JOHNS – BAKKE Family from 1940’s

The JOHNS/BAKKE story commences for Noel and Norma in the Eudlo, Palmwoods and Nambour areas.

Noel Griffith JOHNS had attended school at the Buderim State School but left school at age 14 to help his father Charles JOHNS run the family property and timber logging business. When Charles was able to buy a truck, Noel learned to drive and he and his father operated a timber transport business which progressively developed to support the whole family at Eudlo.

Norma Doris Bakke had attended school at the Atherton State School, North Queensland, and the family moved to Palmwoods when she was approximately 13 years of age due to her health issues (she had grown too tall too quickly and had curvature of the spine; spent more than a year on a rack and then had to learn how to walk again). After regaining her health, Norma studied nursing at the Palmwoods Hospital (telling us that when operating in those days, the lighting was by car batteries!) and initially met Noel when travelling on the local bus that he drove at times. Norma’s parents had a fruit orchard at Palmwoods.

Noel and Norma met at the approximate ages of 22 (Noel born at Eudlo on the 16th May 1917) and 16 (Norma born at Atherton on the 1st July 1923). Noel lived at Eudlo and Norma at Palmwoods. Norma was an only child and the two families (Noel had four sisters) spent much time together with beach trips, family picnics and gatherings and attended many dances – Noel drove the truck with everybody on board – especially to the dances!

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Noel & Norma in 1939

Noel and Norma married at the Presbyterian Church, Ann Street, Brisbane on 26th September 1942. They lived in Arundel Avenue, Nambour and Noel had a welding/mechanical business in Nambour with a partner, Frank Foster.

Wedding of Noel & Norma Johns in 1942

Noel and Norma had three children, all born in Nambour; Lynette (known as Lyn) Helen born in 1943, Glenys Rhonda in 1945 and Trevor Noel in 1948. Lyn commenced her schooling at Nambour State School and during her first year, in November 1948, the family moved to Strathpine, where they had purchased the freehold property to the ”Clyde Hotel” (on the Bruce Highway) which due to an earlier fire, operated only with a temporary bar and a residence at the rear of the building. The land surrounding the temporary hotel they had purchased was large and their plan was to build a new two storey hotel on the site. This plan came to fruition in 1954 and during the construction of 3 the first wing of the new hotel, called ”The Country Club Hotel”, the temporary bar was leased out (and at a later date burnt to the ground) and the family moved to a large Queenslander house which was situated on the edge of the site. Noel worked at Wandoan as a logging contractor to supplement their finances to construct the hotel and was away for many weeks at a time. Norma took care of the children whilst Noel was away; they had a cow in the back paddock which Norma milked daily; had chickens for eggs and Sunday roasts, ducks, a sheep and a vegetable patch. Norma was an extremely good seamstress, milliner and knitter, and at this time in their lives she made most of the clothes, hats and winter woollens that the children wore.

The first wing of The Country Club Hotel was opened on 1st July 1956. This contained a Public Bar, Office, Ladies Lounge and a Private Lounge where entertainment first started on Friday nights in the form of a pianist/singer. Upstairs had a function area, kitchen, lounge area and six accommodation rooms and two bathrooms. An extremely large “beer garden” was built at the back of this wing of the hotel and it was used for live entertainment and dancing every Saturday night; it became a very popular venue and was packed full every week. The Country Club Hotel had the first drive-in bottle shop in the Brisbane area and also the first “beer garden” type entertainment area. The Country Club Hotel was a beautiful Tudor style hotel and a great achievement for Noel and Norma. Unfortunately the hotel was demolished in 2009. The huge piece of land the hotel had been built on was just too valuable in this day and age and the hotel was demolished with the land to be used for other multi purposes.

Lyn, Glenys and Trevor attended the Strathpine State School for their primary education and for their secondary education attended boarding school. Lyn and Glenys attended the Presbyterian Girls College in Warwick and Trevor the Scots College in Warwick and then Kedron State High School in Brisbane.

By 1963 the second wing of the Country Club Hotel had been built. This contained the “Tangerine Room” (a formal Dining Room and function venue) with en-suited accommodation up-stairs. On leaving school Lyn initially worked with an Insurance company in Brisbane city and shortly after decided she wanted to work at the hotel, which she did, as Hostess in the Dining Room and for functions. This became a very popular and busy establishment with many people travelling many miles to visit. Lyn worked at the hotel until her marriage to Daniel Charles Doyle in 1964.

Lyn and Danny had three children, Craig Daniel born in 1965, Mark Trevor born in 1967 and Kirsten Lee born in 1973. Danny was dairying on his Uncle’s farm when they married and they lived on a property at Kings Scrub, Dayboro. In 1969 they purchased a little beach house on Bribie Island which was walking distance from Winnett Street 4 where Noel and Norma had their beach house. In 1970 Danny’s great grandfather’s (William Nugent, on his mother’s side) property at Dayboro came on the market. Danny’s cousin who had inherited the property, his father being the son of grandfather Christopher Nugent (Danny was the son of Christopher’s only daughter who was killed in a car accident when Danny was three years old), was not too adept at running a farm and the property came into great disrepair. As his cousin wasn’t managing the property well he decided to put it on the market and much to Danny’s joy they were able to purchase it. Lyn and Danny still currently live on this property and their children also have their homes on the property; their grandchildren are the sixth generation to live there. In approximately 1974 Rotalacta milking bails were installed in the dairy, being one of the first properties in Queensland to install this new style of milking. Lyn and Danny terminated dairying in 1987. They sold their beach house at Bribie Island and bought a cliff top unit overlooking the ocean at Caloundra. Danny always had an interest in race horses and acquired his first race horse not long after they were married. When they finished dairying Danny seriously started breeding horses and cattle and still does so today. He has two/three horses that are racing at any given time. Danny was diagnosed with cancer in 1996 and given two to five years to live; he has proven them wrong and is one of the longest surviving patients of multiple myeloma in the world. Danny being well enough, they took a trip to Ireland last year which was of great interest for Danny with his Irish heritage.

Glenys finished secondary school in 1963 and worked at Radio Station 4BH as Secretary to the Sales Team starting in February 1964. In 1965 the hotel was leased out and Noel, Norma and Glenys departed on a trip overseas (initially to meet and visit Norma’s Norwegian relatives on her father’s side who lived in Boston, USA, and Norway); with Glenys remaining in London and then the USA for extended periods. On Noel and Norma’s return, they sold the hotel and purchased a large rural property at Bald Hills, which they named “Enanenjai” where Noel could breed his beloved cattle. He bred Charolais and Braham cross animals. His prize animal was a Charbray bull named “Giant” who won many championships at the Brisbane Exhibition. Noel and Norma had the opportunity to take further trips overseas; one in 1967, spending much time in the USA; another to spend six weeks with Trevor in South Africa and another to visit Glenys in Los Angeles with Lyn and Kirsten. Noel and Norma lived at “the farm” until 1987 at which time they moved permanently to Woorim on Bribie Island where they had a beach house they had built in the mid 1950’s (quite an achievement – everything had to come to the Island by barge as there was no bridge at that time).

In 1974 Glenys married John Raymond Roat and they lived at Albany Creek. John was an engineer who had his own business designing and making machinery. John passed away in 1989. 5

When Glenys returned in 1967 from the USA she worked for Ansett Airlines as a reservations clerk for Papua New Guinea travel, and after her marriage, for Pan American Airways as secretary to the Manager. Glenys lived in Los Angeles from 1980 to 1989 working at the Australian Consulate-General as the Consular Officer, returning home when Norma became ill. On her return she worked for the Public Defender in the juvenile section as secretary to six solicitors/barristers. She worked in that capacity until her retirement in 2005. Whilst in Los Angeles, in 1984, she met her current partner Rick Neilson and they now live on a waterway property just three doors down from the house her father built and lived in; Lyn now owns this house.

On leaving secondary school Trevor took up an apprenticeship with Evans Deakin at Geebung. After finishing his apprenticeship he worked in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea for a period at the mines, to save money for an extended overseas trip he was planning. Trevor travelled from 1969 to 1979. He spent five years in South Africa, where he met Janet, they became engaged and she travelled home with him, via South America and the USA.

Trevor married Janet McLeod in 1980. They had two children, Callan Trevor born in 1982, and Dale Edward born in 1984. Trevor and Janet had a take away shop and hire boat business at Sylvan Beach on the waterfront of the Bribie Passage – and this became the home base for “The Ferryman” once she was built.

In 1990 Noel, Norma and Trevor drew up the plans and had a beautiful 15 metre vessel built called “The Ferryman”. This vessel was built to travel the Pumicestone Passage at Bribie Island and up to Caloundra for day tripping tourists, bird life/waterway/mangrove educational trips and as a private function vessel. This became very popular and operated under Trevor’s captaincy for over 16 years. “The Ferryman” was sold in 2006 and still travels these waterways today. Trevor retired after “The Ferryman” was sold. He has spent the last five and a half years constantly travelling around Australia (with overseas trips here and there) to the most amazing and beautiful places. His life travels have taken him to over fifty countries and he is currently travelling Australian highways and dirt tracks in an off road van that is as comfortable as a house with all its mods and cons and seems to travel anywhere and everywhere, no road too difficult. 6

Noel Johns’ 70th Birthday at Winnett Street, Bribie Island – 1987 – Trevor; Lyn; Noel; Norma; Glenys (home on a visit). 7

Noel and Norma sold their beach house in Winnett Street at Woorim in 1988. They then purchased a small house at Bongaree opposite a waterway block of land they had purchased many years earlier. Their intention was to build their dream home on this piece of land. Unfortunately before this could be achieved Norma was struck down with cancer and passed away in May of 1991. Noel, with the assistance of Lyn, did build the house they had planned on this waterway in 1996, and Noel lived there until three months prior to his death. Noel developed Parkinson’s disease shortly after Norma’s death and passed away in December 1998.

Ruth; Nada; Noel; Merle; & Lorna – return to Eudlo in 1997

Fortunately Noel was able to join his four sisters in 1997 to see their former Eudlo farm property developed into the beautiful Maroochy Regional Botanic Gardens.

Norma and Noel were both cremated at the Albany Creek Crematorium: their ashes scattered in the Bribie Island Passage via “The Ferryman” and Memorial Plaques are mounted in their memory at the Bribie Island Memorial Gardens.

November, 2011.