DESMOND Filtness, my father, married Rita Mary Woodhouse in Cooma in 1924.

This is the oldest photo I have of my father with his Buick. Des had one of the first cars, if not the first on Moonbah. Des was Church of England but he used to drive the Catholic priest around the area to say Mass. Des walked into the car showrooms in Cooma and brought his first car, spent ten minutes being taught to drive it and then drove it back to Moonbah. From that point of time he never took his car to a garage, doing all his repairs himself. One day while he was fixing my first car I asked him how he knew what to do? His reply has stayed with me all my life! " Look at what is wrong and then decide how you will fix it!" In those days called common sense, missing in a lot of people today!

Their first child, Beryl was born at "The Lake," and due to ill health the doctor suggested a move to a different climate. The property was sold and with his share Des and family moved to a property near Albury called "Stoneleigh" at Splitters Creek on the Howlong Road in 1928. Eddie lived with the family.

 The property was not far from the Murray River­. Beryl was three at this time and they stayed there 3 years, having drought for the whole time. Des and Eddie coming from Moonbah had never experienced drought and it was quite a shock to them.

They were in debt to the Bank, and as they had a couple of weeks until the bank foreclosed, they walked off the property. But what they did not know, and what the property managers in Albury and the Bank people did know for sure, was that the Government was passing a bill called the Moratorium Act that would have stopped them being sold up. If they had held on to the last they would have kept the farm and most likely traded out of debt.

Des and Eddie then leased land right on the Murray and went into Dairying. The property was called Hiawatha and was on the Howlong Road. The weather changed and they were flooded out for the next two years. They were rescued by the police, and at one stage were being rowed straight over the fences in rowboats, right to the Howlong road.  Hiawatha was said to mean meeting of the waters. It sure was true in our case.  I can remember Des telling me of him and Eddie in a boat going around and every thing sticking out of the water had snakes on it. They would lift a snake with an oar onto the back seat of the boat, give it a wack with the oar and drop it back into the flood water. As it was the end of winter the snakes were very dopey as they were still in hibernation. They killed hundreds and made no impression on the tiger snake numbers. My sister Beryl told me that any land above the water was crammed with snakes and rabbits. At this time a neighbour lent them a shearing shed to live in whilst the water receded

Des 1940

_          The Second World War had started and Des decided to join up as he hoped to get a soldiers settlement farm after the war. As he was too old he had to put his age down about three years to join up, which he did and joined on the 28-05-1940. He stated his age, as 40 years in fact he was 43. He had the medical that day and took the oath on the 00-06-1940. His number was VX26754. He was the first to enlist from Walla. He finished his basic training on 27-02-1941 and was transferred to the 10 Reserve Motor Transport Company.

He took his pre embarkment leave from 7th May to 22nd May 1941 and sailed on the " Queen Mary" on 28-06-1941 arriving on 25-07-1941 in the Middle East. On the 05-10-1941 he was transferred to the 7th division in Syria, and attached to the No 4 Company, Australian Army Service Corps.

 At this time Des was driving trucks through the war zone filled with ammo and he came across a chap that used to work for him for $1 a week. This chap was Les Cooper, very English, was now an Officer and he tried to get Des a job as his batman.

This would have got Des out of the very dangerous job he had, and into a very good job. The Officer was trying to do Des a big favour, But Des was horrified that a bloke that worked for him wanted to make him his butler and was very disgusted and would not take the job. Due to the worry that the Japanese were going to invade Australia the 7Div was recalled to Australia. They sailed home, and Desmond's Unit was on the" Empire Glen" and it was so slow that the convoy had to leave them behind, unescorted, and they arrived home on 29 March 1942 after 8 weeks on the water.

The 7Th Division was on standby to go to New Guinea and on the way to Brisbane an officer noticed that Des’s arm was giving him trouble, an old injury, and as he was driving the officer was a bit worried, and had Des up before the Medical Officer. He was declared unfit for active service and spent the rest of the war years in Melbourne. Des served in Australia then and was promoted to A/CPL 0n 05-09-1942 and full CPL on 12-02-1943. His promotion to SGT was on 05-01-1944 and he was discharged on 01-11-1945 and was home for Christmas. Des and Rita had a code worked out and used name of friends, and so if Des asked about Ray it meant he was in Syria and so on. Rita knew where he was at all times that was, I suppose, some relief for her. The story of his age had come out and although he stayed in the Army he was then too old for a war service farm.

_          Rita moved into Walla and was given a house rent free, by Dom White a photographer, in exchange for being his housekeeper.  This was an excellent arrangement as the house was big and the people of Walla all accepted Rita and her family. The ladies called around and took Rita to all the events, such as they were. In this respect Rita was very lucky as country people take a while to accept new people in their area. It may have been the war years as it did bond a lot of people together, or it could have been that the people of Walla were just nice people. At a later stage, I think it was after Dom White was married, Rita moved into a large house up near the show grounds.  This was most likely the largest house in Walla and a front room was used as a Bank one day a week, with a separate entrance from the front. The kitchen had two large trapdoors in the floor that opened to a stairway down to a large underground cool room, about 12ft Square. Both these houses are still standing today. The children went to school there and Beryl and Rex both took jobs at the post office. Rex worked as a clerk and Beryl worked the switchboard, and also worked another post office at Griffith.

 

Des then moved the family to Nth. Albury to the Wagga road, which was in fact the Hume Highway. The home was a small old style house with a sleep out and a shed. There was a chook yard and a vacant block on the left that went with the house. The block on the right was also vacant and had a dam on it. We used to sit out the front and watch the Army convoys come through, hundreds of trucks and transport of all sizes. Sometimes taking hours to pass, but sometimes spending a lot of time stationary. In this day and age you could not believe that a convoy could block the main highway for hours.

 Des took a job with the Railways first and then the Albury City Council and then the department of housing, at 1 C.O.D. Bandiana. They stayed in Albury for about 8 years. The next move was to Melbourne to an old house in Devon Road, Oak Park, for a while, until their new house was built in Albert St, Oak Park, and it was named” Moonbah” the same as mine is today.

The roads were not made and I had to leave my car about three blocks away on many days in the winter, as the road was too slippery to drive up the hill. If you did get the car home the trip out was a test of sheer courage.  Des worked for a while with his wartime friend Tommy Anderson a Glazier and a devoted communist. But he finally joined the Public Service and worked at Broadmeadows Army Base until he retired.

RITA passed away on 4Th Oct 1980 aged 79 years, exactly 120 years to the day that Old Henry jumped ship in Sydney in 1860. Des died on Christmas day 1982 aged 85 years. Both were cremated and their ashes placed in a garden at the entrance of the church on the left hand side under a brass Madonna at the church of St. Francis De Salle at Oak Park. Rita was a devoted Catholic all her life and Des converted at about 60 years of age. They were very active in the church and contributed to the setting up and building of the church.   Their son Colin's wedding was the first wedding preformed in the church.

          BERYL was born at "The Lake" at Moonbah and it was because of her health that the Doctor suggested that she be moved to a different climate­. Because of this Des and Rita sold up and moved to a farm outside of Albury on the Howlong Rd to a property called Splitters Creek. They then moved to David St in Albury and then Beryl started school at the age of 9 years. She left school at sixteen after six years schooling. Beryl then worked as a telephonist at Walla Walla Post Office, and then the Albury exchange­. Beryl met her husband, Ron Breadsell at this time and they were married at St Patrick Catholic Church on 06-02-1946 in Albury.

This was after the family moved to Nth Albury in approximately 1946. Ron and Beryl moved into the married quarters at Bandiana Army Camp. Beryl worked the army switchboard until she left work to start her family. About 1952 Des and Rita moved to Melbourne and Beryl and Ron followed a little while later, settling just around the corner at 38 Grevillia Rd Oak Park. Ron still did the same job for the Army but now as a civilian, whilst Beryl worked at the Melbourne Harbour Trust as their switchboard Operator. They have two children, Sharon and Shane. When they retired they moved to a large property at Kilmore, about 60 kls from Melbourne on the Hume Freeway.

REX the eldest son was born to Des and Rita at "The Lake" on the property "Pleasant View" on 28 may 1927. He also worked at the Walla Post Office and then for a firm of wholesalers in Albury as an Accountant. He met, and on the 30 April 1948 married a local girl, Beryl Light, at St Patrick’s Catholic Church at Albury. He played "Ruck" for St. Patrick’s in the Albury League and they were undefeated premiers but were then disbanded, as the league did not like a complete Catholic team. Rex then played for Lavington. He was an avid trout fisherman like his father, and used to drive to the Hume Weir before work of a morning to fish the spillway at the wall.

 Rex is middle of the back row           

He accounted for many large trout but as he did not eat them he released most back to the water. His wife was nicknamed Susie as there were two Beryl's in the family now and the name stuck to this day.   Rex started to build his house on a block that backed onto the Albury Golf Course.  At the weekends he started to cast bricks, something like a besser block, but solid, and he could only mould two at a time. It was a very slow process, and he built a garage first and then lived in it whilst he and his father Des, built the house. They had a daughter Vicki and then twin boys, Michael and Anthony.

About this time Rex was suffering from a cyst on the base of his spine and went into hospital to have it removed. At the same time he was doing his final exams for Accountancy and sat them in hospital, where he achieved the highest pass in the state. Unfortunately he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and died in the Albury Hospital at Albury, on 12 July 1954 and was buried two days later in the New Catholic section of the Albury Cemetery

 

CARMEL was born in Albury, at Sackville St on 6 Sept 1930. She went to school at Albury and then Walla. On return to Albury she did an apprenticeship as a dressmaker with a Mrs. Font who also owned the

Col and Carmel at Brae Springs near Walla

" FONTS CAFE" in Dean St Albury. Mrs. Font was an excellent dressmaker and Carmel was able to be very well qualified in her trade. After her sister left the switchboard at Bandiana Carmel took over the job. She too met a soldier Rod Withers and they were married at St. Patrick in Albury on 23 Feb 1952. They had two daughters, Kerry Anne and Robyn Mary. They were later divorced and Carmel met and married Reg James Shanhan on the 9 July 1966. They had a daughter Debra Dorothea and lived in Hadfield near Coburg. They later moved to a large property at Wallan about 30 kls from Melbourne on the Old Hume Highway­. They now live on the NSW coast at Dalmeny.

 

COLIN was born at the Hospital on 3 March 1938, whilst the family was living at "Brae Springs". He started school at Walla and then continued his education at the Christian Brothers Collage Albury (The Brothers have never recovered) and stayed there until the Intermediate year, when the family moved to Melbourne and settled at Oak Park. 

                          

Col with his first Bike                                                            Col at Albury with his new bike

Working for the Victorian Railways ---My first Car

As the education system in Victoria was totally different to N.S.W. he left school and started work as a Sandblaster of mirrors and glass doors. He left this employment to join the Victorian Railways as a porter and was stationed at Glenroy. This was in those days classed as a very good job. But at Glenroy there was a flourmill that paid adult wages as long as you could handle the very heavy and hard work, and he soon started there. Then at 17 years of age he joined the Australian Army as a Centurion tank driver, an occupation he loved. At a later date he had a bad motorcycle accident and spent 18 months in hospital. As he was not allowed to drive a tank he was made a gunner in the tank, a terrible job that he hated. So he left the army as soon as his time was up. After his discharge he worked at Show grounds Service Station and then M.S.Mcleod tyre service. At this time he remet a childhood friend, Maureen Logan and they were married at St. Francis De Salles Catholic church in Oak Park on 3 June 1961. They moved to Mooroolbark and had 4 children. They then opened a service station at Essendon and later at Mooroolbark, running Fiveways Service Station for nine years, before finally buying a small farm at Dixon Creek, near Yarra Glen. They ran an earth moving business from the farm and finally sold up and went on an extended trip around Australia, settling in Queensland for a time before moving to Melbourne and joining the Office of Corrections.  In 1986 Maureen contacted a rare blood disorder and passed away on 19 August 1986. Colin then retired and later remarried Valerie Joan Williams and settled at Warrnambool in the Western District of Victoria on the South Coast for 10 years and then moved to Kilmore, not far from Melbourne on the old Sydney Rd.

My Coaster bus fitted out as a caravan that I used to travel all over Australia

FiltnessFamilyTree    1605--------1999

As related to Mark Desmond and Colin Scott Filtness

 

John                Filtness                                   GGGGGGGGGGGG\Grandfather  About  1495

 

William           Filtness                                   GGGGGGGGGGG\Grandfather     About  1530

 

Thomas           Filtness                                   GGGGGGGGGG\Grandfather                    1566

 

Nicholas         Filtness                                   GGGGGGGGG\Grandfather                       1605

 

Nicholas         Filtness                                   GGGGGGGG\Grandfather                          1628

 

Nicholas         Filtness                                   GGGGGGG\Grandfather                             1675

 

John                Filtness of Little Horsted      GGGGGG\Grandfather                                1702

 

John                Filtness of Waldron               GGGGG\Grandfather                                   1729

 

Edmond          Filtness                                   GGGG\Grandfather                                      1766

 

Henry              Filtness                                   GGG\Grandfather                                         1793

 

Henry              Filtness                                   GG\Grandfather                                            1821

 

Henry              Filtness                                   G\Grandfather                                               1845

 

Desmond         Filtness                                  Grandfather                                                   1897

 

Colin Jeffery  Filtness                                   Father                                                             1938

 

Mark Desmond Filtness                                Son                                                                  1964

 

Colin Scott     Filtness                                   Son                                                                  1969

 

When I printed my book on the family tree, I did not do a copy for myself, as I considered I had all the original information and did not need a book.  I was wrong. I did not know how much information I would end up with. Now much more has turned up on the English side, complete with photos and some documents that I feel I can set up another more complete book of which there will only be one copy - mine.  I know people would be prepared to pay for a copy, but they have no idea of the cost, and neither do I, but as an indication the retail cost of printer cartridges would have been well in excess of $2000, also to run off another copy, as it’s not all saved in the form it appears now would take about 6 weeks full time work.  So we have one copy.

My thanks must go to the following, with out whose help the book would never have been written. My daughter Toni and her husband Darren for the idea, my sister Beryl for considerable help and research through her memory and my mother’s diaries.  The Internet was a great help. Without it nothing would have been found on the English side.  Gerald Filtness of the UK for his  help with the family tree. It was Gerald who gave me the information that linked the English side to Henry Jnr.  Also Norman Peachell of the UK for his help with the family tree and photos and documents and Rosemarie Forest of the USA for help with family tree information and photos and documents. Brian Worsfold in NZ provided family tree information and photos. Brian sent me all his original copy and photos, with the request that I return them when I had finished, as they were his only copy. Not bad for a chap that I just met on the Internet.