audio cassette, occurred on 19 March 1991 in Shepparton, when Wilf was 81. We discussed events and examined maps of Batlow and old photographs. This was in the early days of my family research and it helped a lot.

CLICK HERE to see selections and extracts from Wilf's diaries, letters and notebooks

WILF AND VENDA KEENAN WEDDING PHOTO 26 January 1944
TRIBUTE AND DEATH NOTICE APPEARING IN TUMUT & ADELONG TIMES, 14 AUGUST 1998 (Copy supplied by Margaret Sedgwick of Batlow) (The information in this Death Notice was taken from an advertisment placed in the paper by Peter Keenan.)   Photo of women from the Women’s Land Army at the Batlow Packing Shed with Wilfred (Wis) Keenan (foreman) during World War 2 (circa 1944).
PHOTO OF WILF KEENAN Taken a few months before he passed away in 1998 Here he is sitting on the back veranda of his house in Shepparton enjoying the late afternoon sun.
Photo March 1996 Wilf Keenan, Bruce Wilkinson and Neville Keenan in Batlow at the funeral of Claude Skein.
Photo (c.1972) of the church where Wilfred Keenan and Venda Nolan were married - ST JOHN'S ANGLICAN CHURCH, YOUNG, NSW WILFRED KEENAN - employment card as Fruit Inspector 1940-1954. [Source: Inspector, Plant Diseases Act, Agriculture NRS-12395-1-[8/2664]-Keenan, Wilfred Walter, IE9490907. Museums of History NSW.]

The headstone/plaque on the grave of Wilfred Keenan. It reads: "With us forever, in the way we live, in the way we love."

Venda Cavell Keenan (nee Nolan) (my mother) was born in Warialda, NSW, in April 1916. Her connection with the Coulton family comes through her mother, Alga Vera Coulton who was born in Warialda in June 1891. Alga was the daughter of John Richard Coulton, born in January 1870 in Tamworth, NSW, and Sarah Jane Chapman, born in May 1864 in Kingston or Armidale, NSW.

John and Sarah Coulton

John Richard Coulton and Sarah Jane Chapman were married at Tamworth in August 1890. Apart from Alga, they had another daughter, Mona Barbara Coulton (born in June 1892 in Manilla, NSW, and married in April 1914 to Alexander Hardcastle).

Sadly, by 1911 the marriage of John and Sarah Coulton had failed, which led to John Coulton petitioning the court for dissolution of their marriage on the grounds that Sarah had "deserted" the family. The divorce was granted in May 1913. An account of aspects of the (apparently unhappy) life of Sarah Coulton (nee Chapman) has been written by Coulton family historian Jeff Seymour (as part of the paper mentioned below). But it is beyond the scope of this piece to repeat that here.

I have obtained a copy of the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage filed by John Richard Coulton in November 1911 (Petition No. 8011). It includes a long letter written by Sarah to her daughter, Mona, on 22 June 1912. The letter expresses her deep love for her children, gives details of her recent history and states that she was forced to leave John when the children were 16 and 17, writing: "You have lied in your bed night and after night and heard quite enough rows. I could not put up with it any longer".

Henry and Alga Nolan

Alga Vera Coulton married Henry Francis Nolan (born in Nundle, NSW, in August 1888) at the Holy Trinity Church, Manilla, NSW, on 20 February 1912. The wedding was an important event for the town and was reported in glowing terms in the Manilla Express, 24 February 1912. Again, it is beyond the scope of this piece to republish that newspaper report. (Those interested may view it in Trove, a website run by The National Library of Australia.)

In "The Coulton Family Tree", a paper by Jeff Seymour, Jeff summarises the life of Alga and Henry Nolan from 1912 to 1919 as follows:
 

"Alga and HenryNolan lived at Warialda briefly after their marriage and moved to Young, NSW in 1912. They lived there for approximately one year. They moved back to Warialda and operated a property called "Alpine", which was adjacent to that of John Richard Coulton's " Avondale" (at Hadleigh, near Gravesend, NSW) for a few years. Before 1920 they had moved back to Young where they lived the remainder of their lives." (Source: The Coulton Family Tree, by Jeff Seymour, grandson of Mona B Hardcastle (nee Coulton), circa 1980, supplied by Dot Reid.)

Alga and Henry Nolan had six children (five boys and one girl). Three children - Ronald Coulton Nolan, Venda Cavell Nolan and Jack Coulton Nolan - were born in Warialda between November 1914 and June 1917. The fourth - Douglas Coulton Nolan - was born in Gravesend in February 1919. The other two – Harold (Bob) Coulton Nolan and Errol Coulton Nolan – were born in Young in September 1920 and April 1922 respectively.

Jeff Seymour's account of the lives of Alga and Henry Nolan continues as follows:

"Alga was mainly occupied with raising her family, with gardening being her main interest. Henry Nolan was mainly involved in water boring during the 1920s and 1930s, although he did do some droving. In the 1940s he was forced to remain closer to home, since Alga was in ill-health. He started a hardware business in a shed in his back yard. Later he built a shop in Elizabeth Street, Young and conducted the business from there. Alga was in ill-health throughout the late 1940s and died on 19 December 1950, aged 59 years. Henry later remarried. He died on 5 April 1964. Both Alga and Henry Nolan are buried at the Young Cemetery." (Source: The Coulton Family Tree, by Jeff Seymour, grandson of Mona B Hardcastle (nee Coulton), circa 1980, supplied by Dot Reid.)

Venda and Wilf Keenan

As already mentioned, Venda Cavell Nolan spent most of her childhood and her formative years as an adult in Young. She lived in the family house located at 77 Brock Street. In 1942-43 her brothers – Errol, Bob, Jack and Doug – enlisted in the defence forces and saw active service in World War 2. Venda played a part in the war effort by working in the Young ammunition factory.

Venda met her husband to be, Wilfred Walter Keenan (born in Batlow, NSW, January 1910), at a dance in Young in about 1940. He was visiting the area as a fruit inspector.

Batlow, NSW

Venda and Wilf were married in January 1944 at St John's Anglican Church, Young. They made their home in Batlow, where Wilf was employed as a farm labourer, a renowned fruit packer and, during the war years, foreman of the Batlow Packing House. This was also where his mother, Florence, and the rest of his family lived. (His father, James, who was considerably older than Florence, died in 1942. He and Florence had separated well before then.)

During the years 1944 to 1950 Venda and Wilf had three children, Barbara (born Tumut, February 1945), Peter (born Young, December 1947) and Geoffrey (born Batlow, September 1949). During this time Venda helped Wilf with care of his ailing mother, Florence, and also returned to Young from time to time to help care for her own mother, Alga, who was also in bad health.

Wilf's mother, Florence, suffered for many years with a mental illness, which was probably depression. Tragically, in February 1948 she committed suicide by drowning herself in a creek near her home. The loss was devastating for Wilf, particularly as it was he who discovered his mother's body.

Young, NSW

After that tragic event and with the knowledge that, back in Young, Alga's health was deteriorating, Wilf and Venda decided to leave Batlow. In August 1950 Wilf accepted a job as live-in manager of "Virginia Orchards" in Young, and within days the family packed up and moved there. Here, in addition to caring for her husband and children, Venda looked after her own mother and father, who lived nearby in the family home.

But unfortunately there was little that Venda or her brothers and their wives could do for Alga, and she passed away at Young's Sacred Heart Hospital in December 1950. She was only 59. Venda was 34.

As Alga's only daughter in a family which had five boys, Venda must have been very close to her mother. The two of them would have been tasked with keeping house, preparing meals, etc., for her father and the boys. Years later her own children would sense that Venda must have taken Alga's death very hard, for she never forgot the anniversaries of the death and mentioned it to them every time one came around.

For two and half years after Alga's death, Venda and her family lived in Young. It appears they then left Young because of bitterness, turmoil and financial hardship brought about by her father's relationship with, and decision to marry, Freida Smyth, a 52 year-old woman from Sydney. (Henry was 64.)

The details of this chapter are not clear, but broadly speaking it appears (1) that after Alga's death, and after Wilf's job at "Virginia Orchards" finished (Dec 1951) he, Venda and their children moved in with Venda's father at his Brock Street home; (2) that Wilf had been doing, and continued to do, a considerable amount of maintenance and improvement work on Henry's house, as well as helping Henry run his hardware business; (3) that when Freida came on the scene she rubbed those who loved Henry the wrong way and they became suspicious of her motives; (4) that after Henry and Freida married (March 1953, in Sydney) Freida insisted that Venda and her family move out of the Brock Street home.

Wilf's diary records that there was a "showdown" with Freida early in May 1953. A month later his family packed up and left Young for Leeton, NSW. However they only stayed there for three months, before moving on to Shepparton, Vic, in September 1953.

It appears Henry's marriage to Freida was relatively short, for in the early 1960s he visited Venda and family in Shepparton a couple of times but travelled without Freida. Moreover, after Henry died in Young in 1964 he was buried beside his first wife, Alga Coulton.

Shepparton, Vic

It was in the town of Shepparton that Venda and Wilf made their home and lived for the rest of their lives. They rented (and later purchased) a Housing Commission house at 6 Regent Street. Wilf found work wherever he could, but mainly in fruit packing sheds on orchards and as a builder's labourer and carpenter. Venda continued in her roles as housekeeper and caring for Wilf and the children, always striving, along with Wilf, to ensure that the children were well-fed, clean, well-dressed, and well-mannered. Both Venda and Wilf were hard workers of sober habits, neither of them drinking, smoking or gambling (although they did buy "Tatts" tickets!)

Venda was a friendly and talkative person and soon became part of the community in the housing estate and soon made many friends amongst them and the churchgoers who attended the town's Church of England (St Augustine's).

She was a quietly religious person who attended church every Sunday. And although poor, she always took along a little money to donate when the plate was passed around. She required that her children attend Sunday school and was pleased that they at least continued going to church in their teens up to their Confirmation. But though religious, Venda was not one to talk about her beliefs or foist them on others.

Through the church Venda became involved in several charitable bodies, including the Eye and Ear Auxiliary, the Arthritis Foundation of Victoria, St Augustine's Church Guild and the Red Cross Association. She regularly attended meetings of these bodies, worked on their street stalls and became treasurer at two of them. She was also involved in school mothers' clubs.

As mentioned, Venda was a sociable person. She loved nothing more than meeting up with neighbours and friends for a "cuppa". Mostly this happened at her home, where the kettle was always on the boil in case a neighbour or friend happened to drop in. She was a good neighbour, always willing to provide help when required. She grew to love watching Australian Rules football at the local grounds and on television. (With a husband and children who were mad about the game, and a son-in-law who played and coached at a high level, this was not surprising.) As to cricket, she was less enthusiastic, preferring the television highlights to the three or four day tests, which she moaned about to her husband who would happily sit for hours, glued to the TV set.

Although Shepparton is far from Young, Batlow and Warialda, Venda kept in touch with her family, with Wilf's family and her many friends in Young and Batlow. Also, at least annually she corresponded with Dot Reid of Belmont, NSW, a daughter of her aunty Mona Hardcastle (nee Coulton). At least once she visited Dot and her family for a Coulton reunion. Her father and her brothers and their families occasionally visited her in Shepparton, and she and her family went back to Young whenever there was a Nolan family reunion. She loved those opportunities to catch up.

After ten years in Shepparton, Venda and Wilf began being blessed with grandchildren. In 1963 their daughter, Barbara, married Rowland Crosby, and between 1964 and 1973 they had four children – Shaun, Kerri, Leigh and Scott. In 1971 their second son, Geoffrey, married Rosemary O'Brien, and between 1973 and 1984 they had six children – Justin, Jaclene, Kyle, Heath, Luke and Sarah. In 1974 their eldest son, Peter, married Margaret Andrews, and between 1981 and 1988 they had three children – Rodney, Martin and Belinda. In all, "Nan" and "Pa" (as they were called) had thirteen grandchildren. For her part Venda referred to the grandchildren as the "nips".

So, through most of the 1960s, the whole of the 1970s and most of the 1980s Venda and Wilf – but mostly Venda – spent plenty of their time enjoying the "nips" and watching them grow up. Barbara's children were born in Shepparton and spent most of their young lives there, although there were times when they moved to Melbourne, Devonport and Hobart as Rowland pursued his professional career playing and coaching Australian Rules football. All of Geoff's children were raised in Shepparton, where Geoff worked, and later ran a business, as a motor mechanic. As Peter had moved to Melbourne, where he worked as an accountant, his children did not have as much contact with their Keenan grandparents. However, they got to know and love Venda and Wilf – and vice versa - on the family's frequent trips up the Hume and Goulburn Valley highways to Shepparton.

Venda was, in effect, the family historian. Although she never created family trees, she kept diaries and note books in which she recorded numerous birthdays, deaths, marriages, anniversaries, addresses, phone numbers, changes in addresses and phone numbers, and events that occurred – even the seemingly trivial, such as who she'd had a "cuppa" with. She kept all photos, taken and received, and went to the trouble of writing on the back the names of those pictured and the date and place of the event. She was the "go to" person whenever her children needed information on relatives, addresses and phone numbers.

She carefully read the local newspapers and clipped out all news reports and obituaries that had anything to do with her family or people she knew. She collected memorabilia whenever she went on a trip. Annually she sent (and received) dozens of Christmas cards to her relatives and friends, including those friends she had in Young and Batlow. She also sent them letters and postcards. She took enormous interest and pride in the lives and activities of her family and her grandchildren.

Venda did these things even though throughout the last 10 to 15 years of her life her health failed, and she suffered badly from arthritis in her feet and hands, and a stomach ulcer. She also had heart problems and a bout of pneumonia. In 1990 a close friend wrote, affectionately: "you certainly are a great old battler".

In 1992 Venda caught pneumonia and died from heart failure in the Goulburn Valley Hospital, Shepparton, on 24 February 1992.

At her well-attended funeral service at St Augustine's on 27 February 1992 the vicar, Father John Price, said, in part:

"Venda has been a very valuable part of this community. In her own particular way she has shared and given of herself to so much. She has been a part of many organisations. .... We have come to thank God for her life and for her witness, especially that witness of hers through the affliction which she had to carry until the day she died. Not an easy affliction, the body being racked with arthritis and the inability in many ways to cope with so much that we take for granted, and yet Venda overcame that and gave of herself so wonderfully, within those organisations she shared, within her family and within the community in general...."

The eulogy prepared by her family concluded as follows:

" Venda was a beautiful person with a heart of gold. A very good wife and a loving and caring mother. She always had a good word for everyone, and she could not see bad in anyone."

Later that day Venda was laid to rest at the Pine Lodge Cemetery, Shepparton East. The headstone/plaque reads, "She Lived For Those She Loved And Those She Loved Remember". (See the photograph displayed above.)(Her husband Wilf was laid to rest beside her in 1998.)

Wilf and his family received dozens of sympathy cards and letters from relatives and friends. For example, two of her friends (Dorothy Basset and Joy Duncan) wrote: "Venda was a real Christian, always doing someone a good turn .... She was loved and respected by all. We were very proud and honoured to call her our friend."

Temporary note:  In 1930 Venda Nolan attended St Gabriel's College, Waverley, Sydney. (Source: her Hymn Book.) The Nolans also lived in Brighton, Melbourne, for a little while.