Page 8 - BOL Mar 22 Edition

“Kids” of Aussie Soldiers make Mango

Hill Village their Life Long home.

Richards had returned to the Gympie It Worked!
region, marrying young Edna Beachtol In 1973, Bob and Marcia were married in
and worked on various share farms in St Faiths at Strathpine, a little wooden
the Wide Bay region, where little Marcia church on the corner of Samsonvale and
arrived at Bundaberg Hospital on 10th Gympie Roads. Sadly, St Faiths Church has
February 1952. gone the way of so many old churches,
bowing to the pressures of commercial
Today, a still lively Bill Richards, now 97 development.
years old, proudly wears his medals on
Anzac Day and resides in the Opal Ages
Care in Burpengary. Sadly, Wally Richards
suffered greatly from his war efforts in
New Guinea and passed away in 2002.
With the imminent threat of invasion by
the Japanese forces in 1942, like so many Fast forward to 1972:
young men of their generation, Pte Bill 20-year old Marcia is now living in
Dolley (above) & Pte Wally Richards Strathpine when her sister’s husband (Bob
(below) enlisted in the Australian Army Hill) arrives at the family home (near the
and fought in New Guinea over 4 long old Sawmill off Gympie Road) bringing
terrible years. Yet they survived. with him a young motor mechanic,
Bob Dolley. For Marcia, this bloke was
“potential” and before long she was
working out how to turn “potential” into
a future.

Marcia relates how one day, the brakes
in her little Mini were “badly needing
attention”. Rather than go down to the
local garage, she drove the perilous 34 For Bob and Marcia, like so many other
km to Kenmore on very limited brakes young couples, they faced the challenge
to where Bob worked at a motor garage of saving up for that first home and chose
(service Station in modern language) “caravanning” as their strategy to build up
to have her brakes fixed and have time funds for that day. For much of the next
with Bob over a “cuppa”. In those days, 5 years, Bob and Marcia enjoyed married
travel-time to Kenmore took 25 minutes, life in their “mobile home”, a 32ft/10m
an unlikely accomplishment in modern Chesney Caravan, fitted out with dining
Enroute to the battlefields all over New traffic. and bedrooms at the River Dean Cara-park
on the banks of the Caboolture River. Bob
Guinea, both soldiers found themselves in recalls how many other young couples
the jungle training camp at Ravenshoe in also lived at the park for similar reasons
north Qld, never recalling having met up and added to the good community spirit
in camp, and, at that time, not knowing that existed, particularly on a Friday night
that their “future offspring” would marry around the Park Central. However, space
and that this marriage would in 2022, be was needed, especially after their 1st son
just one year shy of a Golden Anniversary Trent was born in 1976 and before long, a
for Bob & Marcia Dolley who almost 40 2nd child (Jennifer) was on her way. The
years later, made their home in the Mango Park Landlord raised the rent by $25 per
Hill Village.
week giving the reason that “kids cost
extra!” For Bob and Marcia, the time to
Back to Bill and Wally! move had come.
Thankfully both Wally and Bill returned
safely to Australia after enduring the MANGO HILL VILLAGE BECKONS:
horrors of war, stories of which they In 1978, the road into the Mango Hill
would rarely discuss even to close family Village up Kinsellas Rd West could best
members. Bill Dolley returned to the be described as a “dirt track” leading up
family farm on the Darling Downs where the hill through the creek bed (now Park
he & his wife Mary welcomed their first Vista Roundabout) to their home in the
son Bob on 10th November 1948 in “Hidden Suburb”, as described by Marcia’s
Toowoomba hospital. Meanwhile, Wally
Dad (Wally Richards) who was on the staff