PUBLICATION OF THE ANGLESEA COMMUNITY HOUSE
ISSUE 119 SPRING 2014
Francis Anthony Mullins OAM I first met Frank Mullins fifty year ago. My wife and I had purchased a block of land in Moomba Park, a new housing estate in North Fawkner which was then an outer suburb of Melbourne. We were proudly surveying our quarter acre acquisition and imagining what sort of house we might be able to afford to build on it, when Frank leaned over the fence and warmly welcomed us to the neighbourhood. Who could have guessed that fifty years later we would be welcoming Frank as a permanent resident into our neighbourhood. At 76, Frank has just sold his Fawkner home and moved to a house in Anglesea.
Highlights Francis Anthony Mullins OAM
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ACH Coordinator’s Report
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Anglesea Art Show 2014
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Bruno Malzacher—Chef
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Aireys Inlet Supports Refugees
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Alcoa Update
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Surf Coast Air Action
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Quiz
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Kids Corner
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Recycling
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Ghost Towns of the West
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Anyone for Golf?
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Bird Life of Australia
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Australian Netball - a rising star
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Write Angles
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Anglesea Primary School
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Aireys Inlet Primary School
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The Demo to Save Our Dams
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CFA Report
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Coastal & Country
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A’sea Football & Netball
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Puzzle Page
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A’sea Surf Lifesaving
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Bellbrae Cemetery
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Surf Coasr Shire
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A Voice on Local Issues
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Just as one can’t select one’s parents, one generally can’t select one’s neighbours. It’s the luck of the draw. Well, we won the lottery. Frank and his wife Rosemary became our great friends, and over the years I lost count of the occasions that Frank generously offered his time and expertise to assist me in my overly ambitious attempts at DYI home improvement. But being a good neighbour and a good citizen has always come naturally to Frank, it’s just the sort of person he is. So much so, that he was awarded an “Order of Australia Medal” in 1994 for his services to the community. Frank was born in Footscray to Mary and Michael Mullins, a good Catholic family from Irish immigrant stock. His grandfather on his mother’s side of the family began work on a farm in Horsham, but times were tough and he moved to Melbourne and joined the police force. Frank never knew his father’s parents as they had died when he was quite young. His own father was a solicitor’s clerk and money lender in Footscray where he met and married Frank’s mother. They had five children of whom only Frank and his sister are still alive. I asked Frank what he could remember of his very early days. He said that when he was about five years of age, he remembers sitting on his grandfather’s knee and smelling the tobacco from the pipe he kept in his alpaca waistcoat pocket. It’s funny the things that stick in one’s memory. Frank began primary school at St Augustine’s Yarraville, then had a year at the Christian Brothers School, after which he completed his secondary education at St Patrick’s College East Melbourne. One memory he has of his primary school days was the Friday afternoon his teacher Father Byrne asked each student to explain the meaning of the Pythagorean Theorem. Fortunately, by the time it was Frank’s turn the school day had come to an opportune end, and he was put on notice that he would be
Frank Mullins in his new Anglesea home
first up on Monday morning. Frank had the whole weekend to study this tricky subject and was able to recount the theorem perfectly. Frank’s family was very religious and whilst at school Frank had ambitions of becoming a priest. He had initially thought about being a motor mechanic, however his mother told him in no uncertain terms that she wouldn’t be washing his greasy overalls, so he’d better think of becoming something else. Her son’s life as a priest was a much more acceptable idea as she still had four other children to provide her with grandchildren. On leaving school Frank did National Service which he really enjoyed. He revelled in the regulated and disciplined lifestyle and the many different skills that were taught, and was probably fitter than at any other time of his life. He even won a cross country race against about eighty of his fellow national servicemen. A family friend and trade teacher at Footscray Technical School, during one Continued on page 4 >
Community Houses are for Everyone
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