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| In Southport, Tom, Lillian and their sons lived with his mother until he bought a large newsagency in which both he and Lillian worked. The newsagency had a residence on top and was next to the Southport railway station. This busy station was not only the final destination for passengers but also for sheep and cattle who were offloaded into holding yards before their visit to the local abattoir. The only toilet or ‘dunny’ in the building was out the back near a small chook pen. Upstairs had 2 bedrooms, kitchen, lounge and a verandah which overlooked the railway station, Scarborough Street and the cattle/sheep holding yards. During their final year there, their home was even more cramped as Lillian’s ailing mother, Anne Newitt, lived with them. After Tom's mother died at Southport from cancer in 1949, he sold the business. In c.1950-51, he, Lillian and their two sons moved to [[wp>Bundaberg|Bundaberg, Queensland]]((//South Coast Bulletin//, 17 September 1952, p.24.)) Vi remained in Southport and bought a very large house in Muir Street, on top of a hill with great views.\\ | In Southport, Tom, Lillian and their sons lived with his mother until he bought a large newsagency in which both he and Lillian worked. The newsagency had a residence on top and was next to the Southport railway station. This busy station was not only the final destination for passengers but also for sheep and cattle who were offloaded into holding yards before their visit to the local abattoir. The only toilet or ‘dunny’ in the building was out the back near a small chook pen. Upstairs had 2 bedrooms, kitchen, lounge and a verandah which overlooked the railway station, Scarborough Street and the cattle/sheep holding yards. During their final year there, their home was even more cramped as Lillian’s ailing mother, Anne Newitt, lived with them. After Tom's mother died at Southport from cancer in 1949, he sold the business. In c.1950-51, he, Lillian and their two sons moved to [[wp>Bundaberg|Bundaberg, Queensland]]((//South Coast Bulletin//, 17 September 1952, p.24.)) Vi remained in Southport and bought a very large house in Muir Street, on top of a hill with great views.\\ |
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| In Bundaberg, Tom bought the ‘China Arcade’ from relatives of his wife.((Tom, trading as China Arcade, took legal action in 1951 to recover a small debt, see State Record of NSW, Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior t/a [trading as] China Arcade, //Small Debts Registers Index// Citation: NRS-2881-2-[10/17]-10/17 | Date: 13/12/1951)) as a plaintiff in This He soon expanded the business, from not only selling top quality chinaware but also jewelry, clocks and watches, both new and needing repair. He moved the business to a larger and more strategically placed shop in the middle of Bourbong Street, Bundaberg's main shopping centre. Both were very well known and liked in the town and had an active social life: Lillian enjoyed meeting people and was respected as a good housewife who kept her home spotless. Tom especially bonded with those who shared his great love of golf. He would work in the shop five and a half days a week and on Saturday would religiously leave in time to play golf at the 18-hole course at the Bundaberg Golf Club. He was a good golfer. He also played on Sundays, when possible. In those days, enjoying the full benefits of the 19th hole every Saturday and/or Sunday was very common. With no way to measure breath alcohol, there were no laws about its strength. If you did imbibe too much on the occasional Saturday and arrived home a little late but very happy, the chances of losing your driving license was very slim. Why? Because, then, in a relatively small town if you were unlucky enough to be pulled over by a policeman that you didn’t know, you had to pass a driving sobriety test. This consisted of (a) being able to touch your nose with the forefinger of your right or left hand and/or (b) after the policeman had chalk drawn a straight line in the road or with a stick in the dirt, you then had to be able to walk in a relatively straight line. How Tom managed to drive home on a few occasions was interesting. A very good navigator indeed!\\ | In Bundaberg, Tom bought the ‘China Arcade’ from relatives of his wife.Tom, trading as China Arcade, left his trace in the archives when he took legal action in 1951 to recover a small debt.((State Record of NSW, Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior t/a [trading as] China Arcade, //Small Debts Registers Index// Citation: NRS-2881-2-[10/17]-10/17 | Date: 13/12/1951)) He soon expanded the business, from not only selling top quality chinaware but also jewelry, clocks and watches, both new and needing repair. He moved the business to a larger and more strategically placed shop in the middle of Bourbong Street, Bundaberg's main shopping centre. Both were very well known and liked in the town and had an active social life: Lillian enjoyed meeting people and was respected as a good housewife who kept her home spotless. Tom especially bonded with those who shared his great love of golf. He would work in the shop five and a half days a week and on Saturday would religiously leave in time to play golf at the 18-hole course at the Bundaberg Golf Club. He was a good golfer. He also played on Sundays, when possible. In those days, enjoying the full benefits of the 19th hole every Saturday and/or Sunday was very common. With no way to measure breath alcohol, there were no laws about its strength. If you did imbibe too much on the occasional Saturday and arrived home a little late but very happy, the chances of losing your driving license was very slim. Why? Because, then, in a relatively small town if you were unlucky enough to be pulled over by a policeman that you didn’t know, you had to pass a driving sobriety test. This consisted of (a) being able to touch your nose with the forefinger of your right or left hand and/or (b) after the policeman had chalk drawn a straight line in the road or with a stick in the dirt, you then had to be able to walk in a relatively straight line. How Tom managed to drive home on a few occasions was interesting. A very good navigator indeed!\\ |
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| While Tom and Lillian enjoyed life in Bundaberg, they also experienced 2 disastrous life events: 1) In 1952, after having settled into their new home in Churchill Street, West Bundaberg, Lillian again gave birth prematurely. Their baby Anne died in Bundaberg's Lady Chelmsford Hospital on 30 July, having lived for not quite two days.((Queensland death certificate 2740/1952)) It was a devastating blow as Tom and Lillian were so looking forward to their first daughter; and 2) One night in 1957, a fire destroyed everything in the China Arcade. Even worse was that they had forgotten to renew the business insurance some 1 or 2 weeks earlier. No payout! Electrical faults commonly started fires at the time.\\ | While Tom and Lillian enjoyed life in Bundaberg, they also experienced 2 disastrous life events: 1) In 1952, after having settled into their new home in Churchill Street, West Bundaberg, Lillian again gave birth prematurely. Their baby Anne died in Bundaberg's Lady Chelmsford Hospital on 30 July, having lived for not quite two days.((Queensland death certificate 2740/1952)) It was a devastating blow as Tom and Lillian were so looking forward to their first daughter; and 2) One night in 1957, a fire destroyed everything in the China Arcade. Even worse was that they had forgotten to renew the business insurance some 1 or 2 weeks earlier. No payout! Electrical faults commonly started fires at the time.\\ |