Percy Mills

Story

Percy Mills\’ father was John Robert Mills (1879-1957) who had 2 brothers, & a sister. John was born in Wymeswold, Leistershire, UK. His mother was Elizabeth Houghton (1880-1962) who had 4 brothers & 7 sisters. Elizabeth was born in Asfordby, Leicestershire, UK. Elizabeth & John were married on 2nd April, 1902, at The Wesleyan Chapel, Asfordby.

John decided to leave England & try Australia as a place to live. He arrived in Australia in 1911 and found work as a Fettler with the NSW Railways at Wagga. After 12 months he had decided to return home to England only to receive a cable from Elizabeth saying that she had already booked her passage on the ‘Ballarat’ to Sydney. This was in 1912. Elizabeth brought with her their 5 children, the eldest being Percy (known as Perce) aged 9.

The Family stayed at Wagga for 4 years and then moved to Jindalee for 6 years. The home at Jindalee was alongside the main railway line, 5 miles from the town. The Family was responsible for operating the crossing gates & received 15 shillings a month from the Railways. They then moved to Hay St. Cootamundra.

To help with the Family finances Perce left school at the end of 4th class at 14 to become a carpentry apprentice. With his limited formal education he was still able to read and write & was good at maths. He played Rugby League as a young man in the Maher Cup competition. It is understood he played in the 5/8 position. Perce also had a love of music and is said to have liked playing classical records at home. He was a good singer and ballroom dancer. To play his records he built his own gramaphone record player.

The Family moved to Sydney in 1930 and lived at 5 King St. Bondi. In 1937 at a dance in Rockdale Perce met Jessie Clune, the only daughter of John and Jessie Clune of 63 Westminister Street, Bexley. They were married at the Catholic Church in Rockdale on 25th June 1938

Perce and Jessie moved into a self contained flat built by Perce in Jessie\’s Family home. In May 1939 a son, John Edward was born & in November 1940, a daughter, Joan Mary.

When the Second World War broke out Perce tried to enlist in the Army but he was told he would be more useful as a tradesman carpenter working for the Allied Works Council. So he was sent to Bathurst Arms Factory for the duration of the war doing construction & maintenance work.

After the war Perce returned to Sydney & continued to work as a carpenter in the Building Industry. Around 1948 he became the Works Manager for Dorrington Constructions that constructed flats in Sydney\’s Eastern Suburbs many of which were occupied by European Migrants arriving in Australia at that time. Also as the flat at no. 63 was becoming too small for two adults & two growing children the Family acquired the land next door at no. 59 on which Perce built the Family home. In 1949 they moved in.

In July 1950, a second son, Marshall Joseph, was born. About this time Perce developed an eyesight problem that was intensified by glare. Because of this he was never able to get a car driving licence.

Perce worked for Dorrington\’s until 1954 when he decided to form his own company; Mills Building Construction Company. To raise operating capital Perce had to sell the Family home and consequently they moved into shared accomodation in Banksia. They stayed there for about 1 year and then moved into a flat at 297a Bexley Rd. Bexley North. Perce built his houses around South-West Sydney; however, because of his limited capital he could only build 1 house at a time. Early in the 1960s there was a recession & a credit crisis. This sent the Business bankrupt; although they still had one block of land at 1 Hilltop Av. Padstow Heights.

To support the Family Perce found work as a maintenance carpenter with the NSW PWD in its Education Section at Mortdale Public School. On weekends he built the second Family home on the Padstow Heights block. He completed that house in early 1962. Perce continued working for the PWD and on the home in his spare time. About this time, although he had always been a good living Christian family man (but a non church-goer) he decided to convert from Anglicanism to Catholicism much to Jessie\’s delight. At his Catholic Confirmation he remedied his lack of a second name by choosing ‘John’ as his second name.

The financial stress and a lifetime of the hard work began to take their toll. He developed hypertension which could not be controlled very well in those days & then on the 24th September 1963 he had a massive stroke; he did not survive the night. He died early the next morning on the 25th October aged 60 years. He is buried in Woronora Cemetary, as Percy John Mills in a grave that was later to be shared by his wife, Jessie who outlived him by some 25 years.

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