Bill Parish's History of Garfield 1931 - 1940

The Souvenir booklet for the Back to Garfield celebrations held in June 1962 included a history of Garfield for each decade, written by Bill Parish (1915-1994). This is the chapter from 1931-1940.
I have added the footnotes. Heather Arnold.

Garfield 1931-1940 by Bill Parish

This period commenced with the Depression which affected all sections of the community, businesses becoming insolvent and many primary producers losing all their assets and, in some cases, having to take advantage of the Debt Adjustment Scheme. Public works were done for Sustenance or ‘Susso’ as it was then called. This included a number of surveyed but unmade roads. 

There were a great many fires during this period and many shops and public buildings were burned (1). This resulted in new shops, a new football pavilion and new public hall. The 1939 bush fires reached North Garfield, with Messrs Towt Bros being badly burned in Break Neck Gully. A fire patrol, under Lieutenant G.H Limmer had a narrow escape.

The Garfield Public Hall burnt down and was rebuilt in 1937. 

This new hall, pictured, burnt down in 1984.

Image: Berwick Pakenham Historical Society.

Primary producers were barely scraping out an existence. Orchardists, for example, received only 1/6d clear for export apples and before resorting to sales to agents many received debit notes instead of cheques for overseas consignments.

At the end of this decade came World War Two. Many young men volunteered as previous; some paying the supreme penalty. These included I. Leask (2), F. Watts (3), J. Frawley, K. Frawley (4), K. Kileen (5), Poorock (6) and T. Fitzgerald (7). 

The businessmen of this period were: A.C Nutting (8), Pease & Co, E. Cotter and W. Edney (storekeepers); C. Simcocks (newsagent); A. Casey (Iona Hotel); R. Wall and J. Jennings (bakers); Haig & Little, Holloway, Edwards (butchers); Simcocks, Barnes, Harris, Pascoe, Schmutter (cafes etc); Edis (blacksmith); E.C Cox, R. James (builders); S. Howell, A. Wilson (bank managers); O’Brien, E. Cahill, W. Lawson (police); W Waugh and N. Barrett (school teachers)

Largely through the efforts of Mr C. Webber, the Garfield Church of England (9) was built from money raised in the Twenties by Mrs Beswick. Another new building to be erected was the E.S & A Bank in Main Street (10).

Footnotes

(1) Fires – various reports in the newspapers about fires – February 1930:  Mr Pitches’ 2-storey brick shop used as a general store was destroyed by fire; August 1933: Mrs Wild’s four room house burnt; September 1933:  the unoccupied Police Station partially destroyed by fire; October 1933:  Mr M. Kennedy’s 6 room weatherboard house burnt; April 15,1937:  Garfield Hall burnt (it was rebuilt the same year and burnt down again in 1984); January 1939:  James McGrath’s large weatherboard house burnt. I cannot find any information on the Football pavilion.

(2) Leask, Ivan George. Born in Bunyip on September 9, 1919, or so he said. Ivan was actually born in 1921. He enlisted in the Army in June 1940 and was Killed in Action in Papua on August 30,1942 at the age of only 19. He was the son of George and Jessie Leask. His father, George, had served in World War One.

(3) Watts, Francis Thomas. Francis was born October 16,1909 and enlisted in the Army July 1940. He died of illness in Burma on September 26, 1943. Francis was the son of Ernest John and Rose Matilda Watts who lived on Walker’s Road, Garfield. 

(4) Frawley, John William. Born October 1,1917 and enlisted in the Army September 1942. Killed in Action in Papua on January 18, 1943.

Frawley, Kevin Dennis. Born May 12,1920 and enlisted in the Army December 1941. Killed in Action in New Guinea on September 4, 1943.

John and Kevin were the sons of James Patrick and Margaret (nee Bannan) Frawley of the Iona Hotel, Garfield. The Frawley’s had previously been at the Floodgate Hotel in Raglan Street, Port Melbourne. The license of the Floodgate Hotel was transferred in March 1940, so I assume they arrived at the Iona Hotel, around this time. Their other son, James Patrick Frawley, also enlisted. He was born September 23, 1919, enlisted January 1941 and was discharged September 1944.

I have written more about the Frawleys here

https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-frawley-brothers-pay-supreme.html

(5) Killeen, Kenneth Francis. Kenneth was born October 4,1921 and enlisted in the Navy November 1941. He was Killed in Action on June 1,1942 on Sydney Harbour. Ken served on the H.M.A.S. Kuttabul and was killed when three Japanese midget submarines attacked in Sydney Harbour. Ken was the son of Francis Patrick and Veronica ‘Vera’ Hazel Killeen. They were listed in the Electoral Roll at Bayles in 1931 and at 14 Mile Road, Garfield from around 1935. 

(6) Poorock – Cannot work out who this is. Tried various spellings, different phonetic spellings, looked at the Electoral Rolls but no similar names listed.

(7) Fitzgerald, T. I cannot find a T. Fitzgerald with a local connection or one who is on the Roll of Honour. The Bunyip War Memorial lists a T.R. Fitzpatrick, this may be who Mr Parish is referring to. This was Thomas Ray Fitzpatrick, born March 31,1900 in Morwell. He was living in Clifton Hill when he enlisted in the Army in June 1940, but his next of kin was his brother, James, of Tynong. Thomas died of illness in Thailand on December 25, 1943.

(8) Arthur Charles Nutting - I have written about him here

https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2021/10/mr-nutting-invents-new-type-of-ute.html

(9) The Anglican Church, St Mary’s, was opened on March 28,1935 by Archdeacon Weir of Sale. It was demolished in 2010.

(10) The A.N.Z Bank (now Miss Franky’s) opened as an E.S. & A. Bank around 1931. I have written about the Bank, here

https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-es-anz-bank-at-garfield.html

Garfield Baby Health Centre

The Garfield and the Bunyip Baby Health Centres opened in 1935 or 1936. They are first listed in the Victorian Baby Health Centres Association Annual Report of 1935/36 Annual report. Garfield was open Fridays 10.30am to 12 noon and 12.30pm to 1.30pm; Bunyip was open Fridays 2.00pm to 4.30pm. In the 1936/37 report the President of the Garfield Centre was Enid Patterson, the wife of the Dr John Patterson and the Secretary was Connie Nutting, whose husband Arthur, owned a store (read more about the Nutting Family, here). You can access the Victorian Baby Health Centres Association Annual Reports here - http://www.qec.org.au/professionals/corporate-documents

Other posts of Bill Parish's History of Garfield - 

1901-1910 https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2021/09/bill-parishs-history-of-garfield-1901.html

1911-1920 https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2021/09/bill-parishs-history-of-garfield-1911.html
1921-1930 https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2021/09/bill-parishs-history-of-garfield-1921.html
1941-1950 https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2021/09/bill-parishs-history-of-garfield-1941.html
1951-1960 https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2021/09/bill-parishs-history-of-garfield-1951.html