Many a tale to tell of Carrick's history
Beryl Stevenson keeps up her equine skills assisting with her friends miniature donkeys
JUNE 2017 | Lorraine Clarke
ANZAC DAY 2017 was an auspicious one for Beryl Stevenson. It was when she left her farm in Carrick and marked 53 years 1 day since she and her husband Noel moved there. “On the day we moved here, I kept The Examiner from 24th April 1964, and I gave it to the new owners,” she said.
Beryl and Noel bought a bare paddock of 15 acres and built their home on it. Later, they acquired an adjoining 30 acres and raised Hereford cattle, also Arabian horses. Noel was a drover and worked at Killafaddy Saleyard. They shared a love of horse riding and Beryl rode side-saddle while Noel showed harness horses.
“We used to have a 1968 grey Fergie. I loved that little tractor. We built a cab on it and called it the Popemobile. I couldn’t bear to see it end up irrigating a paddock, so I gave it to someone who takes it to rallies and looks after it.”
Beryl, a talented artist, took up leatherwork. Her first commission was a saddlebag for a friend, with a horse’s head tooled on it. Her hobby soon turned into a business so successful that Noel had to leave work to assist her. She sold her work all over Australia and overseas.
Beryl was born on a vineyard in Mildura, Victoria 84 years ago. Her father later moved to Bracknell and worked in ‘Town’. He purchased the old Entally Inn site and his building efforts uncovered various parts of the old structure, much to young Beryl’s fascination. Despite humble protestations of having nothing of interest to say, Beryl is a fount of information about the Carrick district.
“When we came here, Bishopsbourne Road was all gravel. Percy Street was a narrow gorse-lined track you could barely make your way through. There was an old Miss Campbell living in Toll Cottage who was so afraid of the rats eating her that she used to put out tins of food for them everywhere.”
She tells the tale of a young man, Jamie Cox, emigrating to the Colonies in the early 1800’s. “Sailing down the Tamar River, he was informed that his uncle intended to kill him, so he jumped ship, only to realise he was alone in an inhospitable wilderness. He was rescued by Aboriginals, and lived with them for over 30 years.
Eventually he was taken in by a family called Cox, whose name he took. But really, he was the son of the Earl of Shenstone.
He spent the rest of his life across the river on The Moat. He wanted to be buried in Carrick, so he dug his own grave.”
Beryl researched the history of the district, and in 1996 wrote and published the book “Water Under the Bridge – The Story of Carrick”, a few months before her husband died.
Since then, she managed the farm alone, caring for livestock, fencing and spraying weeds, but also found time for plenty of overseas travel to China, Vietnam, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Guinea and other places.
Singapore is next on the list. “I was still riding until last year, but my mare had a bad fall and broke her knee.”
She offered some words of wisdom for a long and productive life.
“Don’t stop. Don’t sit down and do nothing. I don’t believe in sitting around. I’ve never done it a day in my life.”
Photo | Mike Moores
