HILL Ivy and Jim Hill

Mrs. Ivy Hill (nee Gallagher) was a Rowville resident for 53 years. In this article Ivy's youngest daughter, Mrs. Elsie Rhodes of Severn Crescent, Rowville writes about her parents, Ivy and Jim Hill.

IVY HILL born 22nd February 1909, died 24th September 1992 aged 83. Ivy grew up in Glen Waverley, the second youngest daughter of five children of Michael and Mary Gallagher.

In 1927 at the age of 17, Ivy married Jim Hill of Rowville at the Catholic Church in Oakleigh. They lived first in rooms at Stamford Park until their home was built on the opposite side of Stud Road on a two-acre block on the Hill family property. Jim's parents, Frederick and Matilda Hill, owned 148 acres made up of 88 acres that extended from Stud Road to Taylors Lane and from Kelletts Road to the north of Peppertree Hill Village (the Lakes Estate) and 60 acres on the north side of Kelletts Road adjoining the west side of Taylors Lane and running back to the Corhanwarrabul Creek.

Fred and Matilda had a dairy farm with Jersey cows. Later, after the death of his father, Jim (who was the eldest of the eight Hill children) helped his mother to change over to Hereford cattle.

Life was not easy for Ivy and Jim during the Great Depression. Ivy's father gave them boxes of apples from his Glen Waverley orchard to sell in the Dandenongs. Jim also ran his own motor mechanic's business from home. During these difficult years they had four children: Joan, Audrey, Elsie and James. The children all attended Scoresby State School and later the girls went to Dandenong High while James went to Dandenong Tech. Just a short time before her 16th birthday Joan went to bed one night and died in her sleep. It was a terrible shock for everyone and Jim and Ivy grieved for Joan for the rest of their lives.

During the 1939-45 World War Ivy, like many other women in the district, knitted balaclavas for the soldiers and sent them food parcels and cakes in tins through Red Cross.

Ivy budgeted the money and the ration coupons allotted to the family for butter, tea, sugar, clothing and petrol during the war years and after. She often walked up to the Scoresby store for provisions, pushing a pram. When the bus service began she travelled to Dandenong twice a week.

The families of the district relied on folk remedies mainly to treat illness but Dr. Taylor drove his horse and jinker out from Dandenong if an illness was considered to be very serious. Mostly, the doctor was visited in his surgery after the patient got better!

Ivy's main interest was her family. She supported them and local events - baking scones and cakes and making pickles and jams to be sold for charity by the various fund-raising bodies at street stalls, Mothers' Clubs, Scoresby Methodist (and later, Uniting) Church Ladies' Guild and the Australian Red Cross Society. She also joined the local card-playing groups and enjoyed competing in Euchre tournaments.

Jim was a self-taught musician and could play the saxophone, clarinet, violin and viola. He formed his own band: "Jim Hill and his Rythmelodians"' and played regularly at district dances and thus he was able to contribute a few more shillings each week to the family's income.

Jim died in 1975 and in 1980 Ivy moved back to Glen Waverley to live near her daughter Elsie. However, she kept in touch with her Rowville friends, remaining as a member of the Guild until 1987 and was still enjoying membership of the Rowville Red Cross Branch until her illness in April 1992. Ivy had been a member since the Branch's inception, proudly receiving her long service medal and attending the 75th birthday celebrations of the Australian Red Cross Society at Government House in 1981.

She was the last of her immediate Gallagher family who were pioneers of Glen Waverley .... but that is another story!

Elsie Rhodes

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