MY GRANDPARENTS

My grandfather, Edward John Frame, was the first son and second child of Andrew Paterson Frame and Eliza Louisa Hannan. He was born in Maitland, NSW on 14 Jan 1889. To all of his grandchildren, Edward was, and always will be, our beloved 'Pa'.

Edward attended Maitland Public School until he was 13-years-old. He had a good singing voice and sang in the choir at church in Maitland. His daughters Dulcie and Dawn remembered him singing many of the old hymns as he worked around the family home. After passing his exams and leaving school, Edward became an apprentice at a large fitting shop at East Greta Junction. This was possibly the railway’s workshop. That was where he was first given the nickname ‘Bluey’- because of the blue dungarees that he always wore.  

Edward’s workmates and friends made sure that nickname stuck with him for the rest of his life, although his family affectionately referred to Edward as ‘Ned’.  Edward came to Weston in 1904 when his parents and siblings settled in Fourth Street.  At first, he worked as a boilerman at Stanford Merthyr and later he became a miner at Hebburn No.1 Colliery. At Hebburn, Edward worked in a tunnel close to the railway known as ‘Sore-eye’. He was 18-years-old when he went down the mines to work in 1907 and 60-years-old when he retired from Hebburn No.1 Colliery 42 years later, in 1949. 

Edward met and later married Catherine Falvey (right), the daughter of James and Sophia (Bruniges) Falvey. The Falveys were originally from Merewether, Newcastle but lived in Weston for about ten years before moving back to the Newcastle area. Catherine’s mother Sophia ran a boarding house in Station Street Weston, in the vicinity of the Second Street intersection. Edward and Catherine were married at St Brigid’s Catholic Church at Branxton on the 16th July 1910.

Edward and Catherine had eight children, including one stillborn:

1. ANDREW JAMES 'MICK' FRAME  was born 5 Feb 1911 in Weston, NSW and died 17 Jan 2004 in Kurri Kurri NSW. He married IRIS RACHAEL IRENE STOREY 8 Feb 1936 in Abermain, NSW. 

See Andrew James 'Mick Frame O.A.M.

2. MERVYN AUGUSTUS FRAME  was born 21 Dec 1912 in Weston, NSW and died 22 Nov 1968 in Kurri Kurri, NSW. He married EVA MARY PUNTON 26 Nov 1938 in Kurri Kurri, NSW.   

See My Father and Our Family    

3. STILLBORN DAUGHTER

4. EDWARD JOHN 'COOGAN' FRAME was born 13 Dec 1917 in Weston, NSW and died 30 Mar 2007 in Kurri Kurri, NSW. He married ELIZABETH MARY PRICE 11 May 1944 in Abertillary, South Wales.  

See Edward John 'Coogan' Frame O.A.M. 

5. DULCIE MAY FRAME was born 22 Jun 1920 in Weston, NSW and died 15 Jan 2016 in Kurri Kurri, NSW. She married Francis Leslie Fleet 22 April 1944 in Abermain, NSW.    

See Dulcie May Frame

6. ARTHUR WILLIAM FRAME was born 2 Nov 1922 in Weston, NSW and died 10 Nov 2009 in Cessnock, NSW. He married SHEILA JEAN COON 21 Sep 1957 in Cessnock, NSW.    

See Arthur William Frame

7. ALEXANDER DONALD FRAME was born 17 Jan 1928 in Weston, NSW.  He married GLADYS FAY MCGILVRAY 24 Dec 1955 at Kurri Kurri, NSW.   

See Alexander Donald Frame 

8. KATHLEEN DAWN FRAME was born 4 Aug 1933 in Weston, NSW.  She married PAUL O'CONNOR 29 Oct 1955 in Cessnock, NSW.   

See Kathleen Dawn Frame                           

Edward was a man who enjoyed being busy. When he was not at work in the coal mines he could usually be found in his extensive garden. He was well known for growing dahlias, roses and gladioli, and won some prizes for these blooms at local flower shows.  As the family grew in numbers, the vegetable garden expanded and became a major priority. Catherine was very appreciative of the fact that her husband was such a skilled gardener, particularly with so many hungry children to feed! 

At the same time as Edward began life as a coalminer, he embarked on a career that became legendary in the local Fire Brigade. In 1907, he joined 24 other young men in a combined effort to raise money to build a fire station for the small township of Weston. This volunteer group contributed two shillings and sixpence per pay  (25c)  to the fund. In 1908, the existing fire station property in Station Street was purchased from the Weston School of Arts for the nominal sum of £1.0.0. ($2.00). With contributions from the volunteers mounting up, they soon had the original fire station built. The Weston Voluntary Fire Brigade was formed under the captaincy of Mr R Jarvis. In a newspaper article on his retirement, Edward spoke of that time, 'When we started the Weston Brigade as a voluntary move, a house nearby caught fire. We had no proper equipment and so we had to use buckets of water. This was before the Board of Fire Commissioners took control of the station about 54 years ago.' 

When the Board of Fire Commissioners assumed responsibility for fire protection in January 1910, Weston was included in the Kurri Kurri Fire District. The volunteers were then freed from their obligatory two shillings and sixpence per pay  contribution. Their main fire-fighting equipment at that time consisted of a reel, ten lengths of hose, a standpipe and two branches. The men had to train constantly so that they were sufficiently fit to pull the hose reel around town to extinguish fires.  The Brigades very first motor vehicle, an Essex hose carrier, was installed in October 1927.   See more on the history of Weston Fire Brigade here.

 Edward was appointed to the permanent staff of Weston Fire Brigade on the 15th July 1913. In an undated newspaper clipping marking his 50th year with the brigade, Edward stated that he became a permanent member of the Brigade after his return from Queensland. It is known within the Frame family that Edward spent some time working in the Queensland coalmines, however no precise detail is available regarding his time interstate. Edward’s close and loving relationship with all his children had a very positive influence on their lives. On the 1st September 1936, second son Mervyn (my father) joined Edward as a fire fighter with the Weston Fire Brigade, and in 1946, Edward’s fourth son, Arthur, joined the ranks as well.  The three Frame firemen made a combined contribution of approximately 90 years to the Brigade. In 1942, Edward was appointed Captain of the Weston Fire Brigade and remained in that post for over 24 years. 

Homelife in the Frame family was always filled with some type of activity.  Edward kept racing pigeons in a two-storey loft in the backyard and shared this interest with his sons Mervyn and Coogan; however, they later became more interested in greyhound racing, and the pigeon loft was dismantled to make way for dog kennels.   Along with his sons Mervyn and Mick, Edward owned and trained many greyhounds for racing. Edward’s youngest son Alex was their willing assistant when it came to feeding and walking the dogs.  

In 1949, Edward retired from Hebburn No.1 Colliery after working 42 years in the coalmining industry. With some extra spare time available after retirement, Edward spent more time in his garden and planted citrus trees on his spare allotment next door, which he had purchased several years earlier. If memory serves me correctly, he also had a beautiful peach tree and a grape vine. Edward also kept fowls and ducks to help provide food for his large household.  

Even though he had many interests in his life, first and foremost outside of his family, was the Fire Brigade. As well as attending fires, it was also necessary for Edward to go to weekly practice, and every Sunday morning the firemen would meet at the fire station to keep the fire engine and equipment maintained in good order. Edward’s daughter Dawn remembered when she was a small child, sitting up in the fire engine watching in fascination as the firemen meticulously cleaned and polished everything in sight. The brass helmets worn by the firemen for protection, especially impressed her. These are no longer in use and Dawn surmises that is probably because of their heavy weight and the fact that they had to be polished with Brasso every week!  Along with other firemen from his Brigade, Edward competed in many Fire Brigade sports competitions, travelling as far away as Grafton, Wagga Wagga, Katoomba and Orange. The Weston Fire Brigade amassed a formidable array of trophies from these events. 

Edward’s involvement with the Weston Fire Brigade spanned 58 years – from his first contribution as a young 18-year-old volunteer putting out house fires with buckets of water and pledging to raise money to build the first fire station - to his well-earned retirement at 76 years of age. During those years of service, Edward attended more than 2000 fires in the district. He mentioned some of them to a local newspaper journalist when he retired. Among the worst he recalled were blazes at the Pelaw Main pit, the coal washer at Hebburn and a produce store in Kurri Kurri. But the one that stuck in his mind the most, happened on what became known as Black Sunday.  'It was the day Katoomba was burnt out, but we had no time to worry about Katoomba,' he said. 'We started fighting a fire on top of Neath Hill at 8.am that day and did not stop until 2.am on Monday. By that time, it had swept through to Heddon Greta. Despite the extent of the blaze, only some chooks were burnt!'  'The Abermain, Weston and Kurri Brigades have done a mighty job for this area in my time,' he said. 'In one fire we saved more than 100 houses from destruction.' 

Edward was often seen standing at his front gate surveying the township of Weston. If he detected a puff of smoke on the horizon, he would be off to find the cause and swiftly deal with it. He was the nemesis of one shopkeeper who had a store at the corner of Weston Street and Fourth Street. She often tried to burn empty cardboard cartons and other rubbish at the back of her premises and always made sure Edward was nowhere in sight when she lit her fire; however, many a time she would turn around and there he would be demanding that she put the fire out. Miss Short ('Shorty' to the local children) declared that ‘Bluey’ Frame was like The Phantom!   

Several mornings through the week, Edward would walk up to the town shopping centre to pick up any groceries needed by his wife Catherine or daughter Dulcie. He carried a sugar bag over his shoulder to transport the groceries and had favourite places where he liked to call in for a yarn. His son Mervyn’s shop in Second Street was usually on the route, and he was also often seen having a chat to the proprietors at Jock Stewart's, McIntosh’s Pharmacy (Mr McIntosh was also in the Weston Fire Brigade), George Kirkwood's and Bailey’s Butchery.  Edward was very fit;  the walk from Eighth Street up the hill to the town centre didn’t seem to bother him at all, probably because it entailed walking past the fire station!  Edward kept to this routine for the remainder of his life. 

Edward had a special place in his heart for all of his grandchildren; they all knew that and loved him dearly in return. 'Pa' always took the time to answer their many questions about the intricacies of vegetable gardening or discuss whatever problems might have been weighing down on their young shoulders.  As a special treat, he would proudly show them the fire engine and let them sit up in the seat. Edward’s daughter Dawn recalled the time when she used to travel by train from Cessnock to Newcastle to attend singing lessons at the Newcastle Conservatorium.  At that time, her two eldest children were quite young. Edward would walk from Eighth Street up to the Weston Railway Station to rendezvous with Dawn on the train in the morning collect the two little ones and their stroller from her so that she could continue her journey to Newcastle-. Edward would then take the toddlers back to Eighth Street to be cared for by Edward, Catherine and their daughter Dulcie for the day.  At 4.30pm in the afternoon, this loving grandfather would have his grandchildren back at the Weston Railway Station ready to hand them over to their mother for the return journey home to Cessnock.  Edward had a great sense of humour, always loved a joke, and especially liked to torment his wife ‘Kate’- as he fondly called Catherine.  However, in the entire 58 years they were married, Kate never did learn to ignore him when he was teasing her- she would always ‘bite’ back!  

On the 30th June 1965, at 76 years of age, Edward retired as an active member of the Weston Fire Brigade. He said at the time, 'I can’t remember missing a fire in this area in the past 53 years.' 

On his retirement, Edward received a special citation from the Board of Fire Commissioners for long and devoted service. He was also made an Honorary Life Member of the NSW Fire Service. His record of service at the time was considered to be a State record. 

On Friday 16th July 1965, a farewell function was held for Edward at the Weston Fire Station. Fire Brigade Inspector J. Moss attended the evening and made a presentation to Edward. Firemen from Weston, Kurri Kurri and Abermain attended as well. It was said on the night that for the volunteer firemen- it was exit Edward Frame. But they knew that for Edward, it would be a continual battle to hold himself back when the fire alarm jangled. They said Frame’s flame would still be flickering! 

Sadly, that flame was extinguished quite suddenly three short years later, catching everybody by surprise. Edward suffered a massive heart attack and passed away on the 2nd October 1968, shortly after being admitted to Kurri Kurri Hospital. The sudden passing of Edward  left his wife Catherine, his children and our entire family reeling in shock.  Edward was always so active and his health appeared so robust, that he almost seemed invincible.  He touched so many lives in such a positive way that his sudden passing left us all bereft.

Edward John 'Bluey' Frame was laid to rest in the Catholic Cemetery at Kurri Kurri on 3 Oct 1968 after Father Brennan conducted a Requiem Mass at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Kurri Kurri.  Members of the Cessnock, Weston, Abermain and Kurri Kurri Fire Brigades formed a Guard of Honour. 

My grandmother Catherine lived out the latter part of her life with her daughter Dulcie Frame Fleet in Weston Street, Weston.  We had a large family gathering there in 1979 to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday. Catherine passed away at Weston the following year on 10 May 1980. She was buried alongside Edward at the Catholic Cemetery, Kurri Kurri. 

The park on the corner of Station Street and Swanson Street, adjacent to the Weston Fire Station, has been named:  ‘Bluey Frame Park' in Edward’s honour. It is a touching tribute to the gallant man who spent nearly 60 years of his life dedicated to the protection of the town of Weston and its people. Ironically, the day we all met at the park to celebrate the naming and offer up a toast to Bluey, a fire broke out on the creek banks nearby, covering us with billowing smoke and ash. The fire brigade sprung into action and soon had the fire under control, but deep down we were all convinced that our beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather was sending us a message that he approved of the name of this particular park! 

See My Father and Our Family