Dolan family. Dolan family. Dolan family. Dolan family. Dolan family. Dolan family. Dolan family. Dolan family. Dolan family.
1914 – Current
Mr and Mrs Green, two sons and a daughter travelled from the Goldfields in about 1914 to take up land from Isaac Mills. This farm is situated on the corner of Nagel Road and the Katanning-Nyabing Road. Their daughter Mary (known as Vera) met and married William (Bill) Dolan in 1929 and they helped run the farm. Vera and Bill had five children – Loris, Eddie, Lindsay, Margaret (Peggy) and Roy.
Old Dolan family home
Times were certainly different then as Loris remembers:
Mum taught me and Eddie at home on correspondence. Then the year I turned nine, I drove Eddie and myself to school at Badgebup, 3 ½ miles away, in a horse and sulky. There were three sulkies there and one girl rode her horse five miles.
The train came out from Katanning on Thursdays. It was a real gathering at Kwobrup as it bought mail, groceries etc. for the shop. The shop was on the southern side of the railway line – a little towards Katanning from the siding. The shop was managed by Mr Fred Smith for W.J. Rogers (who had another shop in Clive Street, Katanning). There was a house joined to the shop where Mr and Mrs Smith and son Brian lived.
Everyone gathered for their mail, bread and groceries. Some names I recall were: Mr and Mrs Albert Hobart with Bert and Stan, Mr and Mrs Jim Hersey with Helen and Ross, Alex and John Anderson, Fergie and Wille Ross, Gladstone and Nell Whyatt, Len Newman and old Paddy Fleay, also Mal Fairclough who lived in the old (Kwobrup) Hall.
Mostly people came in horse and sulkys and then, in later years, in motor cars. The train came back from Pingrup on Friday morning and filled up with water from the tanks – they’re still there. When they let off steam did they make a noise!! We could hear them from home quite clearly (about two miles away). They used to pick up eggs in crates and also cans of cream (to sell). There were stockyards where sheep and cattle were loaded and also bales of wool. There was always a reasonable sized wheat stack in the station yard.
World War Two started the year I started school and everyone was worried. Of course rationing came in – tea, sugar, clothes, petrol, tyres, etc. You had coupons to purchase these.
One day after school a big convoy of army trucks and jeeps went along the road, all in camouflage colours. There were four of us at the gate watching along with three other children. They threw us some iron ration biscuits… and were they hard to chew… but as kids, we still thought they were wonderful!!
On occasions you saw search lights in the direction of Albany – I don’t know where they came from. We were asked to block the light from showing around the windows. We all enjoyed biscuits and lollies when they came back on the market after the war.
I clearly remember when most people had a team of horses for cropping and then tractors gradually became available. A Jewish man used to come around to farms to buy sheep, kangaroo and rabbit skins – there were always dozens of rabbits around!! Also a mailman came out on Tuesdays – the first driver I remember was Fred Goodroom.
Childhood and teenage memories from Peggy:
We lived on the western boundary of the Kent Shire – not a hundred years ago, but sometimes it feels like it! The area has progressed so much since then. Kwobrup Siding was a water stop for the steam trains. A worker used to come from Katanning each week to pump water into the large square tanks, which are still standing.
There was also a general store and post office at the siding, and, if we were lucky enough to have a few pence, we would walk to the shop to buy a few lollies.
One of our favourite pastimes was to see how far we could walk along the railway line without falling off. I never won as my two older brothers, Eddie and Lindsay, delighted in teasing me ‘til I fell off.
During the war years a convoy of army trucks passed our house – a memorable event for us as they threw us packets of “Dog Biscuits” as the army rations were called. They were dry and tasteless as I remember, but we kids were very excited all the same.
After the war, as well as the weekly goods train, a diesel passenger train ran from Katanning to Pingrup on a Monday. We had to go to the siding to catch it, but on our return in the evening the driver would drop us off in front of the house.
We always went to the Nyabing Show and it was a much looked forward to annual event. In my teenage years the Saturday night dances were always a popular social highlight. The Larter’s or Caldwell’s bands usually supplied lively music to dance the night away.
DOLAN, Roy and Ann
Memories from Roy:
Peg (married name Crosby), Roy and Loris (married name Aylmore) Dolan
I also recall the steam trains – every now and then Dad would take his pipe down to the siding and get the driver to put a shot of steam through the pipe to clean it out!
I went to school in Katanning and caught the bus at 7.30am, not getting home until 5pm which was a long day for a six year old.
There were always jobs to do feeding horses, milking cows and separating cream and gathering eggs for sale. When Dad was down the paddock working the horse team, Mum would hang a white sheet on the fence to let him know that it was lunch time, which was an innovative way of communicating!
There was no such thing as a fridge, so meat had to be eaten fresh or salted. There were thousands of rabbits everywhere, but the 1955 flood helped out by drowning many.
Hay cutting for the horses was a big job. Sheaves had to be stooked in the paddock to dry and then carted and built into a big hay stack. During the 1960’s, about 600 acres of partly cleared land was bought from Fred Foster. Then it was ploughed with a 14-disc plough and an open topped tractor – bringing up thousands of mallee roots.
Memories from Ann:
Roy and I were married in 1971 and moved into “Gum View” which we had purchased from Christian’s. It was busy times with over a hundred pigs to feed, picking mallee roots (my first dishwasher was bought then so that we could be down the paddock all day and not wasting time doing dishes!!), feeding shearing teams, playing sport on weekends and, of course, having three children, Warren, Clinton and Kellie. Over the years we had many happy holidays towing the big old caravan down to Busselton.
Roy and Ann Dolan at Winter Sports Presentation Night 2010
Gradually the farm land has been added to with blocks being purchased on Addis Road, Whyatt Road and Quartermaine Road. Warren married Michelle, and they have sons Mitchell and Thomas, they live at “Gunnadoo” on Wallacup Road (previously owned by A & J Webse). Clinton married Jenni and their three children; Jessica, Harrison and Emma now live on “Gum View”. Daughter Kellie married Leon Guest and they live in Esperance with their two sons James and Coby, and farm a property at Grass Patch.
GUEST, Kellie (nee Dolan) and Leon
Memories from Kellie (married Leon Guest):
Clinton, Kellie and Warren Dolan
When I look back on growing up in Nyabing, I reflect on all the things we could do that wouldn’t be acceptable nowadays!!
During “cubby season” all the farm kids would bring shovels, sheets of tin and other tools into town on the school bus so that we could build elaborate cubbies in the bush behind the school during recess and lunch. This included cubbies dug underground and made to feel homely with old bits of carpet for flooring.
There would be no children in the playground during summer because we’d all be up in the bush. I recall a story of one principal being tripped up in a tripwire, which was built to keep people away from the cubby, but I don’t know whether that was a fact or just a great story!
Also during primary school days, it was a great honour to be chosen to take the lunch orders up to Gannaway’s shop in the morning for the very exciting lunch deliveries (one a week). It was a chance to wander into town by yourself during class and drop off orders. I can’t imagine that happening now! There was a particularly vicious magpie that swooped on the way to the shop and the principal shot it on the weekend – that solved the problem!
Another thing we used to do (after Brownies or football/netball training) was to sit outside the shop on the coloured wooden bench and eat our bag of lollies, carefully selected with a few cents of pocket money. One day a stranger pulled up and as they got out they locked their car. I remember we all thought that was so funny! The idea of someone having to lock their car in Nyabing!!
Coby Guest
Another big highlight was going to the joint football/netball/hockey sports days on the weekend and it’s sad to think the kids of Nyabing no longer get to experience this. It was a great chance to socialise with many different age groups in a community setting.
Another big highlight was going to the joint football/netball/hockey sports days on the weekend and it’s sad to think the kids of Nyabing no longer get to experience this. It was a great chance to socialise with many different age groups in a community setting.
1973- Current
“Gunnadoo”
Written by Michelle Dolan
Warren John Dolan, the eldest child of Ann and Roy Dolan, was born on the 31st March 1973 at Katanning Hospital. Warren attended Nyabing Primary School and later, Katanning Senior High School.
After completing year twelve, Warren helped out on the family farm and took on many jobs such as rousing, shearing and mulesing. During 1993 to 1997 he worked for Wendy and Peter Johnston during seeding and harvest times. From the year 2000 Warren primarily worked on the family farm, working alongside his parents and his brother Clinton.
Michelle & Warren Dolan
Warren, a keen sportsman and played cricket for Nyabing from 1990 to 2000. He also played junior football from 1983 and later league, ending in 2005 when injuries forced him into retirement. During this time, Warren played in the premiership team of 2001, proudly wearing the number 17 jumper.
On the 2nd March 2002 Warren married Michelle Lee Bowman at Saint Matthews Church Guildford, WA. Michelle, the eldest child of Patricia and Raymond Bowman, grew up in Henley Brook, in the Swan Valley region of Perth.
On the 2nd March 2002 Warren married Michelle Lee Bowman at Saint Matthews Church Guildford, WA. Michelle, the eldest child of Patricia and Raymond Bowman, grew up in Henley Brook, in the Swan Valley region of Perth.
Warren and Michelle met on 21st August 1999, when Michelle travelled to Dumbleyung to visit her brother Aaron Bowman, who was working at the Dumbleyung Shire as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer. That evening, Warren and Michelle’s paths crossed at the Dumbleyung Tavern and the rest, they say, is history!
Michelle, a teacher at the time, working at Landsdale Primary School in Perth, began a fortnightly commute to see Warren. In January 2001, Michelle transferred to Nyabing Primary School, where she taught the year 4 to 7 class.
After their wedding in 2002, Michelle continued to work at Nyabing Primary School, while Warren continued to work on the family farm with his parents Roy and Ann, and his brother Clinton. They lived in the teacher’s house on Aspendale Street and continued to do so until January 2004, when Warren and Michelle, together with their first child, Mitchell, moved out to “Gunnadoo” on Wallacup Road. A new transportable house was put on the farm and this is where they settled.
Thomas, Mitchell, James Guest, Jessica, Emma and Harrison Dolan
Mitchell & Thomas Dolan, fourth generation
Mitchell James Dolan, the first child of Warren and Michelle, was born at St John of God Hospital in Subiaco, on 17th March 2003. Twenty three months later, a brother, Thomas James Dolan arrived on 5th February 2005, at the same hospital, making the family complete.
DOLAN, Clinton and Jenni (nee Littlejohn)
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