Marjorie Bird

Story

Born on 13th December 1911, at Ealing, Middlesex, Marjorie Alice Bird was the third child of John F and Alice Bird. As a ‘tiny tot\’ she spoke of herself as ‘Moll, Moll’ and became ‘Mollie\’. She ran after her brothers, John and Eric, and developed a love of ball games.

By 1923, when the Bird family came to Australia to start dairying, Mollie was 11 and had a younger sister Enid and a little brother, Peter. John F was granted a farm on the Bass Park Estate and the girls attended Bass Primary School. Mollie completed her Elementary Certificate and left school in 1925. They learnt to milk and feed calves as well as helping in the home. When Alice Bird became very ill, Mollie, only 12, took over the household with Enid assisting.

At Bass Park, bought in 1927, a tennis court was renovated by the young Birds, allowing the hosting of a regular Saturday game. As a tennis player, Mollie was very persistent and used spin to good effect. Similar determination, but not ‘spin\’, was evident throughout her life.

Because of the ‘Depression\’ in 1933, all the family, except John W and wife, Doreen, moved to Wye River, where John F was now Licensee for a hotel-guesthouse renamed ‘Rookery Nook.’ Mollie and Enid worked as housemaids, cleaning rooms, washing the sheets and towels in Reckitt\’s Blue and bar soap, and then wringing them with a mangle. Mollie also did much of the cooking.

In 1939 WW2 began in Europe. As the threat to ‘home’ grew, Eric enlisted, followed by Peter. Enid was working in a Melbourne munitions factory. Mollie stayed at Wye River with their aging parents. Peter died while training in Maitland, NSW. In 1943 John F became an invalid. Then, Victorian law said ‘NO\’ to employment of the Licencee\’s daughter in ‘the bar\’. Special permission was granted for Mollie. She kept order, even in the ‘six o\’clock rush\’. She also collected supplies from Geelong and Lorne. The drives along the Great Ocean Road were a nightmare. Eric operated on the blackout discs and cut an eye in the centre of each. He said ‘Keep them (hidden) under the driver\’s seat during the dayÉ’.

Mollie was also an ‘air spotter\’. After the midget submarine attack in Sydney Harbour, she reported her sighting of the periscope of one the five Japanese mother subs.

At Rookery Nook, Mollie met a detective, David Thomas Howell, who represented Victoria in baseball and cricket, and had a keen mind. They married and moved into his mother\’s house, 3 Miller Street, Richmond. On his ‘death bed\’ David\’s father had insisted David promise he would look after his mother. Louisa was rejecting and aggressive towards her daughter-in-law, so Mollie was unhappy and David was caught between them.

By November 1947 Mollie was pregnant. She set off to see her mother and elder brothers. At Pakenham she found their mother had died before she could tell her ‘the news’. Marjorie was born on 14th June 1948.

David\’s health began to deteriorate. Investigating theft off the wharves, he had evidence of who was involved. They had ties with the ALP, which kept moving him to different areas to prevent a result. He became severely depressed.

Louisa died in 1956 and Mollie, Marjorie, and a reluctant David, moved to Bulleen. Soon David was put into Larundel Mental Institution, coming home for weekend visits.

Mollie, always keeping Marjorie\’s needs in focus, now had to have a job, first as a Home Help for the Council, then at Bulleen P. O. Later, once Marjorie was independent, Mollie moved to Ballarat for 18 months, where she cared for an elderly man. On returning to Melbourne she worked as a cook in a nursing home.

The following years, with more time for family and friends, were of relative tranquility. In 1973 Marjorie met Ken Doidge who had two children from his first marriage. They married in 1976 and together they had four children including twins in 1988. Mollie delighted in being a grandmother. From 1973 to 1978 she lived in a unit in Balwyn. In 1977 her brother Eric died of cancer. In 1978, her 68th year, Mollie had a mild stroke while playing tennis and reluctantly stopped. In 1979 she decided to move to Warragul, to be closer to John W and family.

In 1987, she moved to a unit in a retirement village near Frankston. Finally, in 1994, needing higher care, she moved to a hostel in Templestowe, close to Marjorie and her family. Mollie died on 21st November 1998, following a severe stroke.

‘Mollie\’ – Her resilient attitude and robust laughter inspires our lives.

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