Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Recollections of Wellington: Bob's finger mishap

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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Bob and Beth Mason had a farm out of town and a house in town.  One day, Bob was pruning up a ladder at the side of the house and cut his finger off.  It dropped to the ground and his cat took off with it under the house - we got  a frantic phone call from Beth and raced to their house to search for the finger but could not find it!!

recollections of Keswick Island: the day we almost perished and I went blind

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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We went on holidays to Keswick Island off Mackay, Qld, Australia - the island was leased as a pastoral lease by Father Leo Donnelly and friends of his.  The first time, we went with the Leightons from Port Macquarie and had a great time - it is a big island, 8000 acres, and we were the only ones on it.  We lived in a hut on the edge of a coral beach next to the channel dividing us from St Bees, which is another big island, about 1km across the channel.  One day, George Leighton towed me and the kids over to St Bees Island with the big aluminium half-cabin boat and dropped us there, while he went round the island fishing.  He was supposed to pick us up at 4pm.  Meanwhile, Sal (my wife) and Marie (George's wife) had gone to another area on St Bees Island to visit  Ernst and Musch who lived there on the Island.  Ernst came over to Keswick Island where we were staying, and picked Sal and Marie up.

George was delayed and didn't arrive back at 4pm to pick us up and I got worried as the water was getting higher and higher on the sandy beach where we were located and quickly being cut off, and also concerned because the big boat tended to break down a lot.  So at about 5pm, I put the kids (Karin, Melissa and Tim) in the little dinghy and started to row across the channel back towards Keswick Island.  At the same time the tide began to make, and we were being swept along the channel towards all these rips that were white water, and it looked as though we were going to miss Keswick Island.  If I had lost control of the dinghy, I'm sure we would have capsized in the rip and we all would not have made it.

Just then, George arrived, he had got keen on the fishing and fogotten the time lol.  Karin remembers the occasion vividly and could see how worried I was.  I explained to Karin that thing looked real bad and we might not make it back to Keswick Island, meanwhile I was rowing madly and trying to keep the boat steady.  I prepared her for the possibility that we may have to swim for it, and as she was quite a competent swimmer she would have to do her best to make it on her own, while I saved the little ones who couldn't yet swim.  Karin had never seen me so worried, but felt a deep strength surface and a determination.  I told her there was nothing more we could do now, but pray, and boy did we pray, and thankfully, George arrived just in time!

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I (karin) recall also that Dad (John) went blind on the island for a period of around 3 days, it took a while to figure out what had happened, and it was a tremendously frightening time, we finally realised that Dad had touched a caustic plant species and then his eyes, and this caused a temporary blindness.  He did recover thankfully.  He would tell the story much better than I can.  My story about it is here if you'd like to read my version There are also the other chapters that I've written about our adventures on Keswick Island over two holidays, if you are interested you can read them by clicking here each of the white square thumbnails contains a story in sequence from the Introduction to Chapter 8

recollections of Port Macquarie: Tim and Missy

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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Tim was born in 1970 and was a dear little fellow.  We couldn't keep him in the yard as he could climb over any fence.  We had a 6 ft paling fence and the lady in the flats/units next door, used to ring us regularly to inform us that Tim was climbing over the fence again!  He was always heading for the breakwall to join his Dad (me) fishing.  Tim was badly knock-kneed and we took him to specialists and he had to wear these horrible splints at night - he used to cry for hours and after a couple of months, we threw the splints in the garbage andhe was much happier.  His legs grew straight in time, he also overcame a stutter and later, we discovered he had juvenile diabetes around the age of 10

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Missy came along in 1971 and was a gorgeous little girl.  Very stubborn and knew how to get what she wanted.  We used to go for fmaily walks on the breakwall and once we got a certain distance, I would have to carry her on my shoulders - she would just lay herself down on the concrete and scream until I picked her up.

recollections of Port Macquarie: fishing trawlers

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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I used to go out on the fishing trawlers at Port Macquarie, trapping snapper, king prawning and catching lobsters and had some huge catches compared to what they catch these days.  I used to go with Ron, John and Kanga Elford.  They would get so many snapper and leather jackets in the traps that when they started to haul them up, they'd float up to the surface faster than the winch could turn.

Prawning was at night - all night and a long way out.  Big schools of giant sharks used to follow us, waiting for us to sort each catch.  We would pull the nets for 2 or 3 hours, then bring them up and sort out the prawns from everything else - all sorts of interesting stuff.  I would dry out interesting crabs, et, and inject them with formalin and varnish them.

The Elford's trawler family discovered lobsters on the Continental Shelf in the very deep water and they put traps down with surface buoys, but couldn't get them back for weeks due to the current pulling the buoys under, but eventually the buoys would surface when the current dropped off and they retrieved the traps - absolutely full of big lobsers = 20 or 30 or 50 dozen at a time!  The lobsters used to travel to this area in September-October.  Because the traps were down so long, they had to use sundried tough meat for bait.  They would use kangaroos and cows killed on the roads.

recollections of Port Macquarie: knife attack

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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Another incident that happened while I was a Police Officer at Port Macquarie, I got a call-out to a chemist shop on Koolumbung Creek, a new shopping centre.  I went in plain clothes and was attacked by a bloke who had broken into the chemist shop with a knife.

When the bloke attacked me, we had a huge fight on the riverbank and in the end, I managed to kick him into the river.  Some more Police arrived and commandeered a dinghy from two fishermen at the boat ramp and they caught this bloke in the middle of the River.  He grabbed the side of the dinghy and tried to overturn it.  One of the Police Officers fired a shot into the water and then towed the body into the boat ramp.  He was a drug addict just out of gaol, where he went back to after this!

recollections of Port Macquarie: rescue on the bar

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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One early morning, I got a call that a boat was overturned on the bar (Port Macquarie) in big seas and I raced down to the boat shed, but the boat wouldn't start.  George Leighton was trying to start it.  I raced to the Post Office and rang our boat mechanic and then went to the headland and saw an overturned boat in these huge waves on the bar, with a bloke clinging to the motor.  I ran down the beach and started to swim out.  Another bloke from the Surf Club, John Dingle came out after me on a ski - about 500-600 metres out, we got to the boat but the bloke was gone.  The boat was stuck where it was, as the anchor had fallen out and anchored it right on the worst part of the bar.  I was freezing and buggered.  Anyhow, I kept diving and looking for the bloke, but he was gone.  After a while the jet Rescue boat came and picked me up.  turned out 2 blokes from Sydney and a dog got drowned and another little dog drifted up the river on a life jacket and was saved.  It was very traumatic.  I was a member of the Surf Club and they had a meeting at which John Dingle and I were nominated for a framed citation.  I eventually got a Letter of Commendation from the Royal Humane Society as did John Dingle, who also received a framed citation from the Surf Association.

recollections of Port Macquarie: in general

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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When we went to Port Macquarie, we took our peacocks with us in the car, as well as some chooks and guinea fowl, but due to complaints from the neighbours, made to Sgt Plain, I had to give them away to Sea-Acres Tourist Park at Shelly Beach, Port Macquarie (now known as Sea Acres Rainforest Centre - click here to see their website)
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We lived in the 'lock-up' at Port Macquarie (where the prison cells were attached to the house we lived in) and our yard was where the Police Station now stands, right on the River.

Sally (my wife) used to feed up to a dozen prisoners at a time, and got paid a few cents for each meal.  I think it was $0.50c for brekky, $0.70 cents for lunch and $1.00 for tea.  They used to get good meals, the same as what the family (us) ate.

Iin those days, there were only 5 Police Officers stationed at Port Macquarie on General Duties and 2 on Highway Patrol.  I had the phone from 5pm each day to 8am the next morning (on call every night) and would be called out to accidents, etc. every night.

It was very tough, as many nights I was up most of the night up the Cooperabung and Kundabung Mountains between Kempsey and Port Macquarie, doing terrible accidents and then had to work 8am-5pm during the days.  I used to get time off for this but when they brought in payment for overtime, they extended the shifts at Port from 8-12midnight to save paying me, and I then only had the 'phone after midnight, which wasn't so bad.

I joined a group of Jewy (jew fish) fisherman at Port Macquarie and spent a lot of time with Bunny Coates, Ron Whiting, Tom Clark and Garry Rae, fishing for jewies off the breakwall.  We used to catch quite a lot, between 25lb and 76lb - beautiful fish.

We used to play heaps of practical jokes at Port Macquarie - tacks in the Highway Patrol boots, wet toilet paper bombs in the high tree outside the Police Station door, released by string bungers let off in the toilet, etc, and heaps more.

I was on the volunteer Jet Rescue Boat as a driver and did 80 odd rescues on the Hastings River Bar and when we left Port, had a big send-off at the RSL and the Port Council presented us with an inscribed  briefcase in appreciation.

I started marine fish keeping at Port Macqurie and had 3 beautiful tanks of fish.  Once, one broke in the middle of the night and we were up all night cleaning up saltwater.

recollections about Tottenham: magpies, chooks and goats

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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Getting back to the local wildlife, there was a magpie at Tottenham called Wicky, and it belonged to Bert Turner.  It was a great talker.  I had complaints of a magpie attacking kids in the Park next to the Police Station and as I was the local Police Officer, it was my job in those days to shoot the bird, unfortunately, it turned out to be Wicky, who Bert lfet out of his cage for a fly around town every day - I was unpopular for a while!

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We had a lovely Police Yard at Tottenham.  I planted trees which I guess would be huge now, River Red Gums.  I got hold of a sulky and kept it on the lawn, more like a patch in the middle of the yard.

We had a poultry run with a baby wild goat and chooks, guinea fowl and peacocks at Tottenham.  I got 6 guinea fowl from a property and took them home and put them in the chookyard, but they all flew away and spent the next night with half the population of the town recapturing them from the tops of trees where they were roosting.  After being confined in the chookyard and caged for a few days, they were okay and stayed.

recollections about Tottenham: Karin gets the chop!

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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I recall when Karin (my daughter) was about 2 years old, she put her ring finger in the door frame of one of the heavy doors in the Police house, when the wind slammed the door shut on hr finger!  Her finger was hanging by a thread of skin.  We rushed her to our Doctore Tamesvary, who sewed it back together and it healed perfectly!  Sally (my wife) had nightmares for years about Karin at the altar, holding her hand out minus her ring finger, for her husband to put on the wedding ring!

recollections about Tottenham: Rex Wiseman and goannas

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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At Tottenham, Rex Wiseman, the local Central West Electricity bloke and I, had a business collecting reptiles, mostly goannas, and we used to sell them to a pet shop bloke called Sam Cleary, at Petersham.  We would send them down in a big locked box on the train once a fortnight.  I was called back home from golf one day by Sally, when all the googies (goannas) got out of their cage and were all running 'round the Police yard.

Rex and I took a load down by car once, and they all got out into the boot and up into the lining of the roof.  We caught them all except one, and took them into the pet shop.  Later, we caught the last one and sold it to a bloke at Kings Cross (we were staying with Sal's parents at the Fire Station there).  This bloke was last seen going into the Pink Pussycat Night Club with the goanna.  Years later, there were stories in the papers about this huge goanna living on the rooves of Kings Cross, dining on pigeons!

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We went on holiday and Rex and Maureen were looking after my tame blue bonnett parrot, which was on the ground in his yard in a small cage, when the dog across the road, a miniature fox terrier, was sniffing at the bird.  Rex shot it with .22 rat shot (only supposed to sting - will kill rates) and shot the dog dead just as its owner was coming over to get it - quite a few ructions over that!

recollections about myself: Sid Fitzalan

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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Sid Fitzalan was a woolbuyer and had his own plane, a cessna 172 and he had it parked out at Lance Berryman's property, 40 miles out of town (Tottenham) and one day he asked me to drive him out there as he wanted to inspect a wool clip on another properly.  We drove him out in the Police Car and took off in the plane and inspected the wool clip.  On the way back, we were caught in a huge dust storm with a  rain storm.  It was raining mud on the plane and we couldn't see.

Anyhow, eventually we found our way back and landed, nearly turning over in the black mud.  Then Sid was taxiing the plane tothe hangar and missed and hit the wing against the hangar door and smashed the wing.  Then driving home, we were going 'round a bend but the Police Car went straight into a tree.  We pranged a plane and a police car in one afternoon - not a bad effort!

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Before we left Tottenham, Sid helped me buy a 1964 Holden Station Wagon.  We started off with some bags of wheat, swapped them for a broken down ute in a paddock, traded it on a little Toyota utility and traded that in on the wagon!  Talk about wheeling and dealing - Sid was an expert!

recollections about myself: Carl Caras' Cafe

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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Carl Caras' Cafe was a terrific greek cafe at Totty (Tottenham).  I went in there for a milkshake and sucked a long piece of something through the straw so that the bottom of the whatever  (string-like thing) was down in my stomach and it's top was coming out my mouth and down the straw - I was sick all over the cafe floor.  Carl offered me a fresh milkshake but I refused his offer.

Another time, a little kid came out of Carl's shop with ann icecream cone and the icecream fell out onto the footpath and there were four little legs and a tail sticking out.

recollections about myself: sad story from Tottenham

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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I had great experience at Tottenham as a Police man in a one man station, and very little trouble with the population, the local coroner was the local Store Keeper, Malcome Gander.   But I did have a lot of very sad and very sudden farm deaths with headers, tractors, etc, and a very terrible 'kidnap, murder-suicede'.

I will tell about that:  This young man worked as a shearer in Totty and had a local shcool teacher called Diane Nonie Lambert as a girlfriend.  They both left town before we got there and broke up.  She was tecahing in Sydney - Mosman.  One day he rang her up and asked to take her to the movies and she agreed.  That's the last she was heard of in Sydney.

A couple of days later, I was washing the Police car on a Saturday morning and a bloke called Kevin came into the police yard and said there was a car burnt out in a stock lane a couple of miles out of town.  I went out and saw the car with what was left of 2 bodies on the front sear - one had a rifle all burnt laying across its lap and there was a can of petrol on the ground a few yards away.  It looked like a double murder.  I got the detectives out from Parkes and the Scientific out from Dubbo.  We couldn't figure out what  had happened.

A couple of days later, letters arrived to the Police and the dea girl's parents from the deceased man, explaining that if he couldn't have Dianne, nobody else would and that he inteded to kednap and kill her and himself, in their old lover's lane at Tottenham.

recollections about myself: early married and police life in Parkes and Tottenham

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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I took Sal back to Parks after we were married where we rented a little old house at 74 Bogan Street.  Times were hard and we would run out of food before payday each fortnight.  We had some white leghorns in the backyard that Georff Luland gave us for a wedding present and we used to get a few eggs.  We got a dog but it ate some of the chooks and I had to shoot it.  (no vets in those days)

Sally got pregnant and on 10/5/65 our lovely little daughter was born in Parks Hospital.  It was 12.45am and Sal was uncomfortable in the bath!  I had to race over to the Ambulance Station up the road and get Sal to hospital and Karin Louise came into the world.  Sal wa in Hospital for 2 weeks which was the regulation period back then.

When Sal came out of Hospital, Thel and Ray came to Parkes to help out.  I was broke and had no food.  Went to the RSL Club to get some bottles of beer for Ray (Sal's father) with the last of my money.  Had 2/- change and put it in the poker machine and cracked the jackpot!  Twenty quid!  So we were able to get some supplies in for Ray and Thel's visit.

We were transferred to Totenham, a one-man Police Station in June 1966.  Karin was 1 year and 1 month old.  We made lots of good friends at Tottenham.  Sid and Joy Fitzalan, Bert and Lorna Hand, John and Pam Eggleston, Bernie and Pam O'Neil, Rex and Maureen Wiseman, Kay and Jim Burton and many others.

We were there in an 11 year drought and used to get dust storms that came through the cracks in the boards of the the Police House.   One time, it rained and the Bogan Rive was rising and I went to Tabratong Bridge to check it out and as the water rose, millions of yabbies were crossing the road ahead of the water. I filled the Police Car boot and went back to town and told some of our fireds who also came out and loaded up.

I was the Policeman, Clerk of the Court, Inspector of Slaughterhouses, Clerk of Petty Sessions, Motor Registry and Mining Wardens Clerk.  I did a lot of work in the Mining as the mineral boom was on and all the mining companies were taking out all sorts of licenses.  I didn't have a clue as all I knew was Police work.

I was alloed to used the Police Car privately as well as for work as I could get called out any time - there was no-one else.

Sally worked at the Tottenham Cottage Hospital.  Karin went to work with Sal til I finished work, then I picked her up, the patients loved Karin - Karin loved to play in the hospital yard with cats and chooks.

Motor Registry was huge in wheat harvest time as all the farmers would register quarterly all sorts of weird trucks for carting wheat to the Railway.  The trucks would be in queues hundreds of yards long.

We left Tottenham after a wonderful send-off in the Town Hall/Picture Theatre in October 1969 and moved on into the lock-up at Port Macquarie.

Monday, November 29, 2010

recollections about myself: meeting Sally


* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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I was a member of Bondi Surfbathers Surf Club and spent a lot of time on the beach.  Several of us blokes were sitting on the beach one day in 1960 and I had a radio and it was playing "Barefoot Boy" by Noelene Batley - a big hit of the day, when thee cheeky nurses came up and sat with us on the beach to listen to the song.  One of these, was a cute little redhead called Sally Lynch who I fell for immediately!  I had sort've  noticed her on the beach for a while.

We began going out together.  I was a bit doubtful as to Sal's family, because I wasn't a  Catholic.  Sal's Dad, Ray, was a senior fireman and they lived on top of the Kings Cross Fire Station.  Sally was in her first year of nursing at Sydney Hospital.  Sally's brothers are Ray and Chris, sisters Karin, Ellen (now Genevieve) and Hilary. (see Sally's father Ray below the day he received a medal in his form Fireman's uniform in Sydney - John is far right at the back, Aunty Karin in pink mini dress, white hat is Betty Joan Clarke (John's mother) and green hat is Sally's mother Thelma (Ray's wife), the red head is Sally, lady in yellow is Colleen Lynch (sister in law) with their son Mark Lynch carried by Colleen, and her husband Ray (Sally's brother).  Karin is in the front in a green dress posing with Ray (her grandfather in formal Fireman attire)



Sally lived at home, but later had to board at the Hospital or at the sydney Eye Hospital in Woolloomooloo.  Sally used to get free tickets every now and then through the Hospital to go to the tivoli and we went and saw shows there quite often.  We used to go to the movies and have coffee in a little coffee shop at Kings Cross and to to the beach.  The Coffee Shop was called "The Mignon".  Sally's real name was Sylvia Anne Lynch and as her initials were S.A.L. everyone called her Sal.

I had use of Dad's car for a short period, an old Austin A40 convertible and one weekend I took Sal to Austinmer where Mum and Dad and Isabel were holidaying.  On the way back to Sydney at night on the Sunday, the car broke down in the deepest darkest portion of the National Park (no F3 freeway in those days).

Eventually, I got a car to stop and asked him to call the NRMA down when he got to Sutherland.  We waited for hours.  Big trouble as Sal's Dad would be pacing the floor waiting for his daughter.

While we were waiting, a car stopped to see if he could help and told us another car loaded with hoodlums had crashed further back down the road and that whey were suspicious characters.  The NRMA arrived about 3am and I asked him to call the depot and request them to advise Sutherland Police about the crash.  He did so.  Turned out the A40 had to be towed to Sutherland as it had a broken axle.  So we got a lift to Sutherland Police Station with the NRMA and arrived there about 6am!  I went into the Police Station to use the phone to ring Sal's Dad, who naturally got stuck right into me.  Then the Police Sergeant at Sutherland asked me if I was the bloke who had rung about the car crash.  He congratulated me, as it turned out the Police went down and caught a gang of car thieves they had been after for a long time.  I got a good mark on my Service Register for this, but was regarded with deep suspicion by Sal's Dad, Ray.

I got transferred to Parkes in 1961, but prior to being transferred, I had 14 weeks leave and with 3 other Police, including George Leighton, we went opal mining at Lightning Ridge in my 1952 blue Holden Sedan.  Had a wonderful time spotlight shooting 'roos at night for skins and mining in the day.  We cleaned out a deep old mine and chipped in with our picks where the old miners had stopped.  We found some opal which paid for our trip.  Sally's opal earrings were dug out during that trip.  I had a terrible accident in the car coming back to Lightning Ridge from Walgett with supplies.  I ran into the blade of a bulldozer who was grading the road at night and the blade was on the wrong side of the road.  It cut right into the car from front to back, just missing my knee!  Luckily the blade was turned away instead of in towards us, in which case, it would have dragged us right into the bulldozer.  We were flat out at 90mph at the time, very lucky!

After my transfer to Parkes in 1961, Sally and I wrote lots of letters and I visited Sydney when I could.  By this time, Mum and Dad had moved to Gordon.  I boarded at Parkes iwth Lila Davis.  Michael was her son who later married my sister Isabel.  He fell in love with a photo of Isable that i had on my dressing table.  Whilst at Parkes I used to reliee at Condobolin, Bogan Gate and Tullamore.  It was at Condobolin, that an aboriginal climbed a tree and got Cocky Clarke (a white cockatoo) out of a nest for me and I gave her to Mum and Dad on one of my trips to Sydney.  We had to fee her Weet-Bix on a spoon til she was old enough for seed.

I had a lot of interesting cases (police) at Parkes and attended some dreadful crashes.

The big day came on 19/6/64 when Sal and I were married at St Canices, Darlinghurst.  The same day The Beatles came to Sydney - traffic was really heavy.  We were married by Father Hazeler and had a lovely reception at the Australia Hotel.  Ian Park and Frank Clare were our best man and groomsman and our bridesmaids were Karin (Sal's sister) and Isabel (my sister).  We went on our honeymoon to Hayman Island, where we had a wondrful time.

recollections about myself: police cadets

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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  • After I completed the Leaving Certificate, I hung 'round not knowing what I wanted to do.  We went to Austinmer for a holiday dn Neville Carr and his wife Pat suggested I join the Police Cadets.  I thought that sounded okay but was not really enthusiastic.  Neville arranged for me to have a talk with a detective sergeant he knew at Wollongong and I applied to join at the Police Training Centre at Redfern on 29 February 1958 (Mum and Dad now living at Kandos).  I went back to Kandos and on getting there, received a telegram to report for duty at the Police Training Centre on 3 March 1958.  So in a big panic I packed and caught the train to Sydney and went to stay with Norman and Laurie Carter at Mosman.



  • On Monday 3 March 1958 I caught the ferry and walked to the PTC.  I had forgotten to  pack hair oil and by the time I got to the PTC my hair was standing up and in a mess.  I was marched into the Cadet Sergeant's office - Sergeant Garnett Brickell who looked liked a bulldog.  He screamed and yelled at me, gave me a comb and sent me to the washroom (he really had a heart of gold).  He gave me a talk and then sent me to work at the Fingerprints Section where I worked for 6 months. On my firtst day there, Stan Owen (later a Detective Sergeant at Newcastle) one of the other cadts, sent me out to the Sergeant for a long weight (wait) for a typewriter - I must have waited a couple of hours before I woke up!



  • Sergeant Brickell( 'Bricky') arranged for me to stay at Miss Amelia Jones' Boarding House at 296 Campbell Parade, Bondi.  This was pretty well a place for Police Cadets to stay and there were four or five of us there.  Miss Jones was a food demonstrator and lived there with her old mother and two dogs 'Patch', a very fat black and white terrier and 'Trixie', a mean little Australian terrier.  she used to feed us the results of her demonstrations which was quite interesting.

  • The boarding house was right at North Bondi opposite the tram terminus and we used to catch the tram every day into Taylor Square and walk from their to the PTC at Redfern, about a half hour walk.  On long weekends, us cadets would take out suitcases to work on the tram and head for our families in the country  after work on the Friday.

  • One of the Cadet Sergeants was Sgt Stuart - when he talked, he spat.  We were on Parade for Roll Call one day and Sgt Stuart was calling the Roll, there was another 'Clarke' in the Cadets and he was always called first.  This day Sgt Stuart must have had the Roll sheets reversed and he called "Clarke JA" and I never answered, thinking he was calling the other Clarke.  He called me several times - no ansewr - he then walked up tome real closed and screamed "CLARKE JA" and sprayed me with spit.  I then had to run 'round the training centre (a long way) 20 times carrying my bag!

  • The way the Cadet system worked - we would spend a couple of hours a the PTC every morning and then go to our various stations where we did all sorts of minor jobs - telephone, filing, etc.  We usually spent 6 months at each place.  I was at Fingerprints, Regent Street Station, Bondi, Ruse Bay and the CIB.  I was at Rose Bay when Graeme Thorne was kidnapped and murdered and also when Dr Yeates was found dead in his garage with an injection to his heart - the two biggest cases in that period

  • I didn't have a watch and used to go down the beach some afternoons and Miss Jones had a thing about being home at 6pm sharp for tea, so I used to carry a set alarm clock in my pocket with would go off in the strangest places.

  • We used to go to an illegal gaming club called The Egyptian, above some shops at Bondi to play snooker.  One day, there was a raid led by Bumper Farrell of 21 Division and as the Police came in the doors, we jumped out the first flooor windows onto cars parked underneath and go away, we would be in awful trouble if we were caught in such a place.  Bumper Farrell was famous as the toughtest cop of the time.  He played League for Australia and bit off a Frenchman's ear during a test match!!

  • We had to larn typing up to 100 words a minute and we learned Pittman's shorthand at the PTC, we all went to different colleges.  Some of us went to Mr Hornblowers  college at Redfern.  I was there one night with Carl Hermanson and Frank Clare - frank boarded with me at Miss Jones.  It was a Friday and we had the weekend off.  Frank suggested he and I hire a boat fromMessengers at Rushcutters Bay, but I had no money.  He said he had received money for his birthday from his grandmother and that he would pay.  Messengers Boat Hire at Rushcutters Bay was quite famous. They were descendants of Daily Messenger the great footballer.   Saturday morning, we hired out a put-put boat from Messengers, not allowed to go past a certain poiknt in Sydney Harbour.  However, we took the boat oustide Sydney Heads and went fishing well out to sea.  During our fishing, Frank dropped an oar on the spark plug of the motor and smashed it.  We were stuck and drifting well out to sea - we could only just see land.  Eventually, an Italian fishing trawler came along and rescued us.  They towed us back into the harbour to Rushcutters Bay.  

  • My Police Cadet phase ended on 29/4/60 on my 19th birthday when I was sworn in as a Probationery Constrable and stationed at Rose Bay, which was a good station and where I had been as a Cadet for 6 months.  There was a big hitch on the day I was sworn in.  I had been christened 'Jack', but after that Mum had a change of mind and called me "John Alexander" so when they checked my birth certificate, they reckoned I couldn't be sworn in til my name was officially changed to "John Alexander".  So I was raced in a Poice Car to Dept of Births, Deaths and Marriages to have my name changed before I could be sworn in - a big panic - great start to a career!

recollections about myself: Bea Miles famous Sydney identity

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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Bea Miles, a famous Sydney identity who lived in the sydney parks, and was a brilliant uni student gone 'funny' (used to recite Shakespeare in the streets and wore a tennis eye shield) (click here to see photos of Bea) was a menace to the Police and Sydney taxi drivers.  She would jump into a passing taxi and refuse to pay.  Everyone in Sydney knew her.

She used to get on the tram at the Bondi Terminus where we lived and she would bet us two shllings on the number of taxis we'd see between Bondi and the City.  We used to jump off the tram at Taylor Square without paying her and she would scream abuse at us as we shot off.

Memories of our Mother Zillah by Sue Griffin

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

- - - - - -

This memoir is written by Sue Griffin, the half sister of Joan Clarke (my mother) regarding our mother Zillah, there is mention of our Jewish line and gives an excellent insight into Zillah's character and privileged lifestyle!  A wonderfully interesting look at domestic history also, it shows that when she was going through hard times, Zillah was not afraid of hard work and made a good life for herself, independently - Karin

MEMORIES OF OUR MOTHER

After reading a great book called "Hanna's Daughters" by Marrianne Frederickson' I thought it time my two sisters & brother tried to record some recollections of our Mother Zillah Louise Hyman


She said she was never registered at birth, in Tamworth, NSW Australia.  She died in 1976.  To the best of our knowledge she was then 84 years old.  The cause of death was kidney failure.  She had been ailing for some time, with varying degrees of confusion and blackouts.

She came in the middle of nine children. Her Mother, Sarah, died in childbirth, when Zillah was six or seven years old.  The children were cared for by a nanny/governess called affectionately 'Poor Winnifred'.  Mum said her Father, Lewis, was not kind to Winnifred and he had a vile temper.  He owned teh General Store in Tamworth, the store was sold when mum was 16 years old.  He was a self-made man, sent to Oz when only fourteen years old, to work for two Uncles who owned the flour mill in Tamworth.

Mum was at school in Sydney, at Ascham.  In those days it was a very small boarding school, started by Mr & Mrs Carter.  Mum loved them, she was very happy there.   Later on the school increased in size taking both boarding and day pupils, becoming one of the best schools in Sydney, Mum was of course a boarder.  After the sale of the shop, Mum and her elder sister Ehtel, with their Father, travelled to Europe, by sea, there was no other way then.  They visited two younger sisters, at school in Switerland, Stella & Gladys.  Mum then went to finishing school, near Paris, for a year.  The girls there were amazed she was white and spoke English.  She learnt to speak French and ? to behave in a ladylike fashion, she enjoyed it all enormously.  Zillah then joined her Father in Eastbourne (England).  He had acquired a lady friend whom Mum disliked intensely.  Partly because of this and also he thought her flighty, he cut her out of his will.  He died shortly after, of pneumonia, no antibiotics in those days.

Zillah and Ethel then returned home.  Arthur, Mum's eldest brother, later had her reinstated in the will.

Zillah married Alec Myers, a New Zealander, when she was twenty.  They went to live in Napier.  Betty Joan was born two years later.  Alec, a Boer War Veteran, died when Joan was 8 months old.  Mother's favourite, elder sister, Vera went to NZ and brought them home. (to  Sydney, Australia)

Mum lived in a unite called ? Karrorie Flats, at Elizabeth Bay, Sydney.  The first World War started in 1914, our Father Neville Kingsbury Edward Purcell Cohen joined up.  He must have been on 23 or 24.  He had known Zillah before her marriage - the Jewish community at that time being quite small in Sydney.


Before he was sent overseas, they were married, seemingly, three times, once in an Anglican Church, in Musselbrook, where Dad was stationed? In a registry office in Sydney.  The third time in the Great Synagogue in Sydney, otherwise father's Mother Mollie/Minnie, would not recognise the marriage.

Jill was born in 1922, after Nev returned from the war.  He had a shrapnel wound in his thigh, he had seen active service at ? Ypres.  Sue followed in 1925.  Neville Junior, in 1931, to the great joy of his parents, Mum was 45.

In nineteen twenty five the family moved to a  lovely home, called Mont d Or, 10 Fisher Av., Vaucluse. It had sweeping views down the harbour to what was later the site of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Later we were able to watch it being built.  We could also see all of Rose Bay which became the base for the Sunderland Flying Boats.  The Harbour provided endless entertainment, there were always ferry boats going to and fro, yacht races, liners, cargo boats and beautiful sunsets to be viewed.

In the early days at Mont dOr, Zillah and Nev were both great gamblers.  The loved horse races and poker.  Mum would get all dressed up to go to the races on a Saturday.  She was very superstitious and would never wear green, walk under a ladder or sit down with 13 people to a meal.  Many times there was doom and gloom when they had lost all their dosh.  Things would get very stressed for the whole family.  Eventually instead of the races, they would listen to the meets on the radio and bet by phone with starting price bookies.  The kids, Jill, Sue and Junior would be sent off to the cinema every Saturday afternoon, of course we were more than happy to go, we had a great time, Westerns, Tarzan and what seemed to us  wonderful movies, the days of silent movies were over by then.  Mum and Dad had no interruptions to their exciting pursuits!

Zillah spent a lot of time cleaning and polishing her home.  She was an excellent cook.  In the late twenties and thirties she had quite a lot of help in the house and garden.  A maid helped with the cooking housework and children.  She was provided with a  uniform and cap to cover her hair.  All meals were taken in the kitchen, but, she ate the same food as the family.  If she married, she had to leave and a replacement was quickly found.  Arthur would come each week and keep the garden tidy.  He would bring his own sandwiches, which Jill sometimes shared, much to Mum's horror.

A laundress did the washing and ironing, always on a Monday.  She would sort the washing, in the laundry, under the house.  The house was three stories, due to the sloping site.  The dirty clothes and linen were thrown down a chute, upstairs it was accessed through a large walk in linen press next to the bathroom.  Downstairs the chute was outside the kitchen door, in a small porch, which also housed a fly screened cupboard where a jug was left each day for the milkman, who came in a horse and cart, to leave the milk.  Potatoes were also stored in a basket in this cupboard.  Down a few steps from this porch sat the dustbin.  All rubbish was neatly wrapped in newspaper, a supply of which was neatly folded and stored in a cupboard in the kitchen.  Back to the Monday wash day - Mrs Jones and later Mrs Neville would boi up all the linen and towels in the gas copper.  They were then rinsed in the large tubs and put through a hand operated mangle.  When all the clothes were washed they were carried in a large wicker basket up and down two flights of steps to be hung on the parallel wire clothes lines, held aloft by wooden clothes props.  The laundress would then have a good lunch in the kitchen, after which she would bring in any washing that was dry and start on the ironing.  This was done on a wooden table in the maid's bedroom, under the house next to the laundry.  When it was complete she would carry it all upstairs and lay it out on Mum and Dad's fine double bed, to be put away.

1939 The start of the second world war, our circumstances had changed a lot. Father had an affair and gotten the family into quite some debt.  Mother moved to Cooma, where she stayed until Father died.
At this time Zillah decided to change her name to Zillah Carr from Cohen.  (shortened excerpt)

Zillah was not afraid of hard work.  Finances were strained so she took in two paying guests, cooking them breakfast and dinnner at night, which they ate with the family.  During the war she had two women guests.  Mrs Buchanan, an Oz woman who had left her husband.  She ran a coffee shop in the city.  Mrs Riley, an, Englishwoman, who escapted just before Singapore fell.  She didn't know if the husband she'd left behind was dead of a POW of the Japanese.  They were both delightful women and added greatly to our everyday lives.  After the war, Mrs Buchanan returned returned to her husband and Mrs Riley to England, where I think she was reunited with her husband and daughter.   Mrs Martin came down from Hong Kong just after the war with her son Peter, she only stayed a short while, Peter occupied what had been the maids room.  I am not sure how long he stayed.  I think he was still at Cranbrook.  They were followed by Jack Palmer.  He was a widower who had been a Magistrate in India furing the war.  His wife was Russian, she had two children by a previous marriage.  He planned to start up a law practice in Sydney, but found there were too many barristers already so eventually went back to England.  Connie jacks step-daughter stayed with Mum when she finished school, for a while.  The last boarder was Mr Granger he came from N.Ireland and was quite a young man.  Mum doted on him.  Sue had gone abroad a while before, she too was now married and living in Nigeria.

Joan had two children, her husband Jack were transferred to Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains and Zillah decided to sell Mont dOr and move to the Mountains to be near them.  She sold Mon dOr for eleven thousand pounds (now probably wrth a couple of million).  She bought a small bungalow called Greenaway just over the road from  Joan.  Mum spent twelve very happy years there.  Bought herself a Morris Minor car, played bowls and enjoyed her grandchildren, as well as the company of Joan and Jack.  Jack worked in the Bank of NSW.

He was eventually transferred to Kandos.  MUm had made a new life for herself, she stayed on in the Moutnains until she was seventy.  Joan and Jack were then transferred to  Sydey.  They bought a house in Sydney.  Mother was persuaded to move back to Sydney too.  She bought a unit in Turramurra not far from Joan.  Once again she settled in and made a life for herself.  Being close to public transport, Zillah was persuaded to give up her beloved Morrie.

recollections of my mother and her family: John Milton the blind poet

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

- - - - -

Mum, Joan (Betty Joan) was born in New Zealand in 1913 at Napier. Her Mum was Nin (Zillah Myers) who was married to Alexander Myers who was a travelling salesman for his family firm of J Myers & co, a big warehouse in NZ.  He died when Mum was 8 months old, so she never knew him.

Mum was a little girl in Napier when the big Napier earthquake occurred and was thrown out of her cot but was not hurt.  When Mum was 3, Aunty Vera Cohen came and got Mum and Nin and bought them back to Sydney.

Sometime later Nin married Neville Cohen a solicitor and they purchased a beautiful home at 10 Fisher Avenue, Vaucluse called "Mont D'or" (Mountain of Gold).  Nin had Jill, Sue and Neville, Mum's half sisters and half brother.  When Neville died, Nin changed her surname from Cohen to Carr.

Mum met Dad (Jack Clarke) playing tennis across the road from Mont D'or and they were married in 1939.

During the war, Mum and I went to live in Cooma to avoid being shelled by the Japanese and then Dad was transferred to West Wyalong where he later joined up in the army.

I remember staying several times at Mont D'or as a kid and had good times there.  I used to walk down to Nielsen Park and fish off the wharf.  I was bitten on the finger there under the wharf by a green eele when I put my hand in a cave to feel around!! Had the scar for many years.

After Neville Cohen died, Nin had some boarders in to Mont D'or to help make ends meet.

My granny, "Gangle" correct name Lavalette Milton Erkin Baker, was a descendent of the blind poet JOHN MILTON who penned Paradise Lost.  She was married in Ballina 1904 to Dad's father the school teacher, Arthur Reginald Clarke.  I think they were transferred to Adelong where Dad was a little boy and then to Camden.

Everybody knew "Gangle" as "Gangle", not just her grandkids.  She was the sweetest white-haired old lady who never said a bad word about anybody.  I believe she was a great bush woman and used to crack snakes like a whip and their heads would fly off!!  What a legend!!!

I stayed at her cottage at Camden a couple of times.  She had beehives in her yard and used to have honey on her porridge, something I have always liked.  She had Eileen, Jack (dad), Walter and Roy.

recollections of Katoomba: Pacific Paradise

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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  • Whilst at Katoomba, we went on two holidays.  When I was 'round 9 I reckon, we went and stayed with Norman and Laurie Carter and their daughter Susan in a holiday house at Newport Beach, Sydney.  The house was right on the beach - long gone now and it had a bookcase with really old book and buffalo horns up on the wall - I just loved it and remember going to sleep listening to the surf and beachcombing and going 'round the rocks at low tide.  I remember playing with blue-ringed occies (octupus) there, long before anyone knew they were poisonous.  I think that is where my great love of the sea and fish began.

  • Our second holiday was to 'Pacific Paradise' - a holiday camp near Norah Head, north of The Entrance.  Mum was hysterical when we arrived on the train from Katoomba, as what we stayed in was a wooden frame covered with canvas and hessian.  I just had the most wonderful time beachcombing and fishing.  We were right on the beach and there was a Kiosk where you could get rods and reels for beach fishing.  Alvey side casters and big long cane rods.  Dad and I got out the rods and reels and went to fish the surf.  We didn't have a clue that to caste, you had to turn the reel sideways and after a few attempts at casting we gave it up and just had the baits (pippies) washing around our feet pretending to fish (all the other fishermen along the beach were casting out great distances).   Anyhow, this hug bream came up and grabbed Dad's pippy right at his feet and he hauled it out with great excitement.  I remember it was a huge bream!
  • I used to go prospecting around the rocks on my own every day and remember this bloke went in snorkelling and was pulling out these huge crays.  One day a big wave knocked me over and washed me in and I had to swim round to the beach to get out!
  • One night we were in bed and a big rat was running across the rafters.  Mum was not impressed.
  • While we were there, Dad and I both got really bad sunburn on our backs - blisters - and Dad was really in a bad mess.  There was no electricity and we used kerosene lamps for lighting and a  methylated spirits primus stove for cooking.
  • I have been back there to try and find the site of Pacific Paradise, but could never find it again. I just know it was north of Norah Head and within walking distance.
  • Pacific Paradise was advertised in the Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper (NSW 1842-1954) on Wed 13 November 1946  and again on Saturday 3 February 1951 on Page 23 (of 36) - taken from Australia Trove Digitised newpapers and more website   
1st advertisement 1946


PACIFIC PARADISE Furn Camp Units

accom 4 on ocean near lake bus soptlcsystem showers fishing (rock-beach lo"e)riding school all tradesmen Pamphletsphotos details BLIGH S 14a Martin Place


2nd advertisement 1951




PACIFIC PARADISE (Central Coa»t)
CABINS Furnished accommodate four
Septic system Surf, fishing prawnIng tennis rod and reel prawn nets inelusive Store Enjoy a pleasant holidayFor pomphlet Trustee Paclflo Paradise
Noraville via YVyong     (would be Wyong)     





recollections of Katoomba: olympic flags and bush fires

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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  • In 1956 I went to the Olympic Games in Melbourne.  I stayed with Aunty Jill and Phil Gilbert at Cantebury with their kids, Louise (who died a few years ago of breast cancer), Warwick (who I haven't seen since) and Graham (who we seem to see every now and again - he works for the Tax Dept.  Jill isMum's half sister and Sue Griffin is her other half sister and Neville Carr is her half brother.  Phil Gilbert was a Doctor and the City Health Officer for Melbourne.  They had a beautiful home at 12 Chaucer Crescent, East Cantebury or Camberwell, with a lovely tennis court down the back.  White staying with Phil and Jill, I knocked off a flag that was flying at the shopping centre - there were heaps there for the Games and I knocked it off for a souvenir.  Big trouble from Uncle Phil and we had to return it.

  • Also in 1956, there was a terrible bush fire in Katoomba - Leura - Wentworth Falls.  It started at Katoomba Rubbish Tip and there was a howling hot westerly blowing.  I was one of the volunteers iwth one of the ttankers.  Therw were several guesthouses, a church and 80 homes burnt out.  It was one of the worst first in Australia up to that time.

recollections of Katoomba: golf swings and flying saucers

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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  • In my last year at school, Dad got transferred to Kandos and I stayed on with Nin (my grandmother) to finish the year.  While in Nin's house at Katoomba, I was supposed to be studying but instead, I was practising my golf swing in the bedroom and smashed her beautiful chandelier light on my follow-through (big trouble!!) 
  • I was in the CEBS for several years (Church of England Boys Society) with Neil Elphick - it was like the Scouts and we wore a blue uniform with airforce type caps.  We were coming home one night when we saw a flying saucer.  It was only a couple of hundred feet high and it was circular with red and green lights revolving 'round its edge.  Many others also saw it and it was in the Sydney papers - headlines - and the next night it was seen again by hundreds of people and they sent up airforce planes from Richmond to check it out but they couldn't find it.

recollections of Katoomba: Mel Ward's Museum

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter

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I used to love to go to Mel Ward's Museum at Medlow Bath.  He was a real character with a white pointy beard and had the greatest collection of weird things, such as shrunken heads and deformed frogs in bottles.  He would take a group through and suddenly start banging on a native drum and chanting.  I used to take him specimens on my bike.

Australian Yowie Research Centre - re Mel Ward
Australian Folklore Unit Warren Fahey - re Mel Ward

recollections of Katoomba: tv, tripe & hepatitis

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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  • TV came when we were at Katoomba (about 1956) and I remember big crowds watching TV through the windows of the electrical stores at night.

  • Dad was in terrible pain one night and was taken to hospital and had an operation on his stomach.  Scar tissue had blocked off his bowel.  Apparently when he was a boy, he was jucking around and a girl stuck the end of an umbrella into his stomach near his navel where the scar tissue was.  He spent a few days in hospital.  When recovering Jack was starving and his first meal - TRIPE!  Dad used to shudder when telling the story and had a few more days without eating!!

  • In my last year at school (1957) I went camping with mates down the Megalong Valley over Easter where I caught a really bad dose of hepatitis.  I was really sick, vomiting, etc.., and could hardly move.  I spent 6 weeks flat on my back.. I recall Mum took me for my first game of golf and I collapsed on the course and said 'Mum I can't go any further...' When I went back to school, Mr Eric Johnston the headmaster told Mum and Dad that I had no chance of passing the Leaving Certificate and to  repeat the year, anyway I ended up passing it with flying colours!! I completed the Leaving Certificate in 1957 and got 5B's - an average pass.

recollections of Katoomba: my beautiful overcoat

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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Aunty Meg was living in England back then and she used to send me Ian's (Nathan) cast off clothing which was great because they were warm corduroy type clothes, etc.  She sent me this beautiful gabardine overcoat.  On e day I was running flat-out down the Katoomba Street Hill with my coat open and flying in the breeze when one of the buttons caught between the brick wall and a tin fence in a lane and ripped a piece of gabardine 1" wide from one side of the coat where the button was, right round to the button hole - big trouble!!

recollections of Katoomba: part time jobs and mishaps

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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  • I worked for John Gailey Radio as an after school and holiday job for a while and Mum and Dad remember me walking down Katoomba Street with a radio under each arm.

  • After that I got a job at Katoomba Woolworths after school and during holidays.  Whilst working there, the area behind the counters was very narrow and I bumped into a display of "California Poppy" a men's strong smelling hair oil.  It crashed down and they all smashed on the heating pipes on the floor and made a dreadful mess of broken glass and hair oil.  I left Woolies that day!!

recollections of Katoomba: coppers, gas stoves and old friends

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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  • Saturday mornings I had to cut wood and get the copper boiling for my Mum to do the washing.  I was always in a hurry to get away with my mates and Mum wouldn't let me go til the whole surface of the copper was bubbling.  There were no washing machines back then.  During this time, Mum's mother, Nin, (Zillah) came to live across the road.  We had a gas stove and in those days gas was piped to the houses from the Katoomba gas works which have since been demolished.

  • I had a good mate - Ian Smith who had a Dalmation called 'Rheema'  He was a terrific cricketer and footballer and was killed on a motorbike just after he left school, he had a job at the Port Kembla Steel Works.  His parents were pommies and had the 'Bluebird Arts and Crafts' in Katoomba Street.  He was in the class ahead of me.  He used to win all my marbles off me.

Recollections of Katoomba: air guns, shanghais, billy carts & paper boys

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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  • I was a paper boy at Katoomba for quite a while and used to sell papers on the street corners and deliver Sunday papers in a billy cart to the guest houses.  A bloke gave me a 10/- tip one Christmas - it was a red letter day!  I used to clal out 'Paper, Sun or the Mirror!'

  • We went through a big billy cart craze and used to race them down the Cliff Drive!

  • On one occasion, a boy called Cawley who lived up the road, shot a lady hanging out the washing next door in the bottom, with his air gun.  When the Police came, he told them I did it and they came to my place and confiscated my air gun!

  • Shanghais (catapults) were very popular and we used to make them out of a forked stick, car tube rubber and the tongue stolen out of someone's shoe (mostly Dad's).  These days you can't make them, as the rubber of car tyres have no stretch anymore.  We bound all the parts together with copper wire.  I was a crack shot and could hit a bird flying overhead.  We used to 'wing' the local King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas and keep them in aviaries.  We always had our catapults in our back pockets.

Keswick Island Holiday Stories by Karin

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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I (Karin) have written recollections of our Keswick Island holidays over 9 journals/chapters
Just CLICK HERE to read them, they all mention my father John, in one episode he goes blind, in others we set up shark traps, someone gets bitten by a bat, we find a turtle, i get my finger trapped in a giant clam, Tim wrestles a shark barehanded, etc... it was a fascinating adventure we shared on an uninhabited island on the Whitsundays in Queensland, Australia when I was about 10 years old

recollections of Katoomba: yabbies and trout

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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I recall Neil Elphick and I went yabbying one day out to the "Blue Hole" at North Katoomba, a good way out in the scrub behind the Katoomba Reservoir.  We caught some beautiful blue yabbies and then a big rainbow trout was biting on one of the baits - we couldn't et him because we had no hooks.  Next weekend we went out there again with worms and hooks and caught a heap of rainbow trout.  We often used to go out there fishing after that.  Years later I took Sally there and we caught yabbies and trout.

recollections of Katoomba: cricket mates

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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I had a couple of special friends at Katoomba, Don Craig and his dog 'Jip'.  The dog used to be my special mate and used to go on long rambles iwth me.  Michael Moreland, his brother Rob and sisters Diane (who was a fair bit older) and Kerry and Neil Elphick who I still see when he visits the Tweed.

Michael Moreland lived in a duplex and the owner lived in the other side.  He was a drunken monster and hated us kids.  We were playing cricket in the street one day using this man's steel garbage bin as a wicket when he came home in his old truck and he tried to run us down in the street and smashed into his own garbage bin!! We scattered in all directions.

Another time, Micael and I made 'toffee' in his mother's best saucepans.  His parents knew me as "The Wrecker' after that

Recollections of Katoomba: my first day

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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When I was a boy, we went to Katoomba in 1950 and lived in "Arahana"a house owned by the Bank  (where my father Jack worked) on the corner of Kurrawong Road and Mortin St.  Sal (my wife) and I called in their during our 40 year School Reunion and met the guy who now lives there and had a lovely tour of the house and a cuppa (Nov 1977).

The day we moved in, I met a local boy and we went on our bikes down the Cliff Drive and explored some bush.  We were late back and Mum and Dad called out the Police as they reckoned we had fallen over the cliff - 'specially when they found our bikes as the cliff top!'

A True Story by Colleen Lynch

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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seems my father has been the subject of many funny stories and poems, here is yet another ridiculous situation he found himself in, whilst on holiday at Tangalooma Island Resort on Moreton Island, Qld, Australia a few years back with my uncle Ray and his wife Colleen Lynch (my mother Sally's brother and sister in law)  ...   Colleen is a great poet and penned this amusing poem to relate the story

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Tangalooma has a rumour,
That once upon one steamy morn,
A tall and fearless fisherman,
Set out to fish and prawn.

His eyes were glazed with purpose,
His goal this day was set,
To catch himself a trophy,
The biggest flathead yet!

He strode along the seafront,
In true bronzed Aussie pose,
Though above the Aussie beergut,
He couldn't see his toes.

The hordes of Japanese tourists,
Were admiring him, he figured,
He allowed for cultural difference
When behind their hands they sniggered.

His mind was still abstracted,
The lure of conquest shone,
Then he heard one Japanese giggle,
'He got no Speedos on!'

He looked down in amazement,
Quick/exit was his wish,
And the tourists nodded discovery
Of how the Aussies fish.....

Steaming Poo

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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It was 'round 1982.  I was the boss of Kingsliff Police Station when I received word that a garage had been help up down south and that the offenders were in a certain car heading north.

Took off for the scene in the Police wagon but prior to getting there, got word by radio that the offender's car had turned over on a bush road and that they had decamped into the scrub.

By the time I arrived on the scene, there were four or five Police cars there already, with all the Police standing around on the road near the overturned stolen car.  No sign of the offenders.

I decided to have a look in the paddock nearby for signs of the direction of the fugitives and about a hundred yards away under a large gum tree found fresh steaming human faeces with some used newspaper and thought I was in luck...

I called out 'this way fellows, there is a big pile of....'.

I looked down to the officers some who were bent over, others leaning on their cards, but they wouldn't come.

I went back to the group and after some difficult conversation because they were laughing so much, eventually discovered that the culprit was one of our own - my own lockup keeper.

that's how i got the nickname 'Tracker'...

The Blue Hole

* a collection of stories and memories, in no particular order, from the life and times of John Clarke, who served as a policeman in the Australian Police Force, a great practical joker, he also had a great affinity with people and wildlife, was a champion swimmer, snooker player, loved golf, still loves fishing and is also an artist. I hope you enjoy his recollections - cheers, karin (his daughter)

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this is one of my favourite stories dad, as told by dad's mate, Neal - karin


One of my favourite outings as a boy growing up in Katoomba was to the Blue Hole in the company of a group of mates.

The Blue Hole was a deep pool below a cascade in a creek well into the thick bush at North Katoomba.  I don't know why we called it the Blue Hole because the water always appeared greenish even though the creek flowing into it was crystal clear.

We would pack our lunch, walk or ride to the edge of the bush at North Katoomba, hid our bikes if we had them, then walk a couple of kilometres along the creek while looking for 'possums nests' and freshwater crayfish and things.

We went there to catch rainbow trout.  We never caught many, if we caught one in an outing between us, we considered it a successful catch.  But the expectation was always exciting.  We didn't know much about catching trout, but I remember one day when we were having no luck I walked a little way down the creek from the pool.  I spotted a trout under a bank.  In the usual fashion I threw in a line baited with a worm.  The fish took no interest  So I suspended bait under a piece of stick and floated it past the fish.  Immediately the fish struck and was landed.  I got such a thrill.  We changed our techniques after that.

We had to climb down a short cliff to get to the waters edge at the hole.  On this particular day we had bought three bottles of soft drink (an absolute treat for us) at Katoomba.  Clarkey (John Clarke - myself) was  carrying them in his backpack.  When we got to the cliff, he threw his backpack from the top to the bottom to save carrying it down without a single thought for its contents.  Of course, one of the bottles broke, it was amazing they didn't all break.  We complained bitterly but Clarkey rather indignantly claimed he couldn't see the justification, after all, we still had two bottles left!

Another day, John (these incidents always seemed to involve him!) somehow managed to sink a fish hook into his finger.  We were all standing in a huddle earnestly looking down at Clarkey's pointer.  While the patient groaned, a few of us took turns at tattempting to manipulate the hook free, without success.  Someody then pulled out a blunt fishing knife and suggested we cut it out.  Whoever it was confidently made some pretended cutting strokes in the air over the finger, but then lost courage.  Another kid called out...'ive us a go!' but this was interrupted by the bright idea of going to Arthur Analzark's place.  He lived nearby, his sister was a nurse, so she would be able to fix it for sure.  We found her at home and explained our situation.  With us all looking on eagerly, she examined John's finger for about 3 seconds, grabbed the line and just yanked it out.  We continued out trip with John in considerable pain.

They were great days, even when they didn't go to plan.

Neal (thank you Neal!)