Former resident shares memories of a Beveridge childhood

By Pam Kiriakidis

The information board outside Beveridge Community Hall displays a historic image of Frank and Bridget Smith, the grandparents of former resident Kevin Smith.

For generations, the inactive volcano Mount Frasier was home to the Smiths, dating back to the Ned Kelly era where Mr Smith's grandmother worked with Ned Kelly's sister at a bakery in Wallan.

Mr Smith entered Bonny View homestead in 1933 when Beveridge had a few establishments to call it a town and ran errands on his grandfather's farm, which was situated between the Sydney highway and the train line that ran from Melbourne to Sydney.

"There were two churches, presbyterian [and] the catholic church, the school, the post office and the garage," Mr Smith said.

"Apart from two or three houses down the bottom of the hill, there was a bluestone public hall, which I never saw open. It would have been a council in the old days, where council meetings were held, I suppose."

For the Smiths to prepare a meal at their homestead, a greengrocer from North Melbourne delivered food to the front gate, likewise with a butcher, while Mr Smith carried the bread for the family down their long driveway.

"The old post office was halfway up the Beveridge Hill, along the Sydney highway, I had to walk there to get the fresh loaf of bread that was probably delivered from Wallan bakery," he said.

"Quite often there would be a decent hole in the bread load by the time I got home, as I had a bit of a nibble."

Mr Smith attended Beveridge State School number 1476, in a single bluestone building, which he said had an open fire that smoked the entire room out.

The highest grade was the eighth grade, and the school had just one teacher who lived near the school.

Soon after he completed his studies, and was awarded the school Dux at age 14, Mr Smith went on serving the farm with his dad who was well known for his hay cutting business.

"They had bought me a tractor, so between working the farm and working with him, we had a chaff cutter, a straw presser, and a thresher, so we had two tractors working on that," he said.

"He’d be well-known in Donnybrook, Wallan and Kilmore areas because of the chaff cutter, and he travelled every season."

In terms of entertainment, most youth relied on school dances, concerts, and a few excursions to Melbourne where Mr Smith witnessed the ocean for the first time.

"There wasn't much socialising, there was a regular dance at the school, a piano provided the music, and the ladies of the area would provide the cups of tea and cakes," Mr Smith said.

Although entertainment was limited, Mr Smith found enjoyment through the Melbourne Glider's Club that flew right over his head from time to time.

"The Melbourne Gliding Club used Mt Fraser Hill as their clubhouse location and built a hangar on the land to store," he said.

"One day we could hear this voice singing out and we walked outside and looking around they flew right over, and she said, ‘up in the air’".

The Beveridge homestead era concluded for Mr Smith when he packed his items and got his licence at age 17, entering a new chapter in Bendigo. Since the move, the former resident has not seen much of Beveridge, but after almost 90 years, Mr Smith is aware of the development occurring in what is nowadays a much larger town.

"There are lots of changes to the area now, and it certainly is much busier than when I grew up, the land is all being subdivided," he said.