DONALD LELLO
(1913-1981)
by his third daughter
My father, Donald Lello, the youngest son of Thomas Henry and Bessie Lello was born at Queenstown on 1st August 1913. It was interesting to learn from his older sister Nell (Eleanora) that he was born a redhead. I only remember him as black-haired, in his later years sprinkled with grey.
He told us about his childhood, but like so many people these days I keep thinking of all the questions and things I should have spoken to him about – and perhaps should have written down.
He said his sisters used to put a little bonnet on him as a baby to try and flatten his sticky out ears – I am not sure it worked!
I remember him telling us his father was a very stern man, and as children they were not allowed to speak at the table, but by the time my father, and then the twins Jessie and Jean, arrived he had mellowed quite a bit. I have no memory of our Lello Grandparents.
He went to the South Queenstown Primary School, but like so many in those days did not complete secondary school, having to go out to work instead. He did, however, continue to study at night at the School of Mines where he studied Geology and Surveying.
It was at Queenstown where he met our mother Bessie Good, a Penguin girl who had moved to Queenstown with the Dargavell family to help care for their twin boys. Mr Dargavell owned a Chemist shop.
They married on 13th November 1937, aged 24 and 20. and Dad's occupation at that time was stated as Chainman. Witnesses at the wedding were T. H. Lello and G. B. (Pat) Rooke.
When Dad went to WA as a Mine Manager sometime later, Mum lived with her in-laws and Nana Lello delivered their first baby Yvonne Jean in 1939. When Yvonne was only about 6 weeks old Mum made the long trip by boat, train and bus to WA to join him.
In 1943 Elizabeth Ailsa, always known as Ailsa, was born. Some time later the family moved back to Tasmania when Dad went to the war. It's interesting to note that while Dad applied to join the RAAF when in WA, he was refused because his job was considered to be too important for the war effort – so he promptly resigned, moved back to Tasmania and re-sat the entry test. He passed with flying colours having sat the same test in WA, and was accepted into the RAAF.
Dad served in New Guinea as a surveyor during the Second World War and his health problems in later years were attributed to that experience.
After the war they settled for a time in Devonport where I was born in 1946, then back to WA for a second time. Then came a move in 1948 to the Aberfoyle Mine at Rossarden. In 1949 brother Donald John arrived to complete our family. We children had a very happy childhood there and our parents made friends who remained close all their lives. Interestingly, my brother Donald returned to Rossarden in 1982-83 as Principal of the Rossarden Primary School.
In 1954 the family moved to Penguin. Yvonne and Ailsa attended Ulverstone High School and Dad worked at the then reasonably new Tioxide Factory at Heybridge. Beginning as a shift worker, he moved on to the laboratory as a shift tester, eventually becoming Laboratory Superintendent. He remained at Tioxide until his retirement.
It was a great joy for Dad to see his sister Nell in 1973 for the first time in 38 years when she and Trevor came back to Tasmania on a holiday. After retiring Mum and Dad enjoyed a trip to the UK to visit Yvonne and husband Mal, also sister Nell and her husband Trevor, meeting some of their family for the first time. They enjoyed travelling and made many trips to Queensland, New Zealand and other states of Australia.
Dad enjoyed playing lawn bowls and with Mum won a number of tournaments. He loved his garden, flowers (especially roses), and always had a bountiful vegetable patch. I can remember, as children we ate sweet corn when it was not fashionable to do so, as you only fed it to the cattle, my friends said! Mum also made a delicious sweet pumpkin pie we ate with cream and ice-cream.
My friends thought we were quite strange, I am sure. In order to protect the vegetables and fruit from blackbirds, Dad used to sit quietly at the dining-room table with a .22 rifle loaded with dust shot. Invariably he did this without telling us and the unexpected gunshot scared not only the birds, but also us and Aunt Bertha who lived next door.
I think most of all Dad loved and enjoyed his books, and was an avid reader, and when sitting down always seemed to have a book in his hands. Brother Donald and I well remember going to the Library for him in later years, bringing home perhaps 10 books – he would have read 6 or 8 of them! We then learned to check the users' numbers in the front of the book. If his wasn't there we were lucky and had done well.
In his last years Dad did not enjoy good health and had a leg amputated. While he never really recovered from this, he did still have the car modified so that he could drive it. He died on 17th October 1981. Mum died on 24th February 1994 and sadly we also lost our lovely sister Ailsa to breast cancer in 1986.
Our parents were both lovely, gentle and kind, and my memories especially of my childhood and growing up are very happy ones. Dad was a quiet, reserved, very intelligent man, but most of all a very loving husband to Mum and father to his children.
Mary Owens (Lello)
February 2005