Local Stories and Interviews

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

Ailsa was brought up in Panton Hill where her father was the school master. It was a magic place, and she loved it. The years she spent there helped her adjust to the life she was to live in Plenty. Ailsa lived in Panton Hill until she was 10 when her parents moved to the city, as her father wanted to further his education at university. She was there until after the war when her and her husband John decided to leave the city and change their lifestyle.  Ailsa wanted her daughter to have a simple life, breathe fresh air, have freedom, climb through the fences as she had as a child. They had never heard of Plenty before they arrived to fresh air and black poll cattle. The family were on a high coming to Plenty. They came to run the Plenty general Store, neither John or Ailsa had been in business before. Ailsa had led a sheltered life and not dealt with the public.

There were only 6 houses between Greensborough and Plenty then, all gone now bar one. They lived in the old residence; it was out of alignment after having been rolled down the hill many years before but had a comfortable family room with a fire but an old laundry outside – only 2 walls and a roof and an outhouse up the hill. Ailsa did the washing in the copper using the wood fire underneath and washing soda.

Mail time in the morning began when old Mr Lawrie who only had one arm (Wingy Lawrie) arrived in his old utility. Everyone would rush out to help him. He came Monday to Saturday. They sold the papers too; mail was sorted and the papers had names written on them – there was a lot of banter and fun.

Robbery

Ailsa is still amazed she was involved in such a thing. Luck was on her side. Ailsa was expecting the vet when her dog (Alsatian) barked. They went outside and a man was there; he was dressed like a vet and holding a rope. Ailsa walked towards him and another man sprang out from behind the tank. This man had been trying to get in the window. The dog sprang at the man with the gun; Ailsa took half a dozen big leaps into the back door which would not shut so she had to run to the back of the house where she could get to a door she could shut and get to the phone. Between Ailsa and the dog the intruders were foiled! There was a third man in a car, and they made a getaway. A young girl had walked by on her way back to school after lunch and noticed a man lying down in the back of the car and thought it was strange, so she took the number plate of the car. The policeman came with a man for Ailsa to identify which she did. But because they had not entered the property he was not charged. They made headlines in the Herald Sun.

The General Store was also the post office, bank and petrol station – Ailsa went out and served people. They sold kerosene as it was used for lighting and running fridges.

Ailsa had to alert all if there was a fire as all the calls came to the store phone.

Ailsa would sound the alarm and run over to the fire shed on the corner which is now gone. She would chalk up the fire and open the door, Noel Furse and George Upton would run out from the printing works, they were fantastic men. Ailsa used to ring the bell.

The shop got burnt down but the tin shed was eventually taken down.

Bushfire – Ailsa remembers closing the shop for lunch with the young girl who worked for her, they heard a roar, Ailsa opened the door and saw a wall of fire heading towards them as tall as the trees in front of the store. Ailsa tried to be calm and said to the girl, “Oh my husband has prepared for an occasion just like this” So they went round to the back of the store to get the hose but he hadn’t cut it so they ran back to the front and saw my husband roaring down Yan Yean Rd, they bucketed water from the tank. Her daughter Kerry had been standing next to the petrol bowser, luckily someone moved her. A woman arrived who was expecting twins, a man had his wife at home with a new baby, 4 houses immediately in front of the store were burnt, one man died. The store was full of people and the police arrived and operated from the living room. Ailsa gathered up all the pension money and stuffed it down her blouse. Ailsa thought she looked like Dolly Parton. Two days later the bank inspector arrived to see if she was alright and to thank her for saving the money. He gave her a box of strawberries as a thankyou present. There have been many bushfires since then, twice they had tankers lined up in front of the store as a last line of defence. Another time they were down Memorial Drive as fires came from all directions in those days.

After leaving the shop after 9 years Ailsa needed another interest. She quickly became president as well as becoming guider for the Brownies, her daughter was in the guides.  For 30 years Ailsa was connected to guiding and still meets regularly with the old guide leaders, they are lifelong friends.

One significant moment in life in Plenty – surprise 80th birthday Harley Davidson ride and a big party.

“Now I can look back in my 86th year and say life wasn’t meant to be easy but it has been so worth whiled the good and the bad days and all the years sharing with my good Plenty friends and the girl guides especially as brown owl and Plenty who came to accept us city slickers.” – Ailsa Fitzmaurice (2003).