CURTIS Fay Doreen                                         

Researched and compiled by Gordon Freegard 2022
Acknowledging information gathered from many sources including a 2011
oral history interview by Gigi Hesterman for the Kalamunda & Districts Historical Society.

Fay was born at Barton’s Mill, near Pickering Brook, where her father George William Gibbs, was a saw doctor, on 17th July 1930. Fay’s mother Olive (nee Brown) never got to hospital for the birth so the grandmother delivered her. She weighed only about 5 pounds.

Fay’s parents married in 1929, her mother was 17 and her father was 19. Her mother, was from a family of ten children, and was born 25th March 1912 in Mount Helena. Her father was born in Kalgoorlie. He unfortunately died on 24th November 1949 at 39 from a brain tumour.

FAY DOREEN CURTIS (nee GIBBS)      #1
 

OLIVE GIBBS (nee BROWN)     #2
 

GEORGE GIBBS      #3
 

Grandfather John Joseph Brown, had a team of horses that would “snig” the logs when they were cut down and drag them to load on the log train to take to the mill. They worked the whole week out in the bush only returning home to the mill for the weekends. All his sons went into the same trade.

Fay’s mother, Olive worked at the boarding house at Barton’s Mill that her mother ran. They provided all meals for the single men at the mill. They baked their own bread, made jam all using wood stoves.

Growing up, at Barton’s Mill, the family had a sulky. Her grandmother would travel to Perth by train to buy food in bulk – flour, sugar, tinned food etc. The food was kept in drums to protect it from pests and a cooler was used for butter etc. Most people had their own pigs and chickens which were used for meat.
 

JOHNNY BROWN'S HOUSE AT BARTON'S MILL     #4
 

Jimmy Crabb from Crabb’s Store at Kalamunda served the district delivering groceries once a week.

After Barton’s Mill closed her family moved to Smailes’ Mill, about six miles from Karragullen when she was about six years old.

FAY GIBBS WITH BABY SISTER MYRTLE     #5
 

 GEORGE GIBBS WITH HIS FOUR GIRLS PLUS A FRIEND     #6
POSSIBLY NIECE JEAN GIBBS
 

OLIVE GIBBS WITH HER FOUR GIRLS PLUS A FRIEND, POSSIBLY NIECE JEAN GIBBS      #7
 

At Smailes’ Mill, groceries were delivered twice a week by Roy Gray from Karragullen. The children rode about a mile to Carinyah Forestry Settlement where there was a school. School was held at a house in Carinyah. All grades were in one room and the school catered for up to Year six. At Carinyah there was cricket and tennis clubs and also dances. After that the children went away to school or did correspondence. Fay went to Kent Street School in Victoria Park boarding at her Aunty’s house. She became very homesick and eventually returned home and did her schooling by correspondence.

There was no hospital at all in the area. Home remedies were used. More serious injuries were attended to by Dr. Strike in Kelmscott. Her Dad was a great believer in home remedies and they were given cod liver oil and things like that as well as plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. They never know about things like aspirin and the like.
 

CARINYAH SCHOOL     #8
 

17 YEAR OLD FAY AT CARINYAH TENNIS CLUB 1947    #9
 

During her teenage years she attended dances that were regularly held in the Carilla hall at Pickering Brook nearly every week. The local shop keepers, the Beards, providing the music. Bert played the drums and Alice played the piano. She was just absolutely wonderful and could make the piano talk. They were very popular with nearly everyone at the mill attending. There was a couple of people that had trucks and they would take everyone on the back of their truck. There were no seatbelts or anything like that. Everybody would just climb aboard, cold, rain or whatever, and that was how they got to the dances. The young ones would make sandwiches for supper and a lady who had cows would make coffee in a big copper.

Social life continued Sunday afternoons with tennis at Carinyah Forestry Settlement. Fay played a lot of Tennis while sisters all played hockey. Sister Pam became hockey Queen and won a free trip to Melbourne.

The mill operated five days a week. A truck from the Mill would take a lot of the single men done to Kelmscott where they would catch a bus to Perth. Then the truck would go down and pick them up Sunday night, and bring them back for work.

During WW2, Fay’s father went away and her mother was left to tend for the four children by herself. She didn’t like it and became very depressed. Luckily he was not away very long and because of his occupation as a saw doctor was classified as an essential service, and returned to work at the mill.

There was rationing of butter, sugar and tea during the war years. They were allowed a pound of butter and half a pound of tea a week with coupons. They were lucky as Fay was a bit sweet on one of the boys that delivered the groceries. If anyone didn’t want their butter and he had a spare pound of butter he would hand it to her Mum.
 

HOCKEY PLAYER PAM GIBBS    #10
 

After finishing her schooling by correspondence Fay did a course on dressmaking. Because her Mum couldn’t afford to buy clothes, she sewed all the clothes for her sisters until she turned 16. Fay and her younger sister at 14 obtained work at Illawarra Orchard, Karragullen. They rode seven miles to and from work each day on a pushbike.

At Illawarra they picked and packed fruit along with the Land Army Girls during the war years. Five of the Land Army Girls ended up marrying local boys and settled in the district.
 

MYRTLE AND FAY GIBBS PACKING APPLES AT ILLAWARRA ORCHARD      #11
 

Fay met John “Blue” A. M. Curtis, who was a timber worker at Smailes’ Mill. They got engaged in January 1950. Later in May that year “Blue” was involved in a serious accident near the Roleystone. Whilst driving a large truck laden with timber swerved sharply to avoid a turning car at a corner that was obscured by the high banks on the side of the road. The rain soaked bank gave way and the truck overturned into the ditch. Timber smashed into the cab and was scattered everywhere. Luckily “Blue” escaped injury. Fay and “Blue” married on 6th June 1951 at St. Peters Church, Victoria Park.

Shortly after her father’s death, the mill owners required the mill house in which the Gibbs family were living. That was when “Blue” said he would take over the house, pay the rent and Fay’s Mum and sisters could live there with them.
 

FAY WITH MRS. R. CURTIS      #12
AT KELMSCOTT SHOW OCTOBER 1948
 

SANITARIUM  WEETBIX FACTORY AT CARMEL     #13
 

Later when three of the girls were working, her Mother managed to save up and buy a small block of land in Ash Road, Carmel on which she built a little cottage. She obtained work at the Sanitarium Weetbix Factory in Carmel. Fay’s sister also obtained work there. They could walk down the hill and over the road and they were there.  

Fay and “Blue’s” their first child was a boy, Darral, born in 1952. Followed by a girl, Donna, two years later, and then another boy, Brett, a year after that. Fay was a keen tennis player while they both were fanatic football followers.

In 1971 their first son died in a car accident when he was 19. He was out with his mate in a little old car. Seat belts were not around then. It was a wet night and they were coming home from work and took a corner a little too wide and Darral got thrown out and the car rolled on him. The driver survived without a scratch.

FAY'S SON DARRAL WORKING ON MAC BEARD'S TRUCK      #14
 

FAY'S SON DARRAL WORKING ON MAC BEARD'S TRUCK       #15
 

They then bought a little weatherboard house in Recreation Road, and moved to Kalamunda where her husband started working for the Kalamunda Shire. For 33 years he drove machinery for the Shire. Later they moved to a larger house in Kirkdale Road which proved great for their children’s schooling as the school was nearby.

There wasn’t a lot of entertainment for the children in Kalamunda in those days but most children played sports. The girls played hockey while the boys played boxing or football. Portwines had a bakery and about half past six or seven o’clock you’d smell the hot bread coming out of the oven. The smell was absolutely great. One of her kids – sometimes the two of them – would ride their bikes down there to get a hot bread roll for lunch that day or for their father’s lunch. Portwines delivered their bread to the whole of Kalamunda by horse and cart.
 

FAY AND BLUE ON HOLIDAYS AT ROCKINGHAM      #16
 

The annual family holidays were a Mandurah for a fortnight at a time. Later on they bought a caravan and left it stay down there at the Peninsula Caravan Park so they could use it on weekends and the holidays.

Fay describes herself as a strict parent, and a bit possessive. Her children worked at the orchards packing fruit on the holidays to earn pocket money.

Fay worked at Woolworths (where Bunnings are now 2022) for six years after her son died and then became “key lady” at the Kalamunda High School which she did for ten years. It involved opening up the school in the mornings and putting the heaters on. It was very convenient because the school was virtually just across the road from where they lived.

Sadly Fay's husband "Blue" died aged 68 following a stomach operation.

Fay was a keen supporter of the West Coast Eagles and also enjoyed a fling at the Casino. Alway letting everyone know of her wins but nothing of the losses. Her home was always open for the family visits which she really enjoyed.

Every endeavour has been made to accurately record the details however if you would like to provide additional images and/or newer information we are pleased to update the details on this site. Please use CONTACT at the top of this page to email us. We appreciate your involvement in recording the history of our area.

References:                 Article:      Gordon Freegard
                                                 Kalamunda & Districts Historical Society
                                                

                                 Images:    Kalamunda & Districts Historical Society     1
                                                 Curtis Family Collection      2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 15, 16
                                                 Beard Family Collection      4, 10
                                                 The West Australian          8
                                                 Tom Price                        11
                                                 Battye Library                   13

Copyright : Gordon Freegard 2008-2023