1940s 1950s Reminiscences

The following two reminiscences of Bribie in the 1940s and 1950s were written in 1997 by Ted Simpson and Ted Clayton respectively.

Bribie Jetty, 1945
Photo: The Longreach Leader 30.6.1945 p.9

22. Reminiscences of Bribie (1946-1950) by R.E. Simpson

About the author: In 1997, Ted and Rose Simpson returned to Bribie Island and Ted Simpson wrote the following reminiscences, of his time on Bribie from the mid-1940s till he left to serve in Korea and Japan, which were published in the Island and Mainland News, 29 Oct 1997.

Interestingly, a 23-pound snapper16 caught off Bribie Island by Dick Simpson in 1951 was cast in plaster by the Queensland Museum.*

In the mid-1940s my parents Dick and Melba Simpson (both now deceased) moved to Bribie Island along with eight of their nine children. The house we lived in was located near where the Bongaree Post Office now stands. Dick Simpson was, at different times, a professional fisherman, skipper of the barge which transported vehicles from the mainland to the Island as the bridge had not been thought of at that time. He also operated a butcher shop for a time where the second-hand shop is now [in 1997]. After that he converted the 28-foot launch Sunny Girl to a flush deck trawler and so became what was most likely the first commercial prawn trawler operator in Moreton Bay. His wife Melba Simpson, as well as being housewife and mother, sold fish and crabs and shell ornaments from her front verandah. My younger brother Max drove an old international truck and delivered ice. I am not sure but I think Ivan Tesch might have owned the truck. Another brother, Albert, worked part time assisting Tex the slaughterman.

At that time the Post Office was located near the Koopa jetty to the rear of the service station. In 1950 I joined the army and after that I only returned for a few short holidays. Two brothers Ronald and Albert eventually joined the navy. William and sister Marjory joined the Air Force. My teenage girlfriend, Rosaline Long, later to become my wife, lived at Graceville but worked weekends in the Cafeteria on either the Koopa, Miramar or Mirana.

As a point of interest, a vehicle used only on the island cost £4.10 per year to register. At that time, I don’t think there were any sealed roads on the Island. Mail was picked up at Toorbul Point and transported to Bribie by motor launch. I know that progress has brought many changes to the Island. Some good, some not so good, but I cannot, for the life of me, understand why places like Campbells Creek (now Williams Creek) had to suffer a name change. After all the Campbell family owned and operated a business on its banks for many years.

I wonder what the Island will be like in another fifty years. Still free of traffic lights I hope.

R.E. Simpson

1997

                                                         

23. Reminiscences of Bribie (1940s-1950s) by Ted Clayton

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ted Clayton’s parents Ernie and Marion met on Bribie Island in the 1920s and while Ted grew up in Brisbane most of his childhood family holidays were spent on Bribie. After Ted married Patricia, the couple chose to settle on Bribie Island and raise their family. As the Island’s carpenter, builder, fisherman and regular contributor to Fishing World for over two decades, Ted Clayton’s knowledge of Bribie Island’s natural environment is extensive. Ted’s large collection of Aboriginal artefacts were gifted to the Queensland Museum in recent times. Ted also collected copies of many of Vera Campbell’s photos thus capturing a wonderful pictorial memory of Reg and Vera Campbell.

Letter by Ted Clayton to the Editor. Island and Mainland News, 11 Nov 1997.

I read Mr R.E. Simpson’s letter in your October 29th edition. His brother Max delivered our ice for quite some time. Certainly the ice works (and probably the truck) belonged to the Tesch family. I had no idea that the name of Campbells Creek had been changed to “Williams Creek” – if that is so, then it saddens me. Another case of out of sight out of mind.

I do not know who the Williams referred to would be but they could not have a claim that would surpass that of Reg and Vera Campbell, two modest and lovable people whose ties to the creek go back a very long way. I do not know the exact date that they acquired their creek bank lease but I was buying aniseed balls from their shop prior to World War 2. At that time they had a well-established business alongside the creek as general store/garage/professional fisherman/boat hire, boat building etc. They were there before a road bridge existed across the creek. The remains of Reg’s boat shed can be seen in a popular painting at the local library.

As a child Reg attended Clark’s school at Toorbul Point. On Bribie he was a prominent and popular businessman, someone who could fix anything. He deserves to be remembered. It is a pity that the Campbells Creek where I caught mullet as a child has been turned into something resembling a drain.

On another point of historical accuracy. Toward the south west corner of the island there used to be a delightful little inlet with mangroves and a few mud crabs. It was called “The Yabby Patch Creek”. It became involved in the erosion of the foreshore and putting a dam across it saved the adjacent properties. The dam filled with fresh water, grew reeds, and attracted bird life. It has come to be known incorrectly as “Buckley’s Hole”.

“Buckleys Hole” – historically – refers to an area of deep water alongside the ledge in front of the parking area at the south end of South Esplanade. The real Buckley’s Hole has strong memories of dark nights and exciting times for generations of fishermen. Who it was named after I don’t know – someone else who has lost their mark on history – but the name goes back to the very early days prior to World War 1. My father was fishing it by 1920. There are many people alive who object strongly to the name being hijacked and the old timers will be turning over in their graves. It was – and is – a very well-known local feature.

REFERENCES

*Rival for “Snozzle” [illustration]. The Courier Mail, Wed 22 Aug 1951, p. 3

Reminiscences of Bribie (1946-1950) by R.E. Simpson. Island and Mainland News, 29 Oct 1997.  Reproduced in: Describing Bribie Island 1865-1965: historical first-hand accounts of visiting Bribie Island (2017) chapter 22.

Reminiscences of Bribie (1940s-1950s) by Ted Clayton. Letter to the Editor, Island and Mainland News, 11 Nov 1997.  Reproduced in: Describing Bribie Island 1865-1965: historical first-hand accounts of visiting Bribie Island (2017) chapter 23.

Photo: Bribie Jetty, showing part of Bongaree township. The Longreach Leader 30.6.1945 p.9

 The above stories are two of 27 stories presented in Describing Bribie Island 1865-1965: historical first-hand accounts of visiting Bribie Island produced by the Bribie Island Historical Society in 2017.

Ted Clayton remembers

The Bribie Bridge will have its 60th anniversary on 19 October 2023. The following article contains a personal account by Ted Clayton, written for the 20th anniversary in 1983.
 

Building toward the future of a resort

Near North Coast News, 19 Oct 1983, page 20.

20th Bribie Bridge Anniversary
Near North Coast News, 19 Oct 1983, page 17

A local resident who can give a first-hand account of Bribie Island at the time of the construction of the bridge is long-time Shire resident Ted Clayton.

Mr Clayton worked on the bridge construction and here gives a personal account of how the work proceeded:

"The construction of the Bribie Bridge coincided with the big credit squeeze of 1963. The population of permanent residents on the Island at that time was quite small, and most of the cash inflow came from visitors and people building holiday homes.

"I was contract building at the time, and was also stuck with a 'spec' house that wouldn't sell. The engineer in charge of the bridge job (Mr Noel Tedman) was living in flats at the end of South Esplanade. I approached him about a job and started work at Toorbul Point as a carpenter shortly thereafter.

"The site of operations at Toorbul Point had been a major army installation during the war years, and the country between Clark's jetty and the old barge landing site was strewn with the remains of jettys and facilities.

"A lot of this heavy timber went into the construction of the overhead gantry and the slipway that was used for the launching of pontoons carrying prestressed concrete piles and bridge beams. The timber piles for this slipway were cut locally and the fact that unskilled labourers were put to work sharpening these with blunt adzes meant that a lot of them were also cut locally - mainly around the shins.

Caption: The Bribie Bridge comes close to the Island - and completion.
Picture: R. Loseby
Near North Coast News, 19 October 1983, p. 20

"The slip as such was a conventional one with rail lines extending from below the low water mark up onto the foreshore, where they ran down the centre of the overhead gantry. The gantry was equipped with heavy manually operated chain blocks. The concrete beams and piles were stored alongside the track and lifted into the launching pontoons as required. The initial plan was for these pontoons to be hauled out to the site of operations by a wire rope which ran from a winch on the pile frame.

"This plan was never totally successful, and as the bridge extended it became less so. The wire cut grooves into outcrops of rock projecting from the bottom of the channel and was forever jamming.

"By this time I had progressed to 'general' foreman and as such I inherited the problem and shared it with the engineer. We decided that the job of towing could best be done by some form of tug boat.

"My friend Phil Dinte had a boat about the 20-foot (seven metres) mark powered by a 10 hp diesel. I approached Phil, he took the job and stayed with it until the bridge was finished - towing pontoons and ferrying workmen as required. the 10 hp was a bit light for the job but what it lacked in power Phil made up for it with his knowledge of the winds and tides in the Channel.

"When you consider that the beams themselves were 72 foot 2 inches (about 26 metres) long and were floating in clumsy pontoons, and throw in a few other items like the fact that the tide turns a half an hour earlier at the Toorbul Point end of the bridge, and the vagaries of the wind and waves, it was no small feat of seamanship.

"The engineer in charge of the project, Noel Tedman, was killed with most of his family in a tragic accident a short time after the bridge was completed. I understand that he was on his way to start up a contract of his own. He was a fine person with a lot of energy and a good engineer. He left a lot of friends behind."

REFERENCES

Building toward the future of a resort [Ted Clayton remembers]
Near North Coast News, 19 Oct 1983, p. 20.

Bribie Bridge 20th Anniversary, special supplement,
Near North Coast News, 19 Oct 1983, pp. 17-20.

Nostalgic Reflections of Bribie 50 years ago

The following article was printed in The Bribie Islander, issue 44, March 2018, pages 30-31.

History Page

By Barry Clark

Bribie Island Historical Society

50+ years on Bribie residents plaque, Brennan Park.
Photo: Barry Clark

The following item of “Nostalgia” was first written by Ted Clayton back in 2004, and is one of several documents he has shared with me recording his memories of Bribie Island. 

Ted has over 80 wonderful and challenging years of memories to look back on, and has lived on the island since he married in 1954. Ted and Pat Clayton are one of the “50+ years on Bribie” pioneers that I had commemorated on a plaque in Brennan Park. 

 Ted’s parents Ernie and Marion met on Bribie Island in the 1920s when they had rental properties and lived most of their time here until 1984. Ted grew up in Brisbane but spent much of his early childhood on family holidays on Bribie, attending the Primary School for periods during the 1940's.

Bribie Bridge under construction 1963.

In 1954 Ted married Patricia and they came to live on Bribie in a house Ted built himself at No.11 South Esplanade. As a carpenter Ted did contract building work and together they ran a bait and tackle store. Their family of three daughters and a son grew up on the island.

During the construction of the Bribie Island Bridge in the early 1960's Ted was the General Foreman.

Ted Clayton, Fishing
World cover, Dec 1978.
Photo: Barry Clark

Ted Clayton was also one of the islands most renowned fishermen and from 1970 wrote regular articles about fishing, and became a regular contributor and field editor for "Fishing World" for over 20 years. Ted's articles about fishing around Bribie Island created nation-wide interest.

Ted Clayton + big fish.

There is not a square inch of Bribie Island that Ted has not explored in his 80 years roaming the island.

In 1990 Ted and Pat moved from South Esplanade Bongaree, to live a quieter life at Whitepatch.

The following document is one of several that Ted has written to document and share some of his memories of Bribie Island, and I hope to bring you more of his great memories in the months ahead.

NOSTALGIC REFLECTIONS OF BRIBIE 50 YEARS AGO

BY TED CLAYTON

Fifty years ago when Pat and I were married we settled permanently on Bribie. The Place was paradise – there is no other description for it.

Making a living was a starvation pastime but that was the only drawback. 

In my Batchelor days I worked in the scrub in North Queensland. My parents had more use for my spare cash than I did and they repaid the favour with an allotment in South Esplanade. To make it vacant I had to move a small house that was on it to the back of the allotment to the south. My parents owned that block. It already had one house on the front. It was my first house move and I undertook it with more guts than brains. Looking back I wonder at my parents feelings. It was their house and they had a lot at stake. You are a bit thoughtless when you are young.

My partner and I moved a couple of big houses from block to block with the Council tree puller. A bit of sherbet could get you that. Tthere was no dirt for filling on the Island but sometimes a truck would conveniently break down outside the job. All perfectly good natured. Life was a bit simpler then.

The process with the houses was to jack them up – put longitudinal timbers on the stumps then place some more crosswise. The faces of both of these where they met was liberally rubbed with laundry soap (‘Velvet’). The tree puller was attached to the house and once the thing moved the timbers glazed and went quite well. There was a bit more to it than that of course. One had one metre stumps that were rotten and as soon as we started pulling half of them snapped and we had to get under it to salvage things.

I was very fit – I built our house in my spare time in twelve months. We had no floor coverings or curtains, we bathed in a basin. The Rentons were next door and both houses survived on 1,000 gallon tanks.

The Renton’s system, in the kitchen sink, was to wash themselves, wash the kids, wash the dishes then do the laundry. I made our furniture at night at a work bench in the main room. The Council would have a fit these days but no one thought it odd at the time. The toilet was a thunder box out the back. Pat accepted it all in good spirit.

The best advantage was the position. In front we had a pristine beach where one could swim and sunbake. Our children grew up with that. You could not put a price on it. Going fishing was as easy as crossing the road and stepping into a dinghy.

The roads on the Island were simply wheel tracks in the sand. That was South Esplanade – two-wheel tracks. There was not a shovelful of road gravel anywhere.

Early on we had a special Island Registration fee for our vehicles. In theory they couldn’t get onto the mainland.

Mostly we bought old ‘bombs’ that couldn’t run on main roads. One, I forget the make, needed an eighteen inch piece of flooring jammed between the gear lever and the dash panel to keep it in top gear. It had no brakes at all. You turned off the ignition coming into a corner and turned it on again as you came out. I had one vehicle, a Dodge Six, that had as much guts as any four-wheel drive that I have ever driven. 

Its failing was the steering box. It took about six turns of the wheel to have any effect. On a bush track you had a very active time. I used to drive it through the scrub to Dux Creek chasing mud crabs. That area is where Bellara now stands but in those days it was a very pretty marshy place with a lovely fresh water creek running through it. The old Dodge would chug through across a ‘corduroy’ of logs and up a greasy slope on the other side as easy as you like.

One of my most respectable was a Chev, a 1934 I think, that I bought in Brisbane for the equivalent of fifty dollars. It was fully registered, I even took it on the mainland once.
Today’s car buffs would cry. We did some shocking things to some lovely old cars but they were cheap and all that we could afford.

I once went to Brisbane car shopping with my building partner. He finally found one out near Mt. Gravatt. It was a Rugby in immaculate show room condition – hood, upholstery, the lot. He got it for the usual fifty bucks. I drove it back to Bribie. The barge was running by then. We took a hacksaw and cut it off behind the front seat down to the chassis. Everything but the front seat was thrown into the scrub. He fixed some rough hardwood on the chassis and called it a utility. It lasted three years. 

One of the jobs that I took on for a while was driving an eight-ton Bedford truck for the Rentons. Driving to the Darra Cement Works for cement was one task. A bit hairy because at first I had no idea how to get there. Cement had the advantage of being warm. If I missed the last barge I would crawl under the tarp and go to sleep.

I have told you that gravel for building was worth a fortune on the Island in the early days. I later did trips to S&S Gravel at the Pine River for gravel. What one was allowed to put on a truck was foreign to us all. ‘As much as it could carry’. It certainly never occurred to me that anyone would give you more gravel than you paid for. I paid at the office for the load and they directed me to an excavator that would load it. I stood back and watched. After a while the operator looked at me and raised his hands and his eyebrows. Apparently it was up to me to say when. I got to the gate and the mob in the office had a talk. The portable scales were working somewhere so they told me to take a dirt back road to avoid them. Things went OK until I reached a very steep hill and didn’t have enough power to get over it. All that I could see half a kilometre back down the track was a very rickety and narrow bridge. Fortunately I had Pop with me. I stood on the brakes, pulled on the hand brake, turned the motor off in gear and got Pop to put some big rocks under the wheel. Then I got into it with a shovel and put a pile of it into the gutter. You live and learn.

Another choice run was to Attewell’s saw mill at Caboolture for timber. Again you simply loaded all that you could get on. The long stuff piled up on either side of the cabin until you needed to be a snake to get into the seat. I had to back it down onto the barge and at low tide and that was a spooky business.

Another job that I took on for money was an eviction out at Woorim. The tenant wouldn’t get out. It required someone to stay full time on the front verandah for three days. I knew the bloke vaguely and he took it quite well. The inside of the place was a complete pig sty.

I put in a price and got the job of erecting steel towers along the Ocean Beach for the Coordinator Generals Department, and I also renovated one of the old navigation lights at the top end of the Island.

I put the lookout cabin on top of A.P.M.’s (Australian Paper Mill) one-hundred-foot fire tower. Most of it got put together on the ground and was lifted by a crane but I did the finishing touches hanging on like a fly. Anything for a quid.

Ted Clayton, 2004.

Reference:
Clayton, T. (2018) Nostalgic Reflections of Bribie 50 years ago. The Bribie Islander issue 44, March 2018, pages 30-31.