Fords of Katandra

Photo below

Ivy Jane FORD 
1st November 1925

Photo to the right
Ivy WALL,
Myrtle CURRIE,
Annette WALL

Ford Reunion at  Eildon 1985

Family Memories

Photo below

Henry William FORD
1927

Photo to the right
Henry William Ford & Ellen Mary Geraghty

Family Memories

Photo below
Phil & Thelma

Photo to the right

Phil, Norm & Lem

Family Memories

Picture to left and below  Newspaper Article "Shepparton News" 22nd April 1998

Picture to Right Caravan Bliss  Philip Ford says he would not move from his caravan even if he won Tattslotto  Philip Ford says he has everything he needs. The 83-year-old lives in a small caravan at Shepparton's Victoria  Lake Caravan Park where he tends to his vegetable patch. When he isn't at work in his garden, Philip sits outside his small van and enjoys a beer. He chats with passers-by and enjoys the company of his two budgies. "I love the lifestyle," Philip said. " I come and go when I like. I spend a lot of time out in the sun, listening to the wireless. Even if I won Tattslotto I wouldn't shift. I bought the van for $1000 and carted it from Melbourne. It costs me $26:50 a week to live here. I buy a lot of my meals. The only draw back is I have to use the shower block. The small space suits me. There is no hard work or much housework inside".

Philip was born in Shepparton during the 1915 drought and was on the team which built the city's sewerage system manholes.
His working career also included managing a chaff cutter at Yabba North, Four years in the army at Caulfield, and managing flats at Thornbury.
He became a widower in 1950 when the youngest of his three children was 15-months-old. One of his children is now deceased and is buried at Katandra with Philip's wife, parents, and grandparents. "They call it Fords Corner" Philip said. "I try to visit them as much as I can" Philip has a daughter in Kyabram and a son in Kilsyth. 

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Frank & Mary Ford
1930's, possibly taken in Devenish, Victoria

Photo to the right
Frank Ford
4 years & 7 months old
Christmas 1916
(Frank in irons due to required immobilisation as a consequence of tuberculosis in the hip joint)
 

Family Memories

Frank was born in 1912 on May 20 to parents Joseph Herbert and Florence.  They were farmers in the Katandra locality not far from Shepparton in north-central Victoria.
Typical of the times, the family was large.  Joseph and Florence had 10 children.  Frank was their 7th child - their third of 6 sons.
Frank's first decade in life featured events, which were to become the topic of frequent recall in his later life.  He contracted tuberculosis of the hip, which at the beginning of the 20th century, had no cure.  After several years of hospitalisation in Melbourne and convalescence at home with homespun remedies, he survived and began to flourish.  This alone possibly assists in understanding Frank's inner qualities that were echoed during his adult life.
Frank left the farm at the age of 18 and became active building mostly farmyard constructions in the neighbouring districts.  Times were hard in the 1930's but that did not hinder his progress.  In his early 20's, he married Mary Harcourt from Devenish - a nearby farming community.
Frank and Mary settled on Devenish where Colin, Living daughter and Living daugher were added to the partnership.  Later, after the second world war, they moved to Benalla where Living son and Living son were to complete the family.
The 30-odd years in Benalla featured Frank's ongoing activities in building, which grew to include residential and commercial buildings. A joinery factory was established primarily to feed the material demands of the building activity and it too grew to serve the wider community.
Frank and Mary took time off in 1955 to spend 9 months travelling around Europe and America.  They caught the travel bug and numerous trips overseas to Asia, England and North America followed.
Further, a farm was acquired near Benalla and, in a swing back to his early days, time and effort was channelled into farming and time for building diminished.   This was Frank's 'tree-change' of sorts so that working for a living involved less stress.
Then followed the 'sea-change' in the mid 60's.  Frank and Mary moved to the Gold Coast where they remained for over 4 decades.  They built friendships and continued with their penchant for travel.  They kept good health and enjoyed life.
Mary passed away in 1999 and this was a substantial loss for Frank as Mary was an enduring force in the partnership. Frank lived on a further 9 years reflecting his ardent love of life and that inner strength that prevailed 90 years earlier.  If longevity describes the broader family roots, Frank exemplified this as he lived to a family-best age of 96 years.
One of Frank's nephews visited them annually in Queensland and he made the following comments:-

"Frank really had a great life.  Every time we visited him, he gave the impression of contentment plus satisfaction with where he'd been and what he'd done.  His death has the significance of the end of his generation - the last of the ten.  They were a varied lot but nevertheless did great credit to Joseph Herbert and Flo.  From very simple beginnings, their brood has left a permanent mark and I'm sure the world is a better place as the result of their passage thru' it.  I value the contacts I had with Frank over a period of many years and will always remember how proud he was of his achievements.  He gave the appearance of a person who did not live with regrets."