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Interviewee

Place Recorded

Coffs Harbour-NSW

Interviewer

Lesley Gibbs

Collection

Agency

Coffs Harbour Regional Museum

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John Mills, Kevin Mills & Raymond Mills Interview

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IntervieweeJohn MillsKevin MillsRaymond MillsInterview Date27 October 1986Place RecordedCoffs Harbour-NSWDuration1h51m55sAccession NumberLS2020.1.84Credit LineCoffs Harbour City Council, 1988.

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Description

An interview with three of the sixteen Mills children. The family lived near the Coffs Harbour Creek. They were all great athletes and members of the Coffs Harbour Surf Life Saving Club.

The Mills' grandmother, Margaret Isobel De Cean, was a trapeze artist in Perry's circus, her father's business. She is also famous for meeting bushranger, Ben Hall.

InterviewerLesley GibbsCollectionVoice of Time oral history projectPermanent ExhibitionAgencyCoffs Harbour Regional MuseumSummaryStandard disclaimer. Visit the 'Voice of Time' web site to read or listen to the disclaimer. There were sixteen children in the family. Their father was William George Mills. Their mother was Sarah Jane Cook, originally from Taree -- The family were all interested in sport -- Their father was reported to have fought and beaten Sir Roden Cutler's father in Taree -- The family moved following the railway line work -- Their father had a great love of the sea and fishing. In 1927, William George Mills carried out a daring sea rescue -- Family antics at the farm at Boambee -- There were never enough beds. Usually it was four to a bed. The old 'wagga' for the winter -- Shirts were made out of flower bags -- There was big trouble if someone in the bed had a weak bladder. Father always had a good memory when it came to 'belting' -- Mother would stick up for the children. There were no favourites. She never raised her voice in anger. The children would take notes to the shopkeeper for supplies -- Rawlies ointment was used for cuts -- 'Five bob' to fix a tooth on Christmas Eve -- The wood chopping accident and the occasional shooting accident -- The children started going to school at the Jetty then moved to the Top Town school. The schooling took place in halls and churches -- Surfing at the Jetty, the surf club days. Many children represented Australia in the swimming events -- Fathers 'sink or swim' method of teaching. All the children swam in the Creek at the Jetty -- The boys trained at the Butter Factory Pool, even when the floodwaters came through -- Keith was called 'Greasy' because he was so fast. He always won the swimming events -- John would travel to Kempsey to practice in a swimming pool -- Fishing after a storm at the Jetty and the 75-pound Gem fish with 25 hooks in it. Father paid the children 5 shillings for the fish and sold it again for 30 shillings. Fishing and delivering the catch on Thursday to the nuns -- Lobster pots near the island. There were much larger lobsters then -- A very happy family. Even though they didn't have great voices they would sit around the open fire at night and sing -- The Creek at Coffs was always good for fishing. Once caught a 27 pound Flathead (thought it was a crocodile) -- 'Blue Beard's' punt with the cement bottom and the difficulty handling it when fishing -- The changes in the Creek mouth attributed to the barbed wire used during the war years -- Billy Whitfield crossing the creek via the rail bridge after a drinking bout. Their father loved children and once saved four of them at the bridge. He heard them screaming and ran to assist when they were in difficulty in the deep water -- The Mills children always surfed at the Jetty. They also learned to use surfboards, although very different to the boards of today -- The dredging of the Harbour every couple of years. The fifteen-foot waves coming in after storms -- The trouble the fishing boats had during the storms -- The heavy shipping in the area to transport local timber -- The Chinese fishermen stealing mutton bird eggs from the island -- Trading eggs, fish and bacon -- Children grew and sold vegetables. Their father was a very kind hearted man. The great importance of swimming, surfing and football to the Mills family -- The move to Sydney to follow sport and work -- Kevin went to sea and then joined the army to go to the Korean War -- The lives of the children of the Mills family. Many of the children moved to Queensland. Their mother settled there when their father passed away. She lived there until her death in 1957 -- Jack Gilley and the sanitary cart caught in the quicksand -- The greyhounds the family had kept everyone fit -- The pet carpet snake. It was not a favourite with Keith -- The gypsies in the area and their love of fish. Kevin's terrifying incident on the railway line when the points closed on his foot. The gypsy woman who attended the wounds with herbs -- Aboriginal friends of their father called in during the Depression days. Cooking meals at 2am. -- Kind-heartedness and caring for the children has carried on through the family. The Mills family was very lucky, with all the love and sharing they never got a bad egg. Raymond Rowland manning the mill, the baby of the family -- The mix up with the birth dates -- The children were never given formal birthday and Christmas presents -- Sliding down Macauleys headland. Bonfire night. Everyone came from the area to see and help build the fire. Guards were also needed until cracker night -- Singing in bed on rainy nights -- The full house at Christmas time -- Uncle Jack was a heavy drinker and 'drank an ornament' one evening -- Mother was always busy with so many children in the family. The children did their jobs to help around the house. Carrying water to the house for baths. First in, best washed. Sometimes going to the creek to bathe was a better idea -- Sam's new Malvern Star bicycle. Les had the most fun with the bike -- The girls in the family were all first grade hockey players. They were a really competitive family but no fighters. Les was the smoker in the family but wasn't brave enough to let his father know -- The loss of the farm at Boambee -- Life without electricity with so many in the family -- The petrol iron and the danger of over filling it -- The large teapot reminded the kids of the one used in the Ma and Pa Kettle movies -- First up in the morning was the best dressed. The same at dance time. How the boys shared one tie, one pair of shoes and the same girl, as was the case with most people they would get home from the dance in time to go to work. Raymond was born in 1938. Life was very different for him compared with the first born -- Kevin would jump the rattlers to go to work for his uncle during the war years -- Kevin's memory of the fear the day his foot got caught in the railway line -- The shark hooks on the se lines and the accident that followed -- The canoes the boys built to go down the creek. Family reunions are very big events. Great entertainment by family members. The Mills family members were always great communicators and have learned to deal with problems as they arise in a sensible, caring way -- The Coffs Creek has silted up over the years. At one time big trawlers would be moored where the Porpoise Pool is now -- The boys would walk under water with the help of a rock to weigh them down. Clawing along the bottom of the Butter Factory Pool was great exercise -- Shirley won a swimming race when she was five months pregnant -- The children of today don't seem to have as much fun. They also get too many toys -- Raymond's memory of nearly getting a bright red truck for Christmas. Keith sold John's black dog for 2 shillings and 6 pence -- The Skipper and the crab pot -- Grannie would get tickets to the circus for the Mills children. Mrs ? had been with Souls and Wirth's circus -- Grannie was famous with the children for the way she cooked potatoes -- Grannie ? had broken her hip in a fall from the trapeze. This had ended her career in the circus. She had been held in very high esteem as an artist. The lions escaping at the Jetty -- Clearing the land at England's Road to make the Market Garden, as children. Bore water was used with great success -- Father bought a chestnut horse from the Dorrigo area. The horse had been used to snig logs and certainly knew how to kick -- Swapping sandwiches at school. Bread and dripping with pepper and salt -- Family meals were mainly vegetables and doughboys and treacle. Dad always had his own C.A (cake); no one else got any -- Dad smoked and drank but mother never did anything like that.

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