Yup, that lunatic in the Phantom shirt is my biological father.
Born to Elsie and Noel Fardon in Corryong VIC in 1938, Brian, later known as "Barry" (we'll get to that a little later on) lived the life of rif-raffery, wonky glasses and scuffed knees in the small "high country" township until 1942.
Brian tells me his only memory of Corryong is "driving" the beat up old Ford with his younger brother Kinman, all the while dodging the spiders.
Vague memories of radio broadcasts about Australian deployment to Germany also come into Brian's mind.
Watching Elsie be chased by a bull is also a fond memory of Brians.
In 1942 his Dad left Elsie and this resulted in a move to Melbourne to stay with Elsie's sister.
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| Noel and Elsie Fardon looking dapper |
At age 5 and Kinman 3, while staying in Melbourne, Brian recalls wandering the neighbourhood (safety first Fardon) and making friends with an American Soldier who would buy he and his brother cakes. Once Elsie got wind of this she confronted the American gent, took both kids by the hands, stormed off, stopped, turned and grabbed the free baked goods!
Later in 1942 Elsie, Brian and Kinman moved to Omeo VIC. It was halfway through the school year in winter when Brian first started school. He remembers seeing snow falling on Mount Feathertop, slowly approaching the township of Omeo. Much to his (and the other frozen children) delight, the snow bell rang.... What, no school?! He recalls snowball fights and building snowmen with snow and mud. Life could not get any better!
During the winters in Omeo, Brian and his pals would skate on the frozen creek bed, however, one kid would be instructed to "test" the ice first.... Shivering with fear and cold, he would gingerly, clumsily shuffle out onto the ice bed, once all was ok, the guinea pig would shakily wave the other boys onto the "safe" bed.
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| Kinman, Elsie and Brian (Barry) |
Summer was a hoot, on this same creek bed, the boys would ride their boats, hand made from tin and tar, up and down the creek bed.
Brian and Kinman would go "rabbiting" with their cousin Tommy Doolan. Brian, not being the hunting type would much prefer to cuddle the bunnies. Being only 5 years old and not fully understanding the concept of hunting, Brian would stumble across the motionless bunnies and give them a little squeezy hug before Tommy Doolan would collect his booty. (I'm not sure whether Brian still does this)
At age 6, Brian saw his first rainbow. He knew for a fact that if he followed this rainbow he would find a pot of gold at the end....... He is unsure how far he walked......
In 1945 he and Kinman were moved into a boarding school in Sandringham VIC. He recalls his only friend "The Turtle", which was in fact a turtle who lived on the school grounds. Brian would seek out "The Turtle" have a chat and a play and return his pal at the end of the play.
Once boarding school became too expensive, Brian and Kinman started their stints in foster care.
1947 they were sent to live with a lady by the name of Aunt Julie, whose son John as Brian recalls would "rat out" the boys even when they had not "messed up". Brian remembers the time when John (5 years their senior) had a grand plan to derail a train. Brian and Kinman played along, not quite understanding the seriousness of their participation. Police were onto them. John passed the blame onto the Fardon boys.
Their time with Aunt Julie was over.
1948, the boys lived with an English couple in Williamstown. Brian has only one memory of this place. He would be sent to stay outside with no dinner. He only had the dog for company and the dog biscuits for food. This stay was also short lived.
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| Williamstown 1945 www.railgeelong.com |
Moving to Boronia with Ann was his greatest memory in foster care. Sure, she was a drunk, but Brian remembers the joy and the hot meals. Ann would set off every Friday night with her boyfriend Ted for a three day bender to Richmond, leaving the boys to tend the farm and explore the bushland of Boronia VIC.
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| Boronia Circa 1947 www.findandconnect.gov.au |
In 1949 Elsie met Roy Sandars, he was to be Brian and Kin's step father. Brian recalls the series of monatonal grunts Roy would utter, only after a few whiskeys. Clearly Brian was not a fan.
(Brian has since changed his surname to Sanders, thanks pop!)
Now, I never met Noel, Roy or Elsie. My father tells me that Elsie was a wonderfully warm and nurturing woman, who honestly had no other choice but to foster her boys out. As she was a single mother in the 1940's she had to work to support her boys. She did the best she could in the time that she lived.
Through the years from 1949 to 1959, Brian lived in Melbourne with his mother, step father and brother. Like any other teenager, he got up to the usual mischief.
He left school at 14 and started his apprenticeship as an electrical fitter at 15.
Now, the next part of Brian's story is a wee hazy. In 1959, Brian moved to New Zealand and met his first love Ann. However, Ann and her family and friends knew him as Barry, still to this day he is referred to as Barry. Brian/Barry does not give too much away about his alter-ego. Sure, I ask him. Let me just say, he has perfected the art of the mumble to fade.....
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| Ann and "Barry" |
For this section of the story, I have changed his name to Barry.
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| Bazza |
So, 1959, Barry meets Ann, falls in love with the New Zealand beauty, 1960, Barry returns to Australia as Brian as sadly his mother Elsie has passed away from bowel cancer at age 46.
Barry returns to New Zealand to the lovely and now pregnant Ann. They both move to Sydney. Brian, er Barry and Ann have three wonderful little humans, Barbara, David and Peter.
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| Clockwise from top left, Ann, Barry, Peter, Barbara and David |
Baz tells me of his time as a teacher at Sydney Tech in the early 1970's. On Friday nights after work, he the tech teachers and students would head off to Kings Cross to a club called the Taxi Club.
Now for those of you who don't know the Taxi Club, here's a quick history..... Ahem..... Taxi Club opened their doors in 1957 as a 24-hour licensed club for taxi drivers, however its
unique hours soon drew a more colourful crowd. In the 1960s,
Les Girls cabaret performers from Kings Cross came after their shows,
bringing in a whole new vibe. To this day, Drag shows still perform on weekends.
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| Les Girls Ensemble circa 1960 au.timeout.com |
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On one particular night, a new staff member of the tech headed out to the Taxi Club, where most tradies from the area would head for happy hour. As the night grew later and later as the crowd merged into the happier hours, the "ladies" would enter the club. This new Sydney Tech employee, let's call him Jonno, met a lovely lady. Baz and his mates may or may not have ensured that Jonno was aware that this may or may not be a lady, They had left it too far into the evening for Jonno to listen to any form of explanation of the club transformation.
With a shrug of the shoulders, Baz and his mates ended their night and left Jonno to become better acquainted with his new friend.
The following Monday, Jonno was somewhat sheepish. Needless to say, I'm not sure whether Jonno went back to Taxi Club for a while.
Baz also tells me that the infamous Tilly Devine (Golden Mile's Kiss of Death Prostitute) would loiter drunkenly outside a milk bar in Surrey Hills in the 1950's.
The 1970's were the beginning of another wacky chapter in the life of Brian, er Barry......
.JPG)
