My Life & Family

I was born in Kurri Kurri on 2 December 1941 - the youngest child and only son of my parents, Ned and Dorothea (Dot) Falk. I attended Kurri Kurri Infants School, then Primary and Super Primary before being in the first group of students to move into the newly constructed Kurri Kurri High School.  

When you are in your senior years and reflecting back over your life, so many memories come flooding back.  When I was quite young,  possibly about 5-years-old, I had a fox terrier dog named Trixie. We were great pals most of the time. Trixie would play with me and do almost anything I asked of her. One day though, we had a falling out. Mum came running outside when she heard a commotion and Trixie yelping.  She asked what had happened.  

‘I bit Trixie,’ I explained.

Astonished, Mum asked, ‘Why did you bite her?’ 

‘Well, she bit me first!’ 

Honestly, though, I had probably been teasing poor Trixie, but from that moment on, we had a healthy respect for one another!

I also remember after an outing, Mum and I were travelling home by bus. I suppose I would have been about four or five years old at the time.  Seated nearby were two nuns from the Order of St. Joseph, all resplendent in their black and white habits.  The very sight of them held me transfixed. Of course, I stared at them! Eventually, one nun must have sensed my unrelenting gaze and turned to ask, ‘I suppose you think I'm a funny looking lady, don't you?’ Apparently, I did not utter one single word in reply but just continued to stare remorselessly.  To Mum’s relief, the bus finally arrived at our bus stop and we made our way home.  

I charged ahead of Mum calling out to my sister, ‘Elaine!  Elaine!’  

Elaine came running out of the house to see what the fuss was about.  ‘What's wrong?’ she asked.  

‘I've just seen the Queen of Spades!’

I suppose I had witnessed or been part of some card games in my childhood! Had she known, I wonder what the good Sister would have thought of my perception of her! 

 For sport, I enjoyed swimming, tennis and soccer. I joined the Kurri Kurri Swimming Club and on occasions travelled away with the team to various meets.  Many happy hours were spent at the local pool during the summer months, although I acquired an infamous reputation with my sister Elaine’s friends. They were terrified because I would sneak up from behind and duck them under the water.  Of course, I denied these allegations but Elaine was adamant that I really did scare her friends!

I also remember being acutely embarrassed once when I was about twelve years old. I had travelled to the Maitland Swimming Pool by bus and at the end of the day, walked up to the Maitland Railway Station bus stop, to catch the bus back home. When I reached into my pocket to get the sixpence I had saved for bus fare, I found, to my horror, that it had disappeared!  In a panic, I thought I was well and truly stranded ten miles from home but then breathed a sigh of relief when I spotted Mr Jim Elsley, who lived next to my grandparents in Ninth Street, Weston. I felt terribly awkward having to ask to borrow money, but Mr Elsley kindly gave me the sixpence to get back to Kurri Kurri. As soon as I arrived home, I immediately rode my bike to Weston to repay my debt.

As soon as I was old enough, I began working on two paper runs to earn my pocket money. I used to deliver the morning papers for Pryor's Newsagency, earning ninepence (8 cents) per dozen, and then would sell the afternoon papers for Mr Percy Johnson for threepence (2 cents) per dozen.  I saved my money and decided I wanted to buy Mum a Mother's Day present. I spied a plate that I liked in Williams’ shop. The plate was decorated with an Australian aboriginal pattern. I arranged to lay-by the plate, which cost about fifteen shillings ($1.50) and proudly presented it to Mum on Mother's Day, all paid for with my paper run money. 

It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though. Having a little extra money almost got me into trouble with Mum once. This particular day in 1953, unbeknown to me, Dad had been involved in a motor vehicle accident. Mum wanted me home urgently but I was nowhere to be found.  I’d had some spare pocket money and for the first time in my life, managed to get hold of a packet of cigarettes.  I was down near the Kurri Kurri Railway Station, contentedly puffing away on my secret stash.  Our next-door neighbour, John Sattler, who had been asked to find me, spotted me and called out that Mum wanted me home immediately.  I was a bit bewildered and convinced that she had mystical powers.  ‘How does Mum find out everything so fast?’ I asked myself.  ‘She knows I've been smoking down here, but how does she do it?’  Feeling completely flummoxed, I threw the cigarettes away and headed home to face the music.  Upon arriving, I realised the reason I was needed so urgently was because of Dad’s accident and had nothing whatsoever to do with my guilty secret.  Mulling over my lucky escape, I decided, at the grand old age of twelve, that my wisest choice would be to give up smoking for good! 

 I continued to work my paper runs, saving every penny I could, because I decided I wanted to buy a horse.  My neighbour told me about a half Arab mare that Mr McGee was selling.  Mr McGee wanted fifteen pounds ($30) for Blondie. I had six pounds ($12) saved, but reluctantly had to borrow the balance from Dad to complete the deal.  What I didn't know, however, was that Blondie had the unfortunate habit of breaking out of the yards and disappearing when she was in season.  Inevitably, Blondie vanished without a trace.  I was still at school at the time and eventually bought another mare, named Taffy, for nine pounds ($18). Taffy was from the Neath area, and likewise, disappeared when in season, usually returning home to Neath.  I had to ride my bike from Kurri Kurri to Neath (about 7 miles) and lead her all the way home again.  The last time she returned from Neath she was pregnant, and presented me with a foal. One day,Dad heard that Blondie was out in the Hebburn No.2 paddock near Mt. Tumblebee where she had been born. While I was at school, Dad saddled up Taffy, hung his binoculars around his neck, and rode out to Hebburn to retrieve Blondie.  When I arrived home from school that day, I found both of my horses and the foal in the yards.  I eventually decided horse ownership wasn't worth all the bother and sold Taffy and her foal to Mr Swanborough. Later, I sold Blondie complete with saddle and gear for fifteen pounds and in the process cleared my debt with Dad.

A highlight of our family life in Deakin Street was when my parents purchased their first motorcar.  If Mum wanted to use the car to go shopping, she would drive Dad to work, then leave the car parked at the entrance to our driveway at home.  The driveway was very narrow with an awkward bend, causing more than one vehicle to come to grief.  I saw this as a bit of a challenge though, and for quite some time managed to put a penny on the ignition to start the car and drive it backwards and forwards along the driveway, amazed at how long I got away with it before being found out! 

The advent of television (black and white) in the 1950’s was another major lifestyle change in our household.  I had to make a solemn promise to my parents that if they purchased a television set, I would still do my study and homework.  Anyone with a TV was very popular back in those early days of the box. Neighbours would regularly pop in to visit and everyone would sit in front of the TV set absolutely mesmerized. TV snacking saw some waistlines expand as well.

I continued to play sport throughout my high school years. I played soccer for Weston as well as the Kurri Kurri High School teams.  I was chosen to represent the Hunter Valley but unfortunately, my soccer career ended abruptly in 1957 when I suffered a severe knee injury which took many months to heal.

After I completed my Intermediate Certificate at high school, a decision had to be made regarding a trade. Jobs and apprenticeships were readily obtainable at that time.  My first choice was to become a carpenter but Dad wouldn't give his permission, saying carpentry required too many tools. Second choice was to be a fitter and turner like my uncles, Fred and Les. Again, Dad refused.  Eventually a neighbour, Mr Short, who worked for plumbing contractors J.C.W.  Bridge Pty Ltd, offered me a job as an apprentice plumber. This time Dad gave his blessing and I began my apprenticeship with Bridges on 9th February 1958 at their Maitland branch. I remember Mum standing on the front verandah crying as she saw me off on my very first day at work!

Once I had settled into my new job, transport became a necessity so I saved up fifty pounds ($100) and purchased an AJS motorcycle.  As said earlier, when Grandfather Falk heard about this, he drove to Kurri Kurri and gave Dad a piece of his mind for allowing me to buy this motorbike but it was a necessity.  Later on, I also bought an Acme two-stroke motorcycle that was in pieces in a box, which I assembled and got started.  Although the bike was unregistered, I thought I would be safe enough trying it out on the road just in front of the house. I wanted to make sure it was running properly before I sold it.  As luck would have it, I had only ridden a few yards when the local policeman caught me in the act and accused me of having an unregistered motorcycle on the road. Poor Dad was mortified when he had to attend the Kurri Kurri Police Station with me and I received a stern dressing-down for my misdemeanour.  The very fact that I worked on my motorbikes in the garage was a bone of contention between Dad and me. To avoid this issue, I tidied up every now and again, putting all the tools away. But this really aggravated Dad. He said when I tidied up he could never find anything!

 My motorcycle days also caused me to have another brush with the law.  This day I had been out riding with my friends friends Roy and Hugh. We were just approaching Kurri Kurri on our way home and I was travelling at the front of the group when I heard a ‘beep, beep’ behind me.  I thought my mates were having a go at me so I opened the throttle to stay ahead of them.  This happened all the way up Lang Street until I stopped near the Dry Cleaners. I finally turned around and nearly died on the spot when I saw that the 'beeper' wasn't one of my friends; it was a local police constable on the police motorcycle!  Needless to say, I was a bit sheepish when I got off my bike to talk to him.

‘What's your name son? he asked. 

‘John Falk’ I replied.  

‘John Falk, hmm?’ quizzed the lawman, as he digested the information. 

‘Does your father go to the Bowling Club?’  he asked.  

‘I'm not really sure, I said, ‘but he does like to have a beer!’  

‘Hmm, said the constable,  ‘Hmm, just make sure you don’t speed in the town again!’  

With that, the policeman got on his motorbike and rode off.  I had legs like jelly at this stage and allowed myself a huge sigh of relief before suffering the humiliation of having to face my chuckling mates!

During my High School and apprenticeship years, many family holidays were spent camping at Hawks Nest.  When I was working, I would travel up to Hawks Nest after work and then ride back next morning.  I was able to ride my motorbike on the sand so one afternoon I decided to ride along the beach to pick up Dad, who was fishing. Dad was very pleased at the offer of a ride back to camp until he noticed that I had let the motorcycle tyres down too far and one of them had been punctured!  It was late afternoon and there was quite a bit of panic to get the puncture fixed ready for me to ride back to work early the next morning.

It was at about this stage in my life that I met Julie Dianne Frame, who worked as a telephonist at Maitland Telephone Exchange.  Our meeting came about through our fathers becoming reacquainted.  My dad and Julie's father, Mervyn Frame, had grown up only a street apart in Weston and renewed their friendship decades later when both became passionate orchid growers.  With having the mutual interests of lawn bowls and orchids, both sets of parents enjoyed each other's company, with our families occasionally getting together for dinner.  I met Julie’s parents before I met her, and when I finally did meet her, it was my mother who introduced us.  Julie and I began keeping company and courted for a couple of years before marrying in the Methodist Church, Weston, on 17th August 1962.  I always took great delight in joking that ours was an old fashioned arranged marriage.  

During our courting yeas, our mode of transport began with a push bike then my motor bike or borrowed cars from our parents. I then bought my first car, a  grey VW Beetle. We enjoyed many outings, especially to the cinema.  Kurri Kurri at one time had three picture theatres, but we preferred going to the Kings Theatre at Kurri or the Capitol Theatre at Weston.  A night at the ‘flicks’ provided two films, cartoons, and newsreels.  How times have changed! At interval, crowds rushed to one of the local Café / Milk Bars to have a milkshake, or maybe buy chocolates or ice cream to sustain them through the second film. Julie's parents had a shop/milk bar in Second Street Weston opposite the side door of the Capitol Theatre. 

I completed my apprenticeship with JCW Bridge on 9th February 1963 and shortly afterwards decided that I wanted to operate my own plumbing business. It was a scary decision for us, especially with our first child, Toni Marie, having arrived in March that year, but with lots of hard work it eventually paid off.  I bought Julie a typewriter for her 19th birthday ( I think she would have preferred roses!) and my young wife set to work teaching herself office procedures. Whenever I needed a hand for trade work during those fledgling years, my father Ned was always there with his shovel sharpened ready to help me hand dig a trench. 

Julie and I were blessed with three beautiful daughters:

• Toni Marie Falk born 1963

• Tracey Leigh Falk b. 1967

• Kylie 'Meredith' Falk b. 1972

I am very proud to say that they have all grown into strong, caring and very capable women.  

Our business continued to grow over the years, with me soon having to take on apprentices and tradesmen. By 1968, I thought it would be a great idea to move our office from home up to the town centre and to also open a hardware store.  In theory it was a good idea, but in practice, not so much.  Julie simply could not get enthused about hardware. I suppose in hindsight, I should not have been surprised! Nuts and bolts, pipes and fittings, paint, timber and cement were all uninteresting things to her and it wasn't long before our store at 67 Cessnock Road, Weston NSW was converted into a gift shop. Nevertheless, the office for the plumbing and oil heating business still operated from there for many years. It was a compromise, but it worked. We made a good team!

By 1978, Julie and I decided to look for a rural property, as we both had the notion that we would enjoy the lifestyle.  We eventually purchased a property at Mindaribba, near Maitland, NSW and named it Falkenhurst.   In April 1979 we established the Falkenhurst Poll Hereford Stud. This venture led to twenty challenging and rewarding years, exhibiting and selling our animals at Royal Shows and other major regional events. Falkenhurst Poll Herefords were sold to studs in almost every state of Australia. We built our home at Falkenhurst during the late 1980s and early 1990s and also held our own on-farm auction sales and junior heifer shows.  

In 1990, an additional grazing property was purchased in order to run a commercial herd, The Ranch at Merriwa ended up being mostly used for surrogates for our embryo transfer programs. These cows carried and raised some of our pure-bred Poll Hereford calves.  These programs of course meant that our workload increased enormously! 

Bee-keeping and selling our honey products at farmers markets, along with our commercial cattle operation and property upkeep, kept me active up until 2016 when we really needed to slow down further since Julie and I both had health issues to deal with.   We sold Falkenhurst and moved into another home nearby.  It was quite a wrench to say goodbye to this chapter of our lives, but it was a necessary decision.  Like many folk, we did quite a lot of travelling during our senior years, ticking off those places on our bucket list.  We would like to do more - we'll see how we go! 

On 17 Aug 2012, Julie and I were very fortunate to be able to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary with a small gathering of family and friends.  In 2022 we also celebrated our 60th Anniversary, another goal achieved!

In 2020, we have moved to Newcastle and our lives are now much quieter. To be honest, our greatest joy is catching up with our daughters and their families. We very much hope to see our small clan continue to grow and really look forward to welcoming more great-grandchildren in the future! 

Do I have any words of wisdom for my offspring?  Perhaps just a few:  

• Always love and look out for one another, and if you don’t always see eye to eye, don’t hold onto your grievances. Family is everything.  

• Live well, work hard and spread your wings, but also keep the future in mind:  'Look after the cents and the dollars will look after themselves. '

• And remember:  'If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well!'