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Voices of the Hunter

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Jack Delaney

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Dorothy Reay née Barrett (1900-1988). Recorded 15 April 1983. Part 1/2

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SummaryDorothy Reay
Recorded 15 April 1983
Part 1 of 2

0:27
Dorothy was born at Wingham in 1900. They lived on Old Maitland Road in 1906. Pat Reay is Dorothy’s younger brother. Kathleen Sherelli married Jack Delaney. Her father cut sleepers for the railway line that ran from Maitland to Cessnock and she remembers the cut on her father’s instep when working on the sleepers. They lived in Maitland in 1904 or 1905 and they cut the sleepers there. They lived at Maitland until her mother died in 1961, though Dorothy had left by then.

2:54
Dorothy left to work in Cessnock in a food shop opposite the old Shire Council, at Ferguslea grocery store owned by Peter Ferguson, in Vincent Street. Billy Lane had a Monumental Masonry in Vincent Street. He had an office next door to Fergusons. Down the back of there was the Letter Cutter, Ellis Roberts. Discusses McDonald’s family members. Dorothy went to school with Sam Unwin and Les Unwin. George Neilly and Dennis Farrell were both bachelors, and won the big lotto.

10:17
Ambrose Murray. Sam Apthorpe married a Murray. Cecilia Apthorpe married Jack Hodgson. Talk of the fence near the school. Dorothy went to that school, and her brother Jack who was three years and five months younger than her, and she had to wait till Jack was five before they would let her go to school as it was so far out and did not want her going alone. When she went to the school the mother was Mother Alphonsus, and Sister Magdalene and Sister Mary Anthony. Sister Mary Anthony was in an accident at Easter time one year after the all-night vigil, and one Nun was killed.

13:07
Sister Mary Anthony taught the Scanlons and Tom Coaldrake and his elder brother Bill Coaldrake. Their sister, Mary Coaldrake, married Fred Barker, and the Coaldrakes lived nearly opposite the school, and their mother cooked the Nuns' dinner every day. Her husband Jack Wakeley was a Tailor - they met because she was a Tailoress for Fred Barker. The Northumberland Hotel was built in 1912. The first man to build a home behind there was Arthur Sarroff and he married Kath Sylvester who had been previously married to Noel King the Barber.

15:59
When Dorothy was at school they only had six classes in the big hall, which was used on Sunday for Mass. Walked for three miles to church and school. They added a small building to the school for first class while she was still at the school. Mr Billy McCrohon and his wife had a little shop at the bottom of the school, it had two rooms and a kitchen and the closed in veranda was the shop, the kids would buy lollies.

17:56
Talk of the Fathers who were there through the years; Father Florence McCauliffe, Father Flynn, Father Bourke, Father Upton and Father Killgallen. The first Father was Florence McCauliffe, he went home to Ireland to see his mother and died there when Dorothy was a school girl. Then Father Killgallen took over, and he was loved by all.

19:39
A man by the name of Adler was thrown by a horse, right near the bridge as you come into town on Allandale Road, and he landed in the creek and died. Father Killgallen had a horse named "Spanker", it was black, and they got Adler out of the creek and put him in a sulky and took him in. There was no ambulance and no hospital then, and they used to have their school picnics where the hospital is now. There was a tin shed and it was on slabs with a tin roof, and they were
always held on the 24th of May on Empire Day.

22:40
The shop in the school grounds was towards the school ground. Jack Barrett is Dorothy’s brother. She went to school with Mick Scanlon, Frank Scanlon, there were five or six of them at school, and they only had one sister Amelia Scanlon, who married Roy Tudor. Henry Scanlon married a Barrett. Bernard "Barney" Stacey used to have a house out on Maitland Road next door to Dorothy, Dick Schultz also lived next door to them, and he was a German fellow. Barney Kemp had the store in 1906 when Dorothy’s family came to town. Talk of locations people lived. They were invited to Christmas at Cruikshank's property, they got pudding with money in it.

27:33
Hubert "Toby" Kempe is the son of Barney, And Toby was married twice, once to Miss Blackwell from Mayfield, had two children Arthur Kempe, and a daughter who married Boa an accountant. Arthur went to war. Russell Kempe is Toby’s brother and was killed in 1915 at Gallipoli. Mrs Kempe used to take a ration of sugar and butter every week out to Dick Schultz as it was not safe for a German to be out in public during the War years, and they wouldn’t serve him. She lost her older son in the War. Mrs Kempe had an old pony named "Creamy" and was not very friendly. In her family she had Russell Kempe, Hubert “Toby” Kempe, Whitby Kempe, Dick Kempe, Kathleen Kempe, Holly Kempe, and a little boy she lost. Talk of the Kempe family stories.

32:32
Dorothy remembers father ploughing with a little pony, and Whitby came over with a horse and ploughed it much faster. Dorothy’s parents went out to Sawyers Gully in the early days to send off and welcome home the boys who went to War. Dorothy worked at the Empire café in Cessnock, alongside the Empire Theatre. Henry's undertakers is where the Wentworth is today. Wilkinson's butcher shop was next door to the Wentworth Hotel. Joe Doyle lived there. John Doyle’s son, he had the coaches and brought the nuns in from the convent. Dorothy went out on the double decker bus (horse drawn) to the picnics, at the time there were about 200 students, six classes. Sister Anthony could be heard miles away when she was teaching. Sister Antomina taught music in the school. Sister Perpetua taught the kindergarteners.

38:22
Lived just before the main road were Andy Jones and almost opposite him was Bill Hutchinson and his wife, their daughter was Hazel Hutchinson. Dorothy went to school with George Gehrig, and Marie Gallagher (Harry Gallagher’s daughter) they all had a birthday on the same day. Jack Gallagher’s land location. Mrs Tracey and where she lived with her seven children. Matt Tracey and Joe Tracey were two of her children and they were twins. Jack Tracey was the youngest of them.

43:40
End (Tape 229/Side A) Part 1 of 2
Last edited by: Dave Trimble

SubjectWingham (N.S.W.).Maitland (N.S.W.).Kurri Kurri (N.S.W.).Cessnock (N.S.W.)Reay née Barrett, Dorothy, 1900-1988 Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

PersonJack Delaney Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

Depicts or Relates ToTom Coaldrake Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

Henry Scanlon (1902-1987) - Miners Federation official. Recorded 10 February 1984. Part 1/1. Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

CreatorReay née Barrett, Dorothy, 1900-1988Delaney, Jack, 1919-2010CollectionVoices of the Hunter Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

PlaceCessnock, NSW Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

Date Created15th April 1983Location^[1]Cessnock, NSW Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

^[2]Maitland, NSW Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

^[3]Kurri Kurri, NSW Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

^[4]Wingham, NSW Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

Identifier229A Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

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