Ethel Irene Loveday – Irene - Rene – Mum, Granny, Great Gran, Granny great, Aunty Rene - was born at midnight on Christmas night, 1930.
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Staff busy with her birth at Bellingen Killarney Private Hospital hadn’t noticed the specific time of her birth and only looked up when it was just after midnight … it was decided then and there that December 26 was her birth date, so she didn’t have to share with Christmas.
The fifth child of John and Barbara Smith, Rene spent her early childhood on the family farm at Gleniffer, with horses and riding being a special love, and corncobs with the silk on for dolls.
She dearly wanted to go to school, but she had to be able write her name, so Marge, her elder sister, taught her by scratching it into a log and into the dirt, and she would copy.
She completed her primary school years at the little Gleniffer school and then stayed on until she was 15, helping the teacher with the younger students.
In 1939 when Rene was nine, her parents sold the farm and bought the local general store. It felt like Christmas owning a shop and over the years she worked there learning retail, book keeping, sorting mail, working the telephone exchange as well as serving in the shop.
The nearby Never Never River would often flood and the family would shelter in the old hall because it was higher. They could hear the logs banging against the building all night, which was terrifying.
One time the water flowed right through the shop. Rene saw something black and leapt onto the table (not breaking any of the crockery), only to discover it was her father's slipper that has floated out of the bedroom.
The hall next door wasn’t only useful for shelter, it also contained a piano. Rene would go over and play, she taught herself over time and she really could tickle those ivories.
Another chore was to go with her dad to the milk factory at Raleigh, taking the milk for the dairy farmers. They would drive over from Gleniffer in the old Buick, deliver the milk, recharge the batteries, and trundle back.
Next door was the baker - Rene loved to head off on the horse and cart to help deliver the bread … she never missed an opportunity to get out and about. She knew everyone around the district and everyone knew her.
She was on the committee of the Junior Farmers, the only girl, a member of the Red Cross. One day when she was in her late teens, Ken Loveday, a share farmer out at Gordonville, walked into the shop to buy a packet of chewing gum ...
Rene and Ken were married in the little church at Gleniffer on May 12, 1951.
At that stage, Ken and his parents, Claude and Annie, and brother Ray, were in the Nambucca, where they had the contract for sanitary and garbage collection. So Rene moved in with the Loveday family on Taylor’s Arm Road.
The couple built their own two-bedroom house next door in 1957/58. It was in that little house that they raised their eight children.
Rene actually gave birth to nine children from five pregnancies - twins Susan and John arrived in 1952 but sadly John died at ten months from meningitis.
Then came Betty 1953, Diane 1955 and the triplets Dorene, Pauline, Christine in 1959 - at one stage Rene held the record for the heaviest set of triplets at 19lb 12.5oz (close to nine kgs).
Twins Michelle and Michael came in 1967.
One of the best things about that house was that you could ride your bike through the back door, up the hallway, out the front door, and back around the verandah. We had races on our trikes and pedal cars doing that circuit.
Mum got up early to get Dad off to work, she'd then sew or knit, depending on the season. She made all our clothes and jumpers and school uniforms. We were always dressed well for all occasions.
When Mum was married, her mother gave her a red calf called Judy. It was the best wedding present - she would milk that cow every morning. She kept the cream for butter, fed us with the milk and cooked cakes.
She made the most delicious butterfly cakes and when there was a school fete, she would always supply the cake stall - people would line up for a slice.
When her parents sold the shop in 1955, they came to live next door. This gave Rene the opportunity to borrow her father's stock and breed more cattle, selling the calves for extra income. She was very resourceful.
Both Dad and Mum played tennis. They loved it that much that they built a tennis court over in the paddock. Many a game was played on weekends at the Loveday court, both social and competition.
Our parents loved music, singing, dancing - many a Saturday night would see them at the RSL, dancing the night away. Our home was always full of music. Quite often, there were records playing and jam sessions with Kenny Ainsworth, Mum on piano, Uncle Ray playing a gadget, Warwick Pullen on guitar and everyone singing along.
Sometimes we'd go to the beach, where we'd stay all day. My memory is of fresh bread and tomato and cucumber sandwiches … on the way home we would always get a chocolate paddle pop.
Dad had aviaries and birdcages full of budgies, canaries, finches, and parrots. The yard and shed were full of them and we would travel to bird shows.
We had a covered trailer and a Vanguard until the triplets arrived, then we had to upgrade to a station wagon. Our parents loved travelling and trips anywhere would consist of them singing and us kids joining in.
You would not be able to travel as we did now - once we had Mum and Dad, six children, Dad’s cousin and her husband and daughter, all packed into the Holden station wagon towing the covered trailer. Eleven people and no seat belts.
In 1963 the Macksville pool opened. Well, what a great place to keep the kids occupied. And then of course the swimming club started and there was swimming training - Mum would get us up at 6am every day for that.
There were Wednesday night carnivals, trips away to competition carnivals. Dad would be the starter, Mum would be the race secretary and announcer on the microphone.
At the age of 42, Mum got her first permanent job as a cleaner at Macksville High School. She loved the camaraderie of the workplace. She was respected and appreciated by all and worked there until she retired at 67.
When Dad passed away in 1991, Mum continued to live in the family home breeding and selling cattle, and looking after her cockatoo, which she had for 55 years. Sadly Cocky passed away a few months ago. People knew Mum as the 'lady with the bird’.
Mum's aim was to keep that family home going so everyone had a base. Mum would always have a meal or a bed for anyone that came. And often that would be many.
On January 29, Mum’s work on earth was done. It not long after here 88th birthday, which she said was a good number, so she was happy with that. She still has eight living children, who have given her 21 grandchildren, and 20 great grandchildren.
She was a capable, modest, resourceful, wise, grand lady. She taught us principles, how to work and to be competent in all that we do. All that knew her felt it was a privilege to do so. She was respected by all and we were so lucky to have her as our mum.