Brendan Hibbert Design | Graphic Design & Design Education in Perth, Western Australia | Since 2005

My Life – Mum’s Celebration of Life

(Speakers Version)

Bruce’s section
Ann’s Mum (Betty Millie-May) was diagnosed with Tuberculosis (TB) and was admitted to Heatherton Sanatorium when Ann was 4 years old and I was 2 years old. Dad (William John Pawley) engaged a migrant family from Poland, Mr and Mrs Fiedler, and their children to look after Ann and me in return for accommodation. No doubt Mrs Fiedler had enough on her hands from having been in a Concentration Camp – they had tattoos on their arms – difficulties with learning English and four young children, counting us. Ann remembered Mrs Fiedler’s chocolate custard and her making a birthday cake. Ann even learnt to speak some German.

Ann and I weren’t allowed into the Sanatorium (to protect us from TB), so we didn’t see Mum for 2 years. However, Ann recalled sitting by the fishpond in the grounds of the Heatherton Sanatorium and Mum waving to us from a balcony.
Mum eventually came home early 1952, and Colin and David were born. Life was very happy for Ann and me, and memorable. Surrounded by kids growing up in the baby boomer era, there were many friends to play with on the mostly empty street, including riding billycarts down the hill, games like hidey, British Bulldogs, skipping, marbles, and jacks. Dressing up and putting on plays was also popular. Ann remembered these years very fondly. Fintonia Street was our playground until the streetlights came on.

Ann went to a kindergarten “on the bus” and started school a year after she was due to, on account of contracting rubella when 5 years old. This infection led to total deafness in Ann’s left ear.

When David was 6 months old in 1955, Dad transferred to Nathalia Police Station and we lived in the Courthouse Hotel in Nathalia for 6 months until a Commission house came up. Ann had fond memories of town life. We walked to the pictures, we bought ice-cream in cones, we went for rides on a flat-bed trailer behind Shimmy the horse. We bought milk by the pint from a man as his cigarette ash fell onto the surface.

In 1956 we all lay outside on the front lawn to watch the first Russian Sputnik fly over. Ann vividly remembered those star-studded night skies and remained interested in space travel, loving the space display in 1998 in Washington DC.

Colin’s Section
In 1959 Dad left the Police Force and bought a Soldier Settler farm. Ann learned to milk by hand, our house cow, Polly, and later it was Ann’s job to milk the cows late afternoon, while her brothers swam in the channel. Ann remembered loving the ‘big sky’, smell of the hay and the sunsets!

In 1962 Dad and two neighbours went to Western Australia to look at Soldier Settler land in the Denmark-Albany area. Dad put a deposit on a farm (one pound an acre) next to the Pratt family. Mum and I went over to check it out in 1963. We sailed on a ship bound for England and returned home via the Trans-Continental Railway. What a memorable adventure it was, perhaps sowing the seed for my future travels on the Fairstar!

And to think Brendan and his family would end up building a holiday house on Lynda’s land in Denmark 50 years later!

Ann completed High School education at Mac Rob. It was two years of slog, and Ann recalls that she couldn’t let Mum and Dad down by failing. Apparently, they paid for her accommodation – 10 pounds a week – when the milk cheque came in! Ann’s spending money for all extras came from the bank book that she had saved with birthday money. No wonder Ann learnt to be frugal with money!

Rosalie’s Section
In 1965 Ann and I went on to Bendigo Teachers’ College, where she completed her TITC (Trained Infant Teachers’ Certificate). Living two years in Hostel 1, Ann spent her third year in a flat with me, Jenny Mansfield and Jenny Hawkins. Great years, including big world changes such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, with protest songs and folk music, The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and The Seekers, which Ann loved. Ann loved her time at Teachers’ College. Brendan later returned to Bendigo to complete his Graphic Design course at the old teachers’ college, then renamed Latrobe University.

Ann took a job waitressing at a hotel in Apollo Bay and Cowes Guest House. Ann mentioned that the young people she met were “very different” to her teachers’ college friends! Ann graduated with an A in Teaching and a B in Academia.

In 1967 Ann and I hitch-hiked around Tasmania, including hiking the Cradle Mountain Overland Track. Fabulous memories of Youth Hostels and rides! Desire to travel further afield was sowed.

In May 1968, Ann received news from her Dad that her Mum had gone to St Henry’s Hospital on St Kilda Road. She travelled down immediately, saw her Mum in a bad way and left her favourite flowers, violets, but the next morning they were advised that her Mum had passed away.

Ashley’s Section
In 1969 Mum joined the Kooweerup Light Opera Society, taught Sunday School and played tennis.
Pa encouraged Ann to travel overseas, as much as anything to come to terms with the loss of Mum.

Ann left on the “Fairstar” for Southampton in 1971, the day after Bruce and Merrilee married.

Thus began Mum’s two-year trip overseas. Mum and friends hitch-hiked throughout England, Scotland and Wales – youth hostelling – and hired a car to circumnavigate Ireland! Ann and friends took a Contiki tour to Scandinavia and Russia. They travelled to Spain, Portugal and Morocco, as far as Tangiers by public transport and stayed at pensions. They only touched on Morocco and Tangiers. Mum was later to travel Morocco after Meja was born in Frankfurt (as Morocco was “unfinished business”!).

On Christmas 1971 Mum went on a trip to Austria to learn to ski, and we were later to ski as a family, even though Dad was not so keen.

On return Mum was put in touch with Ros Straughan, who turned out to become the best travelling companion. They toured Eastern Europe in her little van, and into Israel where they worked on a kibbutz near the Lebanese border – an incredible experience. Mum learned to eat green olives, and make what Dad later called “eggy bread.” They hitched the length of Israel.

In August 1972 Ros and Mum decided to travel back to Australia via Africa, London to Nairobi via Land Rovers. They then hitch-hiked to Cape Town – again without incident! They saw game parks and the raw side of Africa, Pygmies, apartheid and the Sahara with its Tuaregs. They travelled through the length of Algeria into the Sahara, which was amazing, as Noudjoum, Cameron’s wife, is originally from Algeria.

Colleen’s Section
In 1973 a phone call to the Education Department landed Ann a job at Collins Street Primary, Morwell. Ann was introduced to the St Keirans’ Moe Youth Group, at Ambleyn (Amble Inn). Through this group Ann met Rex, with whom an attraction was instantly realised. Ann truly fell in love with “the love of her life”.

One of Ann’s first dates was flying a Cessna. Rex proposed about 6 weeks after they met, at his holiday house at Phillip Island, and they were married 20th October 1973. Cameron was born the year afterwards. Ann has written that life was finally realised then like no other earlier period in her life.

Rex and Ann built 15 Mulcare Crescent Churchill for $19,000. Brendan was born in 1976.

Rex and Ann brought a new son into the world in 1979. Ashley was the smallest son, yet 20 years later he was their tallest son!

Rex and Ann used to rent out the Phillip Island house for the Christmas holidays, using that opportunity to travel themselves. They travelled to Cairns, to Maroochydore, Adelaide and The Barossa, to the Blue Mountains and to New Zealand, the west coast of the USA, when Cameron was on Rotary Exchange in New Zealand.

In 1996 Janey, the pet dog, had given birth to six magnificent pups and Mum realised her love for these pups equated to being ready for her future grandchildren!

When Cameron went to Uni in Clayton, a friend asked if she could board a student attending Gippsland Monash Uni. Jane came into her life, followed by Polliana, Ada, Suryani, and Khatija – they were like daughters for Ann.

Jan’s Section
The boys grew up, had their 21st birthdays, and Rex and Ann started to think about new interests. They returned to the USA, explored New Mexico, the Anastasi Indian culture, New Orleans, the Oshkosh Air Fly-In and the east coast of the USA.

They learnt to scuba dive, which took them to Fiji.

“Life was SO GOOD. And then suddenly and unexpectedly… it WASN’T.”

On 12 October 2001, whilst on a scuba dive at Merimbula Pier, Rex suffered a cardiac arrest whilst still on the surface.

The years passed with huge support from Cameron, Brendan, and Ashley plus friends such as myself, Kathie D., Ruth, Rosalie, Gwenda, and Colleen.

Now on her own, the first trip she took was to work as a VISE educator at Winton. Then a trip to Central Australia and the Kimberley, which Ann abandoned at Broome – with a story. In 2003, Cameron and Ann caught up with Brendan in Würzburg, and Brendan and Ann travelled through Italy. Later Ann travelled to China, Turkey, France, Morocco, Canada and Alaska, Mexico, South America, Switzerland and cruises with Bruce and Merrilee to the Pacific Islands and Mediterranean Greek Islands.

Visits to Germany and beyond such as Bruges, Berlin, Heidelberg, to visit Cameron and Noudjoum, and to Perth to visit Brendan and Joya, and later Obe, followed.

Ann followed up interests that Rex and Ann had talked about such as volunteering on the Great Victorian Bike Ride and learning golf. She volunteered for Meals on Wheels, joined the Jeeralang Book Club, and redeveloped Rex’s vegetable garden to a native garden.

Through those years Ann hosted more students including Khatija, Lorena and Felicity, three male lecturers, Ebony and Lauren and a number of Chinese lecturers with Monash. One Chinese lecturer did all the cooking!

Cameron had meanwhile relocated to Frankfurt, met Noudjoum, and Brendan to Perth, and met Lynda. Joya and Oberon were born, and Meja-Ann was born. The best event at Mackeys was Cameron and Noudjoum’s Australian wedding. The garden looked beautiful. A wonderful occasion.

Ann loved meeting her new grandchildren and visited them as much as possible. Discovering “Aussie House-Sitting” enabled Ann to stay for extended periods of time in Perth.

Ann loved all her visits to Perth to be with Joya and Obe, making memories such as cricket in the backyard, trampolining and frisbee tossing.

Ann loved visiting Meja and joining in her interests such as gymnastics, aikido and piano, including piano concerts to hear Meja play. We travelled to Strasbourg and Bourg-en-Bresse in France, where I met Noudjoum’s parents, and to Sedona in Arizona. Cameron took Ann on visits throughout California. Ann especially recalled her evenings out with Cameron, including a rooftop restaurant watching the planes land into San Diego.

After 16 years at Mackeys, Ann selected Dalkeith Village in Traralgon, moving in January 2023. Ann continued to grow her friends group through U3A and at the Village, with Current Affairs, History, Music, Book Club, TED Talks and with line dancing at the Village, exercises in Morwell, and Probus.

Ann was especially grateful to her new friends, Marg Noone, Rosemary Dunworth, Judy Horne and especially to her 96-year-old friend in the Village, Elaine Priest. Before she died Ann asked if she would be her adoptive Mum. She agreed.

On 8 June Ann was admitted to St Vincent’s Hospital for an emergency bowel removal when the cancer was first diagnosed. The hope shared by all was for five years with a clinical trial of chemotherapy.

Ann had the most exceptional support from the Village – Jeni Grubb and Jan Riddle are Ann’s go-to “Team Ann”.

So many people reached out during Ann’s cancer journey.

Ann was so impressed with all the support that she was receiving. With Ann’s 79th birthday on 23rd September last year, Ann decided to have a big party – her “80 less 1” birthday celebration!

Ann wrote; “Cameron, Brendan and Ashley ALL came home to SEE ME”