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Voices of the Hunter

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Jack Delaney

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Jack Gehrig

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

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SummaryDorothy Reay
Recorded 15 April 1983
Part 2 of 2

0:18
Near the creek Tom Monnix lived, he had one arm and was a bullock’s driver, they had four children, and their land flooded when they had a bit of rain. The slaughter house belonged to Jack Gallagher. When Dorothy’s family first moved to Cessnock there was a butcher shop owner by Peter Flanagan where Barney lives now. Deadmans Creek got its name when they chained a convict up to a tree and a storm hit, and he died. The wine saloon at Weston was opposite the school. George Edwards had acres of vineyards, Edwards Estate & cellars was on the land. The next vineyards were at Allandale, Sam Barnett had one. "Roto" vineyard was on Majors Lane going from Maitland Road through to Allendale, the estate was owned by Radnidge.

4:45
The Barners live out on Old Maitland Road out towards Sawyers Gully, and there are only two left of eight now. They all went to Sawyers Gully School, and Mr Con was the Teacher. Thelma Scott is there now and is a widow. George Edwards’ son married Lil Bush who was a daughter of the brick maker. Out at the East Cessnock School was a brick works near the dam and out towards where Happy Valley is now. The area used to be called Comfort Avenue.

7:07
George Gehrig lived in George Street. He married Lil Powell. She and Dorothy worked together in Ferguson's food shop. Jim Waters and his wife had a daughter, Eileen Waters, and George used to keep company with her until Lil came between them. Jack Gehrig is George’s brother and their sister Mary Gehrig who married George Moore. Maggie Gehrig married Callaghan, and their old "Granny" Carroll. Manie McGrane used to live with the Gehrigs. She was thought to be Old Granny Carroll’s child (a love child). Granny Carroll married Michael Carroll, and they were in the hotel. Talk of the families related to each other.

10:40
John Doyle had in his family Minnie. Joe Doyle married Miss Melville, and she was Cessnock’s first Post Mistress. The original Cessnock Post Office was next to the Cessnock Hotel. Mrs Kennedy had a food just there for years in the Post Office, and on the side was a big shed where they had the produce. Dorothy’s father worked on the courthouse. He worked as a brick layer's labourer, 10 shillings a day in wages, 3 pounds a week, six days a week, worked from 7 to 11 or 1 on Saturdays. There were two hotels in Cessnock when they got to the area. One was the Cessnock Hotel. A Howard owned it, - he had three or four boys and one girl who married a Howard (no relation) who was a dentist, used to work with Daunt. Daunt came from Maitland, his father was the caretaker of Maitland Park for many years. Margaret Daunt was a school teacher at Quorrobolong and built a school at Quorrobolong around 1860, and may be a distant relation of the dentist. Danny Howard’s daughter married Amos Howard (no relation). Baden Howard was one of Danny’s sons, Danny was a brick layer.

14:45
Jimmy McNabb was Jack McNabb’s son, Jimmy’s sister Esme McNabb won Miss Australia contest. Dorothy married in 1925 at Kurri Kurri, Father Marshall married them. At the time she was working at Weston for George Jenkins at the Criterion Hotel. Where she pulled her first beer, done with a pump. One of the beers was Woods’, brewed at the Pink Elephant, at Woods' Brewery at Newcastle (later Tooth’s Brewery). It was delivered to Kurri by Andy Snowball and Geordie Snowball, Snowball & Henderson, on his truck, all wood kegs in thirty-sixes. Talk
of getting in a Brew 22. Aberdare Hotel was the other pub. They would say Jack Dean was the tallest man who left Australia for WWI. Geordie Reay was Dorothy’s husband. "Bateye" Beattie was a regular at the pub.

21:02
Dorothy worked as a bar maid for two years, and lived in Weston for seven years, when she moved she started work at the Broadway Hotel near Broadmeadow by the train station. Bernie Delaney was Katherine Hurst’s sister’s son. She never had any family. She was a tailoress at Fred Barker’s tailor when Jack met her, and he was just out from England and was a cutter there. They started their own business after they were married and got a shop next door to where Dorothy was at Ferguson’s. Dorothy’s sister became Sister Mary Pauline (Margaret Barrett), and teaches the deaf, she also went overseas to Singapore and Hong Kong. She was with the Dominicans. She has taken on music teaching.

26:12
"Geordie Bill" Hindmarsh moved their furniture from Weston on Swanson Street, none of the houses were numbered. They lived between Geordie Beverley and Jack Foster, Geordie’s wife’s sister was Jenny Dickson and Bob Dickson, and Harley their son was born when they lived next door. Dorothy’s husband died on 17th of December, 1944. They had three children. Bill Reay died one week off 33rd birthday, a daughter now Mrs Skeins, she had three children, two girls and a boy, her son is a seaman and has lived in New Zealand for thirty years. Talking politics.

31:11
Dorothy was opposite the Cessnock Council, Scott was there then with his one leg, as was John Brown. Dorothy was 18 when she started working in the shop, and Arthur Ward was a solicitor, his wife Jane Ward they had a son Tom Ward. Sergeant Joe O'Connor was stationed at Abermain at one time, was put on the traffic duty for a time, he lived across from Dorothy. Billy Booth got a black eye at Rothbury, Harry Cockrill was involved with the Rothbury Miners and was their secondary, the first thing he did was give Billy Booth the black eye. "Seat of Knowledge" at Weston, "Whit" Hall got out of the pub at six and went to sit over there.

37:00
Jim Garrett took over the Abermain Picture show later on but before that he had worked at the Criterion when George Jenkins was there, before Dorothy started there. The open-air picture theatre was owned by Billy Galloway. "Snow" Galloway. Bill Gallagher had eight girls and one boy. There was the big three that were book makers “Snow”, "Pincher" Lynch and another pommy fellow, they worked at the Criterion, anyone who wanted a bet would come there. Dorothy’s family lived in a house of Snows on Purse Street, with no electrical lights. Dr. Meredith died of cancer, one of his sons died of leukaemia, and he built the big place on the corner of Hall and Third Street. He also came up to Dorothy’s place when her husband had Pneumonia. Dr. Meredith’s father married a Windeyer. He had two sisters both Mrs Mackay, one of them was General Mackay, the other was a Mackay no hoper. One of his sisters was a transport driver during WWI and drove around after Air Raids collecting all the dead.

42:40
End (Tape 229/Side B) Part 2 of 2
Last edited by: Dave Trimble

SubjectWeston (N.S.W.) -- Social conditions.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 ToJack Gehrig 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]Weston, NSW Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

Identifier229B Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

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