In 1958 Doug stands as Liberal candidate for Stirling in the Federal Election. A family effort and a close-fought battle but Doug narrowly wins against C H Webb. Congratulations all round.
Category: 1940s
Yokine (1954) It was in 1954 that Joan’s father, Arthur Moore, applied for a Returned Soldiers Housing Loan. He was a World War I veteran and had served in Egypt. Arthur and Lucie chose Yokine as the place to live and on July sixth moved into 6 Fletcher Street, Yokine.
Doug’s mum Sarah decides to visit her old home in England and so Doug joins her on the P&O Strathnaver. London, Birmingham, Dosthill, Tamworth Castle, Peterborough, Hoddlesden. Sarah stays on and Doug flies home via New York.
Arthur and Lucie open a shop in Wembley, four generations in a two bedroom house. Choc tops. Grandpa P C McKenzie dies. All move in with Doug’s parents in Belmont. Then a new home back in Wembley. Ken and Merle wedding. Sarah Cash dies in a tragic accident. Move to West Perth and then the wheatbelt town of Bullfinch.
1946, first Christmas as a married couple, rations still in force. In early 1947 first daughter Lynne born and in late 1948 Pam born. Cecil, Roly and Alice also welcome new arrivals. Mistaken for John Bottomley. Doug joins the Freemasons. In 1949 the Moore’s sell their 21 Victoria Square house.
Doug takes up an idea he had in the RAAF and gets approval to import stamps from the USA and sell to collectors. Maybe not the way to become a millionaire and Doug gives no indication this was anything but a small hobby.
In late 1946 Doug purchases a newsagency on busy St George’s Terrace in Perth from Laura O’Hara. Over twenty years and through multiple renovations by their landlords, Zimpels the furniture store, Doug and Joan open a separate greeting cards store within Zimpels and a chocolates store.
1944 and Doug meets Joan and the Moore family at 21 Victoria Square home in Perth. Doug and Joan get engaged via post in June 1945 while Doug was serving on Manus Island. They are married in May 1946 and tales of kitchen teas, could the bride have changed her mind (of course not) and happy celebrations followed by a honeymoon in Bunbury.
Doug returns to Kalgoorlie and Joan follows, Doug almost burns down the house, Joan expecting first child, rationing and refrigerators, Doug resigns from PMG and they move to Perth to open a newsagency.
VJ Day, war in the pacific is over. Roly married. Off to 2MRS where Doug learns to drive. Xmas dinner at Madang. And then the long journey home before being discharged.
Doug gets posted to Air Defence HQ, Madang via Bradfield Park (Sydney), Townsville, Cairns, Port Moresby and Lae. Promoted to Flight Sergeant. Football accident. Moved to Admiralty Islands, a tour around Manus, Lorengau, Lombrum and Seeadler Islands.
Doug sent to 14 Squadron, RAAF Pearce. Base active with patrols up the WA coast. Pilots needed, Roly to UK. More on planes, life on base, pilots “Bluey” Truscott, Keith Chisolm, Keith Truscott, and Charles Learmonth. Tales of pilots lost and Beauforts crash problem.
Doug is sent to RAAF Geraldton, No. 4 Service Flying Training School. Life on base, RAAF stores and categories for planes, PG (“Paddy”) Heffernan, leisure time on base and Geraldton town, brownie box camera, air raid precautions, rations. Promoted to Corporal. Pearl Harbor and Darwin bombings. Cec in Kota Bharu.
January 1941 and Doug is off to RAAF Pearce for six weeks training. Just ground crew as poor vision rules Doug out of flying. Meets Doug Kevan from Norseman days. Station parades, gas masks and surviving in the tropics.
Doug is enlisted into the War in April 1940 and in September is sent to 28th Infantry Battalion in Perth. Training, vaccinations, infantry battle practice and a big parade before call-up to the RAAF.
Kalgoorlie (1939) I arrived in Kalgoorlie on Thursday 26 January 1939. I was met at the station by the Post Office mailroom supervisor, “Paddy” McMorrow. Mr McMorrow took me up to where he had made arrangements for me to stay with Mrs Quealy and her family. The house was located
Doug was a lifelong Aussie Rules fan, barracking for West Perth in the WAFL. He played amateur footy in the Band of Hope Association at age 14, the Towns team in Coolgardie, Railway Rovers in Kalgoorlie and Towns at RAAF Geraldton. In later years Doug umpired matches, was a vice patron of the West Perth Football Club a patron of the Osborne Park Sunday League Football. #WAFL #AussieRules @WestPerthFC
Dating back to his early days in Canada, Doug’s father was involved in horse racing. In Perth they had success with many horses, most notably the 1932 Easter Cup win with Dainty Princess. There were hard times and some bad accidents for father Walter. Doug has some betting wins and after the war was a ‘betting clerk’ for a friend.
Doug’s cycling life starts in his early teens with the Malvern Star championships. Doug wins the Arrow Consistency Cup and gets his photo in local papers. In Coolgardie he races the Widgiemooltha-Coolgardie (75km). In Norseman it is the longer Norseman-Higginsville (129km). In Kalgoorlie as Secretary for the Eastern Goldfields Cycling Club helps organise the Menzies to Kalgoorlie. Many tales of Hubert Opperman, a later friend and political colleague of Doug’s. In later years Doug was patron of the League of WA Wheelmen from 1959-1976.
In the days before TV, radio was the core of the family home. Doug talks about homemade crystal radios, Kriesler cabinet radios, the radio stations of the 1930s such as 6WF, 6ML, 6PR, and 6IX, and the ‘actuality’ broadcasts of sporting matches. Also radio in Kalgoorlie and Madang during the War.
Doug tells us about the films and music he watched and listened to in the 1930s and 1940s and also of his favourite actress, Alice Fay, and singer, Bing Crosby.
Theatres of Perth such as Grand Theatre, Prince of Wales Theatre, Ambassadors Theatre, the Royal, Metropole Hotel, Piccadilly Theatre, Majestic Theatre, Plaza Theatre, Capitol Theatre, Embassy Ballroom, Regent Theatre (later the Metro). Suburban theatres such as Amusu Theatre and the Broadway in Vic Park, the State Theatre (later The Astor) in Mt Lawley, Rosemount in North Perth, Wests in Subiaco, New Oxford (now Luna) in Leederville and the Princess in Fremantle. In Norseman it was the Criterion Talkies.
In Canada and Australia Doug’s parents run/own many businesses. In Perth they had the Royalty Tearooms, Phar Lap Cafe and Adelphi Cafe in Hay Street, the Heather Tearooms and Queen of Hearts on Barrack Street, a shop in William Street and one in the northern suburb of North Beach. In Kalgoorlie they had the Teacup Tearooms and Mum’s Tearooms.