Thomas Joseph Driscoll b. 7 June 1902 Bendigo, Australia:
Origin:
Born in Bendigo when his family resided at Neale Street, he was one of four
children.
His Family Life:
Thomas was a poorly educated child who worked at whatever job was available.
He enjoyed the little things most men of his era did - spending time with his
mates at the public bar, playing cards, having a bet on the horses. All his
children learned to play a range of card games and were very good at it, the
most common game being euka.
During the Second World War when jobs were scarce and materials and food even
more scarce, Thomas guided his boys to manufacture toys from scraps of wood.
Decent toys were hard to come by especially when all raw materials were diverted
to the war effort. All of Thomas's boys could turn their hands to various
skills which always repaid them in years to come in constructing furniture,
painting and repairing or just building houses and sheds.
For many years Christmas was held at the home of Thomas and Doris. Because the
family was so big, it was hard for most to make it close to Christmas day, so
the tradition for many years was the last Sunday in November. Father Christmas
was played by Bernard in an outfit hand made by his wife from the time their son
was born. This tradition continued until the late 60's when the family had
simply outgrown the house - the family continued to meet at sports grounds and
parks. Thomas attended some as his health allowed him.
In his last ten or so years he struggled with emphysema and spent more and more
time in bed with little ability for movement. Yet he continued to smoke -
Capstan or Turf Cork-tipped cigarettes - who knew then that cigarettes were so
bad for your health.
The last formal occasion he attended was the wedding if his youngest son Peter
(Graeme).
Towards the end he was taunted by his middle son Hayden who would call out
"he'll be dead soon" from the neighbour's back yard. This added to Thomas's
stress and frustration.
His last few days were spent in very difficult conditions in intensive care
until he passed away.
Occupation:
Throughout his life he was a Painter and Decorator, with the odd small building
job. He promoted himself as a 'Builder'.
His Marriage:
Thomas married
Dorothy Minnie Jackson from Fitzroy, born 5 January 1908. They were married on
24 October 1923 at
Clifton Hill in a Catholic ceremony at St John's. At the time of their
marriage Thomas was 21 and Doris was 16. Consent for their marriage was
given by Doris's father Frederick Jackson.
His Wife - Doris Minnie - and what a life!
Doris was a busy
wife and mother providing for her children and grand-children as best
she could.
At 32 she was Victoria's youngest grandmother with the most children, when her
daughter Daphne gave birth to Doris's first grandchild Terry. By that year -
1941 - she had given birth to eleven children. Her achievement was news in the
Sun Pictorial and on radio 3DB.
When the children were young (and naive) they were not aware when Doris was
pregnant as she carried deep in her largish frame and never showed her baby
bump.
It was always thought that the District Nurse, who arrived with a suitcase full
of nappies and other products for newborns, actually brought the baby. She
arrived see Doris at home, and when she left there was a new baby - it must have
been in the suitcase!
The only
child to be born in a hospital was Graeme Peter; eldest daughter Daphne vacated
a hospital bed after giving birth to her daughter Helen a week earlier, in
time for her mother to arrive and deliver Peter. It was such that to give
birth in a hospital in the first half of the 1900's was not only special, but
not considered a standard aspect of the health system.
Today, a home-birth is considered brave and risky!
Forefathers? or four fathers?
It is known throughout the family that four of her children were
fathered through
four men other than her husband. This was as much a symptom of the
hardship endured as a poor, working class family as it was the neglect of her
husband.
Dossie - 1926.
The third daughter of the family - Dossie - has a very different appearance to
that of her siblings before her, somewhat Mediterranean. Not a lot is
known about her father other than it not being Thomas; she has often said to her
siblings that she is not their sister, but did not elaborate.
Bernard - 1935.
During the 30's having fought their way through the Depression and struggled for
work and the necessities of life, Thomas found work through referrals within the
Jewish community. He worked for Phillip Cahlill, the son of a Lebanese gentleman
who had come to Australia in the 1890's, settled in Melbourne
and operated a successful clothing manufacturing business.
The houses, a set of terraces in Nicholson Street near the old tram depot and
and the convent (where the tram turns) in Carlton, kept Thomas in employment
through painting, wallpapering and other minor work.
Doris worked for Phillip doing
small catering jobs, as
a cleaning lady and occasionally a little more. In these days with so
little opportunity for work, the men would often be away for long hours and the
women were left to raise large families and provide for the children as best
they could. On occasion they would do personal favours in exchange for
food and other items.
As a father to Bernard, he
became an anonymous provider for the family. Daphne and Arthur would
travel occasionally to Elwood where he lived with a potato sack. They
would knock on the door and were told to wait outside. The gentleman would
return with lettuces, tomatoes, some meat and maybe eggs or other food in the
sack and dismiss them quickly. It was things like this that helped the
family to survive.
Likewise
Bernard was asked to go down to
the clothing the
factory, knock on the back door and hand a sack to the gentleman who
answered. He would return minutes later with the sack full of clothes - this
was Bernard's father. Doris knew what she was doing - only she would have
the courage to name her son after his father - Bernard Phillip.
Paul
- 1938.
Through referral Thomas went on to do work for another Jewish property
developer, who Doris also worked in various ways. This Jewish developer
had various business interests, particularly as a tea merchant. Daphne
recalls travelling to the office of this man with her mother, where she would be
told to wait in the foyer while Doris went into an office for only a few minutes
and would return with a bag of tea.
Of this
man, Daphne recalls he would sometimes show up at the house during the day while
Thomas was at work at his houses. He would boast about his new car and ask
the children to sit in the car and have a look at it; he even promised them a
penny.
Though told not to, the children would eventually be persuaded out of the house
and he would quickly 'visit' Doris and then leave - he never paid the children
the penny.
Robert - 1939.
In his early years in supporting his family as a painter and decorator, Thomas
formed an informal business partnership with George Cosgrove - Garg to the
family. George was a returned soldier who have seen real action in Borneo
- he had even speared Japanese soldiers - and his only family was a sister.
George moved in with Doris and Thomas and lived with them and the family until
he died living at Westgarth.
It was understood that during a conversation
with her youngest son Graeme (Peter), she talked about how Garg would chase her around
the kitchen table and "perhaps he might have caught me once.." .
Garg died in the 70's. His sister came to collect his things and
discovered many uncashed cheques from Social Security and his war pension.
She cashed them in and provided him with a beautiful memorial stone.
Growing up:
Daphne's earliest memory was
about being at Kindergarten three times week at the age of three.
Doris would take Daphne, Dossie and Eileen to the Kindergarten in Gertrude
Street near Brunswick Street. Daphne recalls that a chap who ran a
business nearby shoeing horses once left his sandwich out on the fence where he
would sit for lunch - Daphne was so hungry she ate it.
He left
a sandwich out for her and the kids each day after that. Likewise Doris
would send Daphne and Dossie to the convent near the exhibition gardens and they
would collect leftover food. The girls would sit in the gardens and pick
out the meat from the food and take the rest home.
They
would visit the local cake shops, like Adams cakes, and collect the leftover
portions of the cakes - usually the off-cuts.
Or be sent to the Chinese cafe with a billy to purchase short soup. They
would take a soup spoon stuffed down their shirts and eat some of it on the way
home. Doris would complain the Chinese cafe did not fill the tin.
Daphne's
first day of school was a disaster as she was too scared to ask to go the toilet
and wet herself. The nun's punished her. School was not something
the children saw much of. As soon as they reached 14 they were sent to
work.
Daphne,
as the eldest daughter, was pulled out of school at 12 and sent to work at a
patch factory. She was discovered to be truant and Doris was threatened
that if she continued to work, she would be forced back to school. So she
changed jobs.
Daphne earned 7 shillings and sixpence a week (75 cents), of which Doris allowed
her to keep 1 shilling. She changed it into half-pennies so her purse
seemed full and she felt rich.
She went on to work at a shoe factory.
Doris
would buy soap from Coles and send Arthur and Daphne off with a tray selling the
soap to office workers at businesses nearby at a small mark-up. They were
told not to return until it was all sold; they were often simply given money, so
actually getting rid of the soap was often time-consuming.
Later the girls were taught to make crepe-paper flowers which they would sell on
Smith Street Collingwood for a shilling.
The bigger family:
The family
would all share a bath (that is,
share the water!). The local church would bring around an organ and they
would sit in the backyard singing hymns. Garg would run around the yard
chasing the rats a they ran away and cut their heads off with a chisel.
(This is what Daphne puts down her fear of rats to!)
When
going to bed, Doris would fold back the ends of the thin mattresses string on
the wire-based beds and pour boiling water over the bugs.
Family days at Doris's house was always full of kids, food and laughter. Doris
would cook pancakes the size of dinner plates for everyone on the wood-fired
stove. They were sprinkled with lemon juice and smothered in sugar. Great to
eat but wait until later when they cooled down in your stomach!
After the death of her husband Thomas in 1972, she moved from her home in
Westgarth Street, Westgarth (which was sold at auction for $9,000) into a
Housing Commission Granny Flat on Heidelberg Road, Northcote where she lived for many years.
(The auctioneer noted the condition of the house that if new, it would be worth
$18,000 - the attitude of the day was that Westgarth was a working class suburb
and had no attraction for the location. The house today - which has been
restored and renovated - would be worth $600,000 or more in 2007.)
Her son Bernard purchased a small flat in Thornbury around 1988 and Doris spent
her last few years there secure and safe. Upon her death, her many, many trinkets,
ornaments and doilies were quickly snapped up by the family members and the
memories of Doris were dispersed throughout the family.
Their children:
With Dorothy:
Arthur Joseph, born February 1924 - died 1946 of cancer
Daphne Millicent, born 1 July 1925
Dorothy Lillian, born August 1926
Eileen Eunice, born 1927 - died 1955 of Tuberculosis
Thomas Francis, born 1930
Pauline Betty, born 1932 (age < one year)
Hayden Nicholas, born 1933 - not married
Bernard Phillip, born 11 January 1935, died 1996 of heart failure
George Edward, born 7 May 1936
Paul Patrick, born 1938, died 1999 of cancer
Robert John, born 26 December 1939, died 1995 of cancer
Shirley Ann, born 1941 (age < one year)
Ronald Jeffery, born 8 July 1943
Neal Michael, born 24 June 1945, died 2001 of heart failure
Graeme Peter, born 1947
There were also two still-born births.
Residences:
From family notes and records, details of where
Thomas was
living at different times.
| Year |
Description |
Location |
| 1935 |
Owner |
Johnston Street (corner George Street), Fitzroy |
| 1960 |
Owner |
101 Westgarth Street, Westgarth |
| 1973 |
Property Sold |
|
Funeral:
Details of Thomas's funeral from the records of H. J. R.
Lewis of 154 Johnson Street, Fitzroy:
"Funeral Expenses for the late Thomas Joseph Driscoll, dated 6 March 1972:
Casket $195.00
Hearse and Attendants $25.00
Cremation Fawkner $40.00
Cremation Certificates $8.40
Transfer of remains to chapel $15.00
Press Notices $11.00
Clergy $10.00
Collecting of Ashes from Fawkner $3.00
Government Statist Certificate $3.00
Total $310.40c"
Burial Location:
Thomas was cremated and resides at Springvale Cemetery,
Victoria.
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