Stories from Kerang: Northaven resident, Beryl Baker

Childhood and school

I was born in Kerang in 1931 to Joe and Stella Ibbs. My mother was a Harridge. We had a farm out off the Murrabit Road down McKnight’s Lane. I had a great childhood. I was never bored. My parents were hard workers so we learned to work from an early age – washing the dishes or cleaning the fireplace before school, and after school fetching and milking the house cow, separating the milk and feeding numerous animals – lambs, calves, dogs and chooks, as well as bringing barrows of wood and chopping kindling.

I went to Kerang state and high schools. I was an average student but I loved sport, especially hockey – I played on the inter-school team. I also loved tennis and swimming.We did a lot of swimming. We used to swim in the old Kerang swimming pool, which was a fenced off area of the Loddon River just north of the double bridges. The high school always had their swimming sports there, with competition between the school houses – Loddon, Murray, Pyramid and Wandella, which I was in. I also loved helping on the farm at weekends, driving draft horses and cutting thistles.

Rabbits were in plague proportions so my brother Ern and I used to go out in the gig with the ferrets of a Saturday afternoon. The money from the skins was added to our pocket money. I got 3 pence a week, which I had to put in a savings bank money box. We also scrounged soft drink bottles from the tip over the railway line and got two pence for each at Dishin’s shop in McKenzie St.

Highlights growing up were the Kerang show every year, Sunday school anniversaries and the annual combined churches picnic. One year a train was hired to take us to Kangaroo Lake for the picnic, which was a great novelty. Other times it was held at Lake Meran. I used to get a new dress every year for the show and the picnic.

Marriage

I married Bill Spink, who was a telephone technician with the PMG, the Post-Master General’s Department, in 1953. We had seven children, who all went through Kerang High school and have all done exceedingly well in life. My mother-in-law lived with us for 18 years as well.

Bill died of prostate cancer in 1992. After that, I joined the senior citizens club and had roles as secretary and treasurer. I was also secretary of the Northern Ladies Auxiliary for 10 years.

After I’d spent 10 years on my own, Stan Baker came into my life. He was from Melbourne but had lived in Kerang from the age of five to 15 and occasionally returned here.

We were very compatible, and a friendship began between us. In 2002 we married.

We both loved bus travel, and took every chance we could to do that, so we saw a great deal of Australia and New Zealand. We also loved playing cards and ten-pin bowling. Stan played bowls until he was 92. He was the oldest bowler in the club.

Church and other interests

I’ve been at the Kerang Baptist Church all my life, as was my mother. It has had a tremendous influence on my life of service to the community.
I was asked to join the Northaven board of management in the very early days when it was the old hospital and was funded entirely by the Northern District Baptist Association churches. I was on the board for 25 years and was involved with creating the new Northhaven.

I helped my sister do the gardening here, taking my twins along to amuse the elderly residents, and I remember dyeing 30 chenille bedspreads to brighten their rooms. Not to mention bottling hundreds of jars of apricots from the tree in the grounds.

Another interest I had along the way was the garden club. I was treasurer of the club for three years and did many bus trips with them. I also exhibited flowers and vegetables at the Kerang show for many years, like my mother did with her flowers and cooking.

Later life

Stan died in November 2014 at the age of 94, and after that my health deteriorated and it was necessary to enter Northhaven.

It has been my privilege to be able to play the piano every Tuesday morning for devotions and help whenever I can. I do a lot of knitting.

I have 22 grandchildren, of whom I am very proud and I have just had a fifth great grandchild arrive.

I’ve got a lot of good memories. It’s been hard work but that never killed anybody. I think young people today need to learn to work harder and learn how to take the knocks as well as the good times.