Barry Churches remembers sitting in the passenger seat of his father’s red GMC Chevrolet truck on a hot day, with the windows fully wound down and a line-up of trucks leading to the gates of Kyabram Cannery that stretched almost the length of Church Street.
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Mr Churches, along with Marg Richards, Pauline Laidlaw, Chris George and Tracy McArthur – all of whom have stories of their own about their association with the factory – form the committee organising the Kyabram Cannery Centenary celebration in December this year.
Mr Churches grandfather, Frederick, a foundation director, was appointed campaign secretary responsible for selling the original shares in the cannery.
“He was a fruit grower for 20 years, and I remember sitting in the hot red truck with a truckload of fruit, waiting in a queue of trucks that had formed along Church Street,” Mr Churches said.
Mr Churches’ father Len was the cannery’s longest serving director, from 1939-55 and again from 1957-63.
And, adding further to the family’s strong connection to the cannery, was the fact Mr Churches mother, Violet (nee Holden), was the first office girl at the cannery.
“She was one of 200 applicants during the Depression and it is where Mum and Dad met,” he said. “The rest is history.”
As a 19 year old, Marg Richards worked at the cannery as a night job.
“Mum would have my apron and dinner ready when I got home from work [Marg worked during the day in an office in Kyabam] and I’d head off to the cannery at 5.30pm and work there until 2am,” she said.
"There were a lot of girls who did that.“
Mrs Richards explained it was that “night job’’ as a casual working during fruit season that had allowed her to travel overseas.
Pauline Laidlaw initially worked on the factory floor, before she became involved in the payroll department and was eventually an administrator at the cannery.
“I worked the night shift there after I had the children,” she said. “There were three generations of us who worked there.’’
Chris George is the lead researcher of the group and has published a history of Kyabram RSL.
She has worked closely with the authors of the Ky Cannery Centenary book, Shepparton-based authors Geoff Allemand and Peter Matthews.
Ms George is the daughter of well-known fruit growers Ron and Val Goode; her great grandfather Arthur Goode and grandfather Frank Goode all supplied the cannery.
Tracy McArthur’s father, Rod, was employed at the cannery and she has also published histories of Kyabram groups, including the netball club.
Regular meetings between the trio to plan the centenary celebrations have led to a long list of former employees and contractors who were part of cannery’s significant workforce at the peak of the fruit season.
“The town swelled by thousands, whether they were fruit pickers or working at the cannery,” Mrs Richards said.
“I remember the whole town stank with the peaches,” she said.
Twelve months of planning has gone into the December 3 launch of the Centenary event, with 200-plus people expected to travel to Kyabram for the event.
“Hundreds and hundreds of people worked at the cannery; there wouldn’t be too many who didn’t know someone who worked there at some point,” Mrs Richards said.
Together with the support of event and media manager Nicole Fraser, along with Sandra Brown (who conducted interviews), the committee is planning the Kyabram Town Hall launch to be followed by a more informal gathering at the Kyabram club during the weekend.
“We are putting together a site where people will be able to not only register for the event, but they will be able to access all the information and have access to purchase the centenary book,” Mr Churches said.
The trio, who are quite tech savvy themselves, are well aware the ageing population of the former cannery workforce will need some special attention.
“We are very conscious of being able to provide contact points for those not using the technology to make us aware of their interest in the event,” Mr Churches said.
“We will contact them by phone.”
The initial feedback to the event has been strong as some former workers from interstate indicated an interest in returning to swap stories and view the various photographic evidence and assembled memorabilia that will be on display.
While the Allan Street town hall will be the central point for the launch on Saturday, December 3 at 2pm, there has been a tentative booking made for 150-plus at the Kyabram Club for 6pm that night.
The trio are also planning to hire a bus to show people around the town and, if allowed, conduct a tour of the cannery site.
There will be an exhibition at Kyabram Town Hall of boxes, cutting equipment, glasses featuring the Henry Jones cartoons and whatever other memorabilia the group is able to lay its hands on.
“There are people out there with memorabilia and we are hopeful of being able to display that at the hall,” Mr Churches said.
“We don’t know what is out there yet, but we’ve had people let us know they have things from many years ago still sitting in their garages.”
Former employees are not the only target of the centenary celebration, as many tradesmen were constantly on site to assist in the 24-hour operation of the cannery at the peak of its powers.
As for the location of former employees, Mrs Richards said she knew of people from Rushworth who were employed at the cannery during her time and she was certain most towns in the area would have former employees.
She said the concept of the Kyabram Club event was to create a catch-up space.
“I know there are still women who catch up on a weekly basis, who are now in their 80s, who worked together at the cannery,” she said.
The financial support of the event has been significant, kick started by donations from both Kyabram Club and Kyabram Community Bank.
“We also have many individual sponsors who have been prepared to help financially with the organisation of the event,” she said.
The committee has enlisted the support of Randall Kohn, who is the grandson of Ralph Gartner, a former chief engineer at the cannery.
“He has offered to help and we are moving well to having things well and truly in place for the staging of the event,” Mrs Richards said.
As for the oldest former employee of the cannery, 105-year-old Joan Stagg, she will not be at the event.
"She lives in Perth with her daughter, but understandably will not be attending," Mrs Richards said.
There are about four or five people in their 90s who have indicated they will be attending, including June Steele, the daughter of Ed McMaster-Smith.
In the lead up to the event the committee will be on the hunt for special pieces of memorabilia, which will be used for the launch and display in the Town Hall Gallery.
Sponsors have been an important part of the cannery centenary. They are, Gold: Bendigo Bank, Kyabram Club, June Steel (nee McMaster-Smith), McMaster-Smith family (Helen, Cathy, Louise, Tom), Scott Collins and family, The Sutherlands (Fred and Bev; Mark, Donna and Trevor).
Silver sponsors: Barry Churches and family, Fitzgeralds Farm Fresh Meats, Jim Higgs and family, Laidlaw Family, Morrison & Sawyers.
Bronze sponsors: Adrienne Smith, Audrey Ratcliffe, B.W & M.T Dillon, Geoff and Betty Forryan, Ian Collie Pharmacy, Ian and Anne Puckey, Margaret Evans, R.A. and C.J Kohn, Reflex Sports Massage, Ross Mudford, Stuart and Christine Anderson, Wayne and Norma Sefton-Rowston.
Registrations for both the book launch and the Kyabram Club event can be made at the website kyabramcannerycentenary.com.au or by contacting Barry on 0408 570138 or Marg on 0407 097365. The email contact for the group is kyabramcannerycentenary@gmail.com
Kyabram Free Press and Campaspe Valley News editor