Elsie Johnstone - Our Little Town

I was born in 1928, in the same bed where my motherwas born, in the front room of Nanna Allens home in Church Street.Years later, when I asked, What time was I born? I was told thatit was twenty past ten in the morning. Mum knew this because justas I was about to present myself to the world, the Bairnsdale coachwith Keith Duggan driving went by the house. He knew what was goingon, as did everybody in the town, so he sounded the horn loud andclear as he went by. I was born about then.

- Margaret (Gaul) Hillis

Now is probably the time to own upto the days I got all dressed up in my school uniform, said goodbyeto Mum, and headed off to catch the bus, only to keep going andspend the day at the beach. Then back into school uniform when thebus was about due, and off home. In my defence, I only did thatwhen the surf was really pumping and far too good tomiss.

- David Crockett Allen

When I was a boy growing up in Lakes Entrance we notonly knew everybody in the town, but we also knew the names oftheir dogs as well. There were 130 children at the school and abouthalf of them were related, all being either grandchildren or greatgrandchildren of William Carstairs and his wife Mary (Nelson)Carstairs.

- Jack Allen

Maureens favourite thing to do wasto organise the church flowers for Sunday. Friday nights would findus visiting all the old ladies who had gardens to request floraldonations. On Saturday it would take us most of the day picking theflowers and arranging them in the Church. Maureen loved to talkabout the colours, the species, the textures and all the finerdetails. I always thought a bunch of plastic flowers looked just asnice.

- Mary (Allen) Keeley

As an only child in a single parent family my lifehas surprisingly never been lonely. Our family has always appearedreal. It consists of people who work hard, love much, laugh lots,grumble now and then, but have a kindness of heart that is alwaysthere in times of need.

- Katie Allen

Copyright 2014 by Elsie Johnstone
G & E Johnstone

ISBN: 978-0-9871895-3-0

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The information, views, opinions and visualsexpressed in this publication are solely those of the author and donot reflect those of the publisher. The publisher disclaims anyliabilities or responsibilities whatsoever for any damages, libelor liabilities arising directly or indirectly from the contents ofthis publication.

For my wonderful family

I have greatly enjoyed the journey ofcompiling this book and in doing so I know that some contributorsalso really loved the process. For some, it has been a veryrevealing opportunity. I say thank you to everyone, because withoutyour efforts there would be no book and these stories would be lostto the next generations.

A special thank you to my nine siblings whorallied to the cause and who all contributed, so that, in this bookwe not only have Jack Allens story but also that of his andTheresas 10 children, as well as some of the grandchildren.

Thank you Val and Buddy Allen and theirchildren and grandchildren who told their tales, and to PeterAllen, Valda Allen and their son Jim, and to Margaret Hillis,daughter of Mavis (Allen) Gaul, who also penned a good yarn.

To my talented daughters, Caitlin and Eloise,thank you. Caitlin prepared the artwork for the cover and Eloisedid the final proof read of the first edition. And Sarah, mydaughter in law, thank you for your eagle eye in helping preparethe second.

My special thanks must go to my wonderfullyprofessional life partner and husband, Graeme Johnstone, whosewisdom, journalistic expertise and writing skills have been ofinvaluable assistance to me. He plied his craft, being my chiefsub-editor, polishing the words and perfecting the spelling andgrammar so that the stories sing. And it cost me nothing!

- ELSIE JOHNSTONE

Thisbook tells the tale of a small fishing village through the eyes ofone family who has lived and grown there since white settlementfirst came to the area.

The tales are as different as the people whotell them. They are first-hand recollections of my family memberswho were born and grew up in Lakes Entrance and remain connected,even if they have since moved away, because this is theirplace.

Please do not consider this a true historicaldocument. It is a folk history that sets out to paint a picture ofour little town as it grew and evolved over the generations.

Ours is a rapidly expanding and evolvingfamily, a family of many individuals, born at different times witha variety of stories to tell. But we all have two things in common.First, we are all descendents of two significant figures in LakesEntrance folklore, Robert and Annie Allen. And, second, we allspent our childhood in Lakes Entrance.

Annie was the daughter of William Carstairs,the first of the professional fishermen to arrive and work thelakes and regarded by some as the founder of the Lakes Entrancefishing industry.

Robert Allen arrived in the area as ateenager and later married Annie, his skill as a fisherman matchedby his sporting heroics, particularly on the football field. Theyhad four children, three of whom grew to adulthood - Arthur, Mavisand David.

The following pages tell the stories of theextended families - the children, grandchildren andgreat-grandchildren of all three. Time-wise, their experiencesstretch from the 1920s to the present day. It runs from theoldies, who remember marvelling at the arrival of electricity inthe town, to the Gen Y kids, who could not possibly move aboutwithout their mobile and their iPod.

In all, I have managed to compile 28individual stories and I thank the contributors for their interestand diligence in writing their memories down or allowing me torecord an interview. Everyone has tackled this project in his/herown way. Some have been quite reflective, elaborating on theirpersonal feelings and responses, while others have just simply toldthe story. Either way, I have respected what they have to say andendeavoured to keep their voice.

As in any project such as this, there willalways be a certain amount of self-censorship but I feel that thisis okay as long as the reader appreciates that this document is asubjective one. Each storyteller approaches the same issue fromhis/her own slant and so, although the moment may be repeated, thetelling of it differs and we therefore get a broader sweep.

You, dear reader, can decide wherein the realtruth lies!

Whatever the view, it all adds up to acolourful, personal view of Lakes Entrance, as seen through theeyes of one family.

- ELSIE JOHNSTONE

Our town is a pretty little placesituated on the Entrance to the beautiful Gippsland Lakes andadjacent to a wild and roaring surf beach that extends 90 miles upand down the coast. The village of Lakes Entrance itself is nestledbeneath low-lying hills on a small peninsula, with a long strip ofwater known as Cunninghame Arm lapping the length of its mainstreet.

During the summer and school holidays, thetown centre is a hive of activity, a place where families come toplay. It is bustling with cars, caravans and boats forming anendless procession along the Esplanade, while people move along ingroups eating ice-cream, playing mini golf, trekking to the beach,throwing Frisbees on the foreshore, or simply shopping. The localsget a bit snaky because they have to make their money now while thepeople are in town and so there is no time for sleep orniceties.