Their shoes had also become trapped in the tar and they had tried to escape barefoot, only to be asphyxiated by lack of oxygen. Dad found them - dead, not far from their vehicle. One, which occurred along the Acheron Way at Narbethong and caused recurring bad dreams, was about a family from Feiglin's Mill (situated on the Acheron Way) who, rather than stay in a dugout until the fire passed, tried to out run it with their car, only to find that it became bogged in the melting tar. He would often entertain these tourists, by standing several yards from the base of a large tree, and throwing his axe, spinning end over end through the air, embedding it neatly in the tree-trunk.ĭad fought the January 1939 bushfires, and related various horrific stories to me when I was about six or seven.
He suggested that the Dowdles could use Bryan in another capacity, and so it was, that with Wykeham and Geoff Cobb, he drove their Packard service cars (extended sedans) with tourists, to Lake Mountain and other sights in the Marysville area. His friend (How were they friends?) and future brother in law Wykeham Perry advised against this as the area was too cold. Sometime after this, (He is first mentioned at Marysville in Geoff Cobb's diary for 1937, on the 3rd of October) he moved to Marysville at the request of Eric Dowdle, to investigate the possibility of running sheep at "Marylands", (now "El Khana"? and then one of several "Mary" chain guesthouses in the town owned by the Dowdle family). When Mr Frean became ill and moved North for nine months, Bryan managed the estate with Mrs Frean's aid, entirely to her satisfaction. Fattened cattle and lambs were both raised successfully. "The Downs" was a property of some 600 acres which was divided into small paddocks, most of which were sown down with clover, ryegrass, cocksfoot, etc, allowing intensive stocking and rotational feeding. Second prize was awarded in the open class for Ryeland Rams at the sheepbreeders show of 1936, and they also showed at the Royal Agricultural Show and at Bairnsdale. There he gained experience with Ryeland Stud Sheep, keeping stud records and preparing sheep for show purposes. Frean (of Peak Frean's Biscuits fame), at "The Downs" on the Mornington Peninsula.
He attended Longerenong Agricultural College from January 1933 to July 1934 gaining a certificate, and from July 1934 to December of that year he was a Jackaroo at Rosemont Estate at Wonwondah, near Horsham in the Hamilton District of Victoria, where he gained experience with fine woolled merino sheep.įrom February 1935 to June 1937 he worked for Mr G. (Information re name of “Kooyonga” from Isabel Stevens (4/9/99: ph 5762 3587), friend of Nan de Crespigny and daughter-in-law of Eric who was a brother-in -law of Bill Irvine of Peterborough, Victoria.) He attended school at Haileybury College, 120 South Road, Brighton Beach.ĭuring 1932, Bryan worked for Mr Loh, at Jetho, near Loch, in Gippsland, Victoria., where he gained some experience with dairying, and later that year he worked for Eric Stevens on a sheep farm, “Kooyonga” at Moorngag near Swanpool, about 16 miles south of Benalla. His interest in cricket is supported by the fact that he played for the Victorian side? during ?. The following was written by Ernest Bryan Mole's son (John Bryan Mole) using Ernest's diaries, information gleaned from others, and his own personal memories of his father.Įrnest was known by most as Bryan, although his nickname in the army was "Rackets" as he apparently quite often pronounced about things in general "It's a bloody racket, etc".Īccording to his diary from 1925, which is mostly taken up with reports of every cricket match occurring at the time, he was then living at 3 Seymour Grove, Brighton Beach.