By Graeme Kitney YHS 1949-1953
The first member of the Kitney family to arrive in Yallourn was my father Maurie, who commenced with the SEC in 1928. His first term of employment lasted until the depression when he, along with many other single men, was “laid off”. After his marriage in 1931 he was re-employed as a Time-Keeper at the Briquette Factory and he and my mother Lorna returned to Yallourn where they lived in Narracan Avenue and later were living at 9 Tyers Avenue when I was born in 1937 assisted into the world by Doc Andrews. It must have been momentous occasion as my father walked from Tyers Avenue to the hospital and it wasn’t until after he arrived that he remembered that he had two bicycles in the shed.
In the 30s Maurie and Lorna were very active in the sporting and social activities of the town; Maurie at one stage was President of the Cricket Association, Treasurer of the Football Club and with Hughie Graham founded the Swimming Club and was the original Secretary. Lorna was an instructor with the swimming club for many years.
Maurie was also the Editor of The Live Wire newspaper (in his spare time), and member of the 37th Infantry Battalion. After Maurie was called up early in 1940 for active service with the 37th/52nd Battalion we moved to Melbourne to live with my grandparents and Lorna traveled back to Yallourn by train to edit the paper. She continued to do this until someone reported to the SEC that she was doing the job that they were paying my father to do. How good were their records! The person who reported her took over the job as editor.
In the 30s Maurie and Lorna also organized many dances and balls that were held in St John’s and help run the picture shows and in the late 50s Maurie and my sister Jill were members of the Yallourn Theatre Group.
We didn’t return to Yallourn immediately after my father’s discharge. It was 1949 before we arrived back, with the addition to the family of my sister Jill (High School 1958 – 1961) and on our return we lived with Claude and Ollie Hayes, parents of Kath and Lexie, at 1 Broadway West, before moving to Hernes Oak to live with my Uncle Charles (Buck) Kitney and his family. We then moved to 45 Boolarra Avenue, East Newborough and eventually back to 1 Broadway West.
My first class at the High School was 2C, with Chookie Churchill and Ken Hayes. Having attended a private school in Melbourne I was not ready for the “welcome” provided by Chookie and Ken, who went out of their way to make my life miserable for a month or so. I’m not sure whether they gave me the nickname “Steak”, the same as my cousin Ray, but I suspect they did. From the first term everyone in Yallourn called me Steak, including the teachers and the Rev. J Harvey Brown at St John’s and if I was called by my correct name I didn’t respond. At the end of first term when my exam results came through, much to my surprise, I was in the top five, so I was promoted to 2A and reverted to my normal place in class just below the middle.
I probably spent more time at the High School concentrating on sport than study, probably encouraged by that wonderful Chemistry and sports master Jock Stewart, who did enthuse in me an appreciation of Chemistry and made the subject so interesting. I suppose my sporting activities helped me to be accepted by my peers but needless to say my end of year results reflected my lack of attention to study. It was probably my swimming ability that saw me elected to the Swimming Club committee at the age of 14, the first junior ever elected to the committee a position I held until leaving Yallourn to attend Agricultural College in 1954.
Another teacher who will forever remain in my memory was “Slogger” Mitchell. He arrived at the start of 1951 my second year at the High School and during one third form period he advised me “For someone who’s been at the High School for three years you should have more sense”. Being a quick thinker I replied “I’ve only been here two” and found myself lying on the floor looking at him after his hit to my head knocked me out of my desk. On regaining my seat he asked what I said and I repeated my reply and he his reaction, regaining my seat he again asked me to repeat my reply, which I did but adding “Sir” at the end. His response was “That’s better and don’t forget the Sir in future”.
Over the years at school I had many occasions to be introduced to the strap, whatever has happened to corporal punishment? But the one that stands out was the day we had a big snow fall and after spending lunch time throwing snowballs I took some into class and continued when I thought Ian Wynd wasn’t looking. I’m not sure if anyone has had “six of the best” on frozen hands, but it’s not a pleasant experience.
Like most people who lived in Yallourn I thought it was a wonderful place with the best facilities of any town in Victoria, though I admit I was rather sad to see the old swimming pool replaced with the Olympic pool. The old pool didn’t have the benefit of chlorination and the facilities of the new pool, but it had a larger area to indulge in our hours of water “chasey”, which was the only swimming training we did in those days and what if it had a foot of mud on the bottom and the occasional black snake swim out of the bulrushes, we still loved the old pool. Our training method was very successful, for in later years when I came home from college for the summer break we managed to dominate the swimming carnivals throughout Gippsland, though having Lois Gust and Bill Davey in the team helped.
The SEC was like a big family and everyone was part of that extended family and like many people who lived in Yallourn I have many happy memories of my time there. As well as providing a home and other facilities the SEC provided employment for many members of my family, my father and his two brothers, my mother, three of my cousins and later in my life, myself.
When the SEC was privatized I had been employed by them for nearly 24 years, which when added to all the other family members’ years of service gave a combined total of around 165 years of Kitney employment in the SEC.
One of the saddest days in my life was the day I returned for the last football game played in Yallourn, followed by the BBQ under the verandah of the old General Store and the function in Kernot Hall. The Town Square reminded me of a scene from “On the Beach”. Newspapers were blowing around everywhere; the door of the phone box outside the Post Office, with a missing hinge was blowing back and forth in the wind. Empty shops some with cracked windows gave one a feeling of gloom and despair, and it was only the company of all the past residents that helped brighten the day.
The next member of the family, Wally Kitney arrived in Yallourn in 1933 when the open cut was in flood. After the flood receded he started driving electric locos in the open cut for many years, before becoming a bucket wheel dredge operator.
Wally’s wife Mabel and their three children, Maurice, Ray (Steak) and Doreen moved to Yallourn to join him in 1935 and lived at 23 Latrobe Ave before moving to 42 Latrobe Ave.
Maurice attended Yallourn Primary School from 1935 till 1941, moving to the 6th Grade at Yallourn High School and then to Yallourn Technical School for three years before serving his apprenticeship with the SEC as an electrical fitter from February 1947 until Feb 1952, when he left Yallourn in April 1952 to move to WA.
Ray (Steak) attended the Primary School from 1937 to 1942 then the Yallourn Technical School before serving his apprenticeship as a motor mechanic with the SEC. He is probably best remembered for playing football for Yallourn (Blues) until he left in 1960 to follow his brother to WA.
Doreen was at Yallourn Primary School 1939 to 1944, then Yallourn High School 1945-1948 before leaving to work in the General store for 6 years.
The next Kitney brother to arrive in Yallourn was Charles, known to everyone since childhood as “Buck”, in fact is was suggested that you were tempting fate to call him Charles. Buck arrived in Yallourn in late 1944 having been discharged from the 37/52nd Battalion early due to ill health.
He lived with Clara, his aunt and Mick Hehir for some time before being joined by his wife Elsie and son Garry. They later built a home in Hernes Oak where the family lived until his retirement.
Buck and Elsie had three children, Garry, Maureen and June. June and myself were the only Kitneys born in Yallourn. They all attended primary school in both Hernes Oak and Yallourn. Garry then attended the Tech. School from 1956 to 1959. Maureen the High School between 1958 to 1961 and June also attended the High School from 1966 to 1969
Clara (nee Kitney) was my grandfather’s sister and she with her partner Mick Hehir provided accommodation for many people in Yallourn. I noticed in a previous publication that other people also lived with the Hehirs but I don’t have any other information about her life in Yallourn.
As many other contributors to other Yallourn publications have indicated, the town and community spirit will always hold a special place in my life and I feel privileged to be able to claim that Yallourn was my home and birthplace.
To modify a quotation; “A town dies twice, first when it’s demolished and the second time when the last person who remembers the town dies.”
I wish to thank all those who are working to ensure that the town of Yallourn never dies.