BEATTIE John Dixie

Beattie John Dixie. Beattie John Dixie. Beattie John Dixie. Beattie John Dixie.

1959-2008

Written by Julie Poett (nee Beattie)

John Beattie

In March 1959 John and Dixie Beattie and baby Julie came to live and work in Nyabing for the Larter family; Mr Arnold and Fred Larter.  The house we lived in was on Titicup Road and the main Farm was on the Nyabing- Pingrup Road.

John was born and raised in Lake Grace and Dixie was from Fremantle, a city girl who went to Lake Grace to work as a nurse where she met and married John.

In their time at Larter’s they had two sons, Keven born in 1959 and Rodney born in 1962. We made great friends with Chris and Bill Badger and Win and Eileen Reeves and their children who were close neighbours. They had a close association through sport, football and cricket, which Dad played. 

I have many memories of the time spent on the Larter’s farm. I started school when I was five. On my first day in the line outside the year two class I asked Debbie Bamess if she was Chinese as she had plaits and dark hair. After that we became good friends all through our school years.

I can remember catching the school bus. Mr Jack was the bus driver and Mrs Jack was quite often on the bus to keep Mr Jack company or to do some shopping.  The bus was very small and by the time we got to Nyabing the bus was cramped full of very big kids. We were nearly the first on and the last off so it was a very long day and Keven and myself often fell asleep.

We loved football because Dad played and when Keven got a pair of football boots he slept in them for days.  We loved football so much that one day Keven and I went to the shed and got Dads football gear out of his Gladstone bag and put the boots and socks on. I had found a bottle of stove black so I painted Keven and myself black to be like Moppy Hayward one of the aboriginal footy players that played for Kent. Mum was not happy!

There was a lovely row of trees opposite the house and Keven, being the carpenter, was always sawing and hammering. He ring-barked the tree in the middle and that was the end of the beautiful line of trees. I don’t know what dad told Mr Larter!

Rodney got very sick with viral meningitis and had to spend a lot of time in Perth at Princess Margaret Hospital. We used to go and visit him at the Humpty Dumpty Hospital as we called it…

After six years at the Larter’s farm we moved to work for Mr Ross Davies (on Davies Road). The house was lovely and I had a bedroom with French doors. The house had major renovations done while we were living on the farm.  In June of 1966 we had a new brother Darrel. Darrel was a very cute baby but used to cry a lot!

John Beattie playing football for KDFC

Dad played football and cricket and we would go every weekend to watch or play with the other kids. This would continue into the night as we would have to wait outside the pub for our parents. Kids could not go inside the pub! We would get a bottle of cool drink and bag of chips. Many times we got sick of waiting and we would say that we would love to blow the pub up! But we did have fun running around the streets.

Speaking of blowing things up, Mum asked me to light the new Braemer (the hot water system). I set the wood and then went whoosh with the kero. Next thing the flames came out with a rush and I had burnt eye brows, lashes and hair. What a sight!

When Mum and Dad went to the dances we had to sleep in the car and sometimes when we were lucky they would sneak us some supper.

I joined the Brownies and Mum would drive into town to pick us up. Mum did not have a driver’s license so she would sneak into town and Mr Stephens (the store owner) would tell her when the police were coming. One day Mum was waiting at the school and the Police came and asked her something and she confessed that she did not have a licence. So she had to go to Katanning to get her licence.

Mr Jack was still our school bus driver but he brought a big new bus. It was great and had a lot more room. We caught the bus on Kuringup North Road.  After four or five years we moved again as Dad was share farming and looking after sheep for Charlie and Pat Tuffley (on Tuffley Road) who  had moved to Perth.

It was closer to town and, after sometime, Mum started working at the pub for Mrs Harrison to make ends meet. I started playing netball and Helen McDonald would take us into Katanning during the winter months to play with Nyabing. Dad branched out into grain and wool carting. One day Rodney fell off the loaded truck and was hobbling around for a week or more before a trip to the doctor helped him realise that he had a broken foot. Rodney was always in the wars and very accident prone. The boys used to fight over going in the truck with Dad and if they were lucky it might be a sleep over. Dad started playing golf as we were close to the golf club and he had retired from football and cricket.

After a couple of years we moved into Nyabing and into a brand new state home on Cronin Street. Mum and Dad started a lovely garden and lawn. We got a swimming pool and spent many hours in that pool as did most of the kids in town. Mum kept working for Mrs Harrison and Dad brought a sheep crate and expanded into sheep carting. Every chance Darrel and Rodney could get they went with Dad in the truck.

Mum took up hockey and really enjoyed playing.  Mum also entered cooking into the Nyabing Agricultural Show and was very excited when she won a trophy for the cooking.  We got sick of the cakes because we had to eat the flops! Going to the show was the highlight of the year. We would get new clothes and always got a show bag.

In 1975 Mrs Margaret Wells asked me to be Miss Showgirl for Nyabing- Pingrup. I had to go to the regional judging in Katanning. I was not successful, but I still have my sash.

Mum and Dad moved again and they brought McLaren’s house on Aspendale Street. Dad also took over the Elders Agency and did a lot more carting.

Darryl, Rodney, Julie, and Keven at Julie and Rob’s wedding in 1979.

In 1978 I married to Robert Poett in the Nyabing Church and the reception was held in the hall. It was a big wedding that went into the next day as the keg had to be finished!

Years went by and Dad sold the business and worked for the shire. Mum worked in the shop for the Gannaway family. Keven became a carpenter, Rodney and Darrel worked around Nyabing shearing and working on farms, and Darrel started a hay baling business. The boys were all good at sport, playing golf, football and cricket. They all played for Kent at some time.

As time went on Dad moved to Albany and Mum stayed in Nyabing. Mum refused to move as she loved Nyabing. She passed away on the 8/8/2008 and her wish was to never leave Nyabing.

I have many memories of Nyabing and life was good. For my brothers Nyabing was not always a happy place.  I am very proud the Beattie family have left their mark in Nyabing in some small way.

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