Early Life May was born in 1921; her parents were John Marshall & Mary (Sissy) Elizabeth Marshall (nee McKeag). She had one brother, John (known as Jacky) and the family lived in Whitehall Street Footscray. In 1925 Sissy became sick and eventually died of what we now call Leukemia when May was three. Susan Marshall, John’s sister, moved into assist. It should be remembered that it was considered unthinkable at that time that a male should be bringing up a girl. This is in he depression so work was hard to get. John had a job at Sunshine Harvestor, now Massey Ferguson. In the next two years John lost his job & Susan took May to Dubbo where Susan had a job as a cook for a sheep station during the shearing. it is not known which sheep station as there were many in the Dubbo area. When this job finished Susan and May moved to Trangie where they lived above the CBC Bank. Susan did the cleaning of the bank. Trangie had an eventful history in that period experiencing a tornado (1926) some time before they arrived, then in 1928 fire razed one side of the main street. Most buildings, except the bank, were weatherboard and succomed easily to the raging fire which had started at the rear of the hotel on the opposite corner. May still vividly remembers watching the fires from her upstairs window. In the three blocked photos opposite the shop opposite the bank, pre-fires is discernable; the second is a photo of May in front of the shop & the third is the shop as rebuilt after the fires. A short time later another fire started in a toolshed at the other end of town and did considerable damage. It is not known why Susan & May left Trangie but it would not have been long after the second fire. They returned to Footscray. Susan & John (snr) had a row and Susan left. Naturally May could not stay with her father and she went to live with the Fitzgeralds in Newport. Mr Fitzgerald worked at the Shell refinery & it is not known how he & John Marshall were connected perhaps John had worked at Shell. This did not last long before May was again relocated. Somewhere in this period John’s house was reclaimed by the bank & John went to work in the mines at Bruthen. John returned from the mines because Jacky was causing quite a fuss at school (St Kevins) and fatherly intervention was required. It is not known who had been looking after him.

Coincidences

Jacky

Jacky Marshall was born in Cobar in general area of Dubbo & Trangie

Fitzgeralds

There are quite a few Fitzgeralds around Trangie. It was the Fitzgeralds of Newport that May went to live with c1930. Were there relatives in the area, especially Dubbo or Trangie, where Susan took May to look for work? Why did Susan take May to Dubbo & then Trangie?

Aunty (Esther Ann Anderson 1874- 1962) It is uncertain why but May was moved from the Fitzgeralds’ care and taken in by aunty, John’s cousin. At the time Aunty was already looking after her mother and brother and would have been in her late 50s. Taking on a young child as well would have been a big ask. However, she did take May in and the relationship lasted until Aunty’s death in 1962. When May married Charley in 1941 she continued to live at Argo Street with Aunty until Charley returned from New Guinea then Charley, May & Terry lived with Aunty until they bought & moved into their house in Richmond in November of 1946. At Richmond Charley added a room for Aunty who lived with them for a short time. After that she was a regular visitor at both Richmond & Preston until her death in 1962. Aunty is buried at the Kew Cemetery with her mother (Jane), sister (Mary) & brother (Bill - William). See above left for burial details.

May - School & Her Debut After moving in with Aunty may attended St Josephs primary school in South Yarra. She had attended St Monicas in Footscray, St Carthages in Trangie and Sacred Heart in Newport. She left St Josephs with her merit at age 14 (1933) and won a scholarship for another two years at St Brigids in North Fitzroy and Santa Maria doing Commercial Studies, shorthand, typing & bookkeeping. May started going to dances with a group of friends, one of whom was Mary Dee. Mary was friendly with Vin McCue. One day Mary & May were at Vin’s house when Vin’s friend Charley was there. The two had known each other as both groups of friends often attended the same dances. May was about to make her debut and asked Charley to partner her. After her debut the two continued to see each other both as part of their groups and increasingly just with each other.

Work May got her first job with Love & Lewis, a clothing store in Chapel Street Prahan. This lasted about nine months before she went to Hicks Atkinson as a mail order officer for three years and then at AML (Australian Mutual Life) in Queen St Melbourne she worked as a secretary. May took 12 months off to have her first child, Terry, and returned to the workforce, now aged about 21. Her former boss, Mr Robinson, State Manager of AML, got her a position (May thinks it was National Mutual). She stayed with this job for about 12 months before taking up a position across the road in Argo Street at Oswool Shawls as secretary to the owner and remained with the company until Charley returned from New Guinea..

Love & Lewis Chapel St Prahan

Friends of May at St Brigids during commercial studies