Local Stories and Interviews

Interview with Kerry Fitzmaurice with Ferston Bruce Plenty Valley FM (2003)

The Fitzmaurice family moved to Plenty for a better lifestyle to get away from city pressures, the family took over the general store in 1956.

It was a general business where everything was weighed out, nothing was bought in a package. It was the corner shop; there were no supermarkets in Greensborough or Diamond Creek and the store used to do regular deliveries in the ute. The original store was on the hill on the site behind the current store had been the homestead of a family named Butlers – hence the naming of Butlers Lane. George Starling and his daughter Maude started the store from their music room in the early 1920s. Maude was widowed in WWI and sold the store in 1924 to Nora Windsor. The Windsors rolled the store down the hill. There was a freestanding brick fire kitchen, many plants and a well that has remained up on the original site where Kerry and her parents lived. Kerry and her husband still live there. There were fig and apple trees. Plenty was known for its orchards in 1920s and later mixed farms.

Children grew up with horses as it was too hilly to ride bikes. They would often ride down to the Plenty River on their horses to Marial Park – Memorial Drive/Oatlands Rd. Acreage went down to the river There were many drives there from the gold mining days, these went down on an angle rather than straight down. They were like caves for the kids who would leave their horses grazing and go down the drives with their torches. It was really very dangerous as they could suddenly change level – drop about 6 feet. The drives would eventually open out into big open areas; they had a lot of fun. At that time Reid’s quarries were in operation and the cliff faces were becoming unstable one of Kerry’s friends didn’t notice the change in the ceiling height and hit her head on an overhanging rock. By the time they got her out of the drive there was blood everywhere. This scared the daylights out of the kids. There was not much light, so they had to feel their way around underground, often emerging from a different opening. There is no sign of them now, they have probably collapsed.

There were entrances to mines along the bank of the Plenty River. It used to be quite a substantial river. Accounts from early explorers describe a ranging torrent – it is not like this now due to the damming of the river for the Yan Yean Reservoir, this took all the tributary waters, so it rarely floods now.

If you go back from Kurrak Rd and follow the river down towards Plenty there is quite a substantial gorge there with significant geological formations. Those high walls continue down through the back of Plenty, the mines they used to go into are in those walls and presumably at one time would have been under water but by the time gold mining started they would have been well on the way with the construction of the Yan Yean Reservoir.

Kerry didn’t fish down at the river but used to fish at Wilson’s dam with her dad (Wilson’s garage) They used to swim in the Plenty River up at Yarrambat at the back of Worns Lane.

Kerry went to Plenty State School – it was a 2-room school when Kerry attended. There were two teachers, husband and wife team and then Miss Mason was added to the staff .Kerry had her I grade 1 and 2 in the little room and then in grade 3 she graduated into the big room that was divided by a curtain – grade ¾ on one side with Mrs Robby and grade 5/6 on the other side Mr Robby. Kerry was not a good student – she remembers Mrs Robby telling her to sit down as she was wandering around like a lost sheep.

Kerry’s dad had been a King Scout so this probably inspired her in her guiding career. There was not much for kids to do in Plenty – there were old tennis courts that couldn’t be used – virtually nothing else. Brownies was started first by Kerry’s mum, but Kerry was too old for Brownies. Kerry was in the first group when the guided started up and became a Queen’s Guide and came back as a leader for a good number of years. When they first started the guides met in the Plenty Hall and then moved up into the scout hall. It is still going but not as strong.

There was a mini cyclone in Plenty in January 1957 and significant fires. about 6-12 months later in late 1950s. It was late afternoon, and Kerry was in the store, it started to get dark, wind picked up and with a huge roar a cyclone came down the gully behind the store. A family who had lost their home in the bush fire had just rebuilt it; they lost their roof in the cyclone. It was windier on east side of Yan Yean Rd.

In the winter of 1986/7, there was snow.

There have been many changes in the last 50 years. There are now many more houses. Her closest neighbour used to be the school and the printing works. Uptons and Furse (brother in-law) ran the printing works.

There was only electricity along the main road when the Fitzmaurice’s first came to Plenty and only tank water. Kerry says it was an interesting way to grow up and she learnt a lot at Plenty State School – maybe not what she should have – a lot about nature and loyalty to friends

It was a calm and peaceful place to grow up. You learnt how to be resourceful.