24th October 1986:
This is not intended to be an autobiography, but merely notes for my descendants, so they will know "who they are" and they may find some of the notes interesting and gain an insight into life as it is now and as it has been during my life time.
At the time of writing, I am the Proprietor (together with my husband of 28 1/2 years) of a gift shop at Kippa-Ring Village Shopping Centre, City of Redcliffe, Queensland. We have been here six months or so. The date we opened it was 27th March 1986, the day my first grandchild Holly Melisse Dawson was born. We had previously conducted the business of Caboolture Gifts, 2 James Street, Caboolture, Queensland from 17th February 1983 till 13th March 1986.
We moved to Redcliffe with a bigger population, in the hope of bettering the turnover of the shop. At the time of writing we are living at Lot 15 Swan Road, Bellmere, Caboolture from where I drive daily in a white Commodore Station Sedan - a 25-minute drive.
I was born at St. Margaret's Private Hospital, Royston St. Kilcoy Queensland at 9:00 am, 22nd September 1938, the second child of Lillian Matilda Duncan (nee Kruger) and Malcolm Brown Duncan. That day was when electricity was first turned on to the township of Kilcoy, which was previously known as Hopetoun.
My elder sister Shirley Jean Duncan was born 8th July 1934. My mother was born at Nundah, 29th August 1907 and my father was born 8th March 1899.
All my childhood, and until I married I lived at 80 Seib St., Kilcoy, the house being called "Mac-Ian" after my parents' Christian name "Mac" being short for Malcolm & "Ian" from being the last part of Lillian.
On 3rd May 1957 I became engaged to Keith William Duncan, second son of Arthur Hunter Duncan and Amy Clarice Duncan (nee Thomason). We were married at Kilcoy Methodist Church, William St. Kilcoy exactly one year later - 3rd may 1958.
Written Oct 1987:
My father attended the Hazeldean or Stanley River School. He walked there and had bread and home made rosella jam (no butter) sandwiches for lunch every day. The bread was home made by his sister Mabel who was the cook in the family.
As the children grew older Daisy (Maggie Brown) was house cleaner, Bell & Gracie worked in the cow bails. I don't know what Bud did. I think it was looking after the other children. She and Daisy had to stay home from school alternate days to rock the cradle.
The butter for the family was churned by hand outside the back door in a wooden butter churn.
In later years J.B.'s wife, Nan, did the family ironing. The house was very primitive at first with a dirt floor and open cooking fire in the kitchen.
My father's bedroom was shared by his brothers Royal & Graham. They slept on the floor on a home-made corn-husk mattress. The room was extremely small & had no furniture.
This house was later flooded while Daisy was still living in it. The furniture was more or less ruined. The year was about 1956. She then moved to her own house, Royston St. Kilcoy beside the bowling green, previously owned by Wilfred Pratten.
Colin Duncan lived slightly up the hill from the old C.A. Crossing home. This house was above flood level. The old C.A. Crossing home was pulled down and the timber used in Colin Duncan's home in Kropp St. Kilcoy. Now owned by John Webster, son of Colin Samuel Webster.
The old C.A. Crossing property was resumed by the water board when the Somerset Dam was built and leased back to the family. Grandma Elizabeth Duncan died aged 83 and left the property to 3 of her children - Colin, Sandy (Alexander Robert) and Daisy (Maggie Brown). The lease was bought out by Colin when Sandy passed away from cancer in his forties, leaving 3 young children. The lease was later sold to Bob Nicholls who is married to my husband's cousin Jean (formerly Brodie).
Sandy's wife Jessie moved back to her home town of Ipswich when Sandy died and resumed teaching (home science). She lived at Wall St. Bundamba. Her son Robert Lees Duncan now lives there with his wife Leone and 2 boys. Jessie's maiden name was Clegg and was once a teacher at Kilcoy School where she met Sandy. Jessie later became teacher of English on a migrant ship between Greece & Australia & then married a Greek music teacher, 1st name Vasily. Don't know surname. Vasily also got cancer & as hospitals in Greece were not good, Jessie flew him urgently to Australia. He lived a few years in Melbourne then he died. She went to Melbourne to be near Beth (Elizabeth Jessie Bateson) her daughter. They still live in Melbourne. Jessie's son Alexander Scott (known as Scott) also lives in Melbourne and works for Channel 9 T.V. as a cameraman. He plays guitar too.