1933-1981
Father
Mother
Siblings
Norman John, Ronald Edward, Kenneth William, June Elsie, Gordon Bruce.
Married
Fay Tanswell
Children
Ann Marie, Marion Fay, Geoffrey Clifford, Shane John, Lisa Jane, Michael George
George’s Life
George was born in Tullamore, he lived with his parents at various sites around Tullamore, often in a tent following his father’s work of contract timber clearing and tank sinking until they purchased ‘Slapdown’, Fifield in the late 1930’s early 40’s which was to become their family home.
George purchased Kingsdale, Fifield, where he and Fay made a home for their six children and followed his father’s footsteps – working the land, managing stock – for the rest of his life.
George was also a shearer. He travelled to Queensland for experience, having heard of a different method of shearing on the runs up there. He learned this style of shearing and returned home and was engaged in many sheds around the district. It was well known that he was a shearer of advanced skill which was admired, his blows were efficient, and he was fast. He was shearing at ‘Hoopers’ and tallied 200 merino wethers in the first three runs, finished at 3pm and connected the electricity to his property at Kingsdale with the proceeds of the day. His two favourite sheepdogs were Sally and Judy.
To get ahead George would buy in dairy calves and have them ‘mother-up’ with his milkers to increase the productivity of the farm (5 per cow), he would then milk them and still extract five gallons a day.
George used to take on share farming and he would often take Ann, Marion, Geoff and me to help clear country (stick-picking) at Leo Corbett’s. He would drive an old red Ford he bought from Fred Gibson.
George would shear all day, come home to have dinner and a few beers, then go to the tractor and farm until about 2 in the morning, get some sleep and be ready at a shed to start shearing again the next morning by 7 am.
George would take us out roo shooting to get rid of the vermin and then purchased some ferrets, from an advertisement in “The Land” so we could help out with the rabbits. Marion remembers how vicious they were when they bit and also trying to smoke them out of the burrows when they went to sleep down there.
George was an avid lover of Valiants, he would trade one in for another, he loved them. I got hold of some wild goats to tame and grow out and then locked them in the orchard, George noticed one day that they were ring-barking the fruit trees, I went to get them out of the orchard and the damn things raced out and jumped all over his car. He wasn’t happy, the goats had to go!
Coming home to Kingsdale was sometimes a battle of the wits! We kids, in the back argued whose turn it was to get the gate, nudging each other and claiming we had done it the last time. The issue was that the house was only about a mile from the gate and George would often take off home and leave the unsuspecting gate opener to walk home. We worked out if you left the car door open and were very quick you could sometimes make it back in the car. A bit of a challenge but better than a walk!
George and his brother John were mates for life! They would often go rabbiting to supplement their income, sixpence a pound for the skins, once caught the rabbits were paired, tied together and slung across Bruno’s (their dog) neck. A good arrangement except Bruno liked to jump the fences and every time he did so, he would lose his load. They would have to pack the rabbits back on where they would only stay until the next fence. Bruno, a staghound, stood nearly as tall as them.
George and John enjoyed the Fifield Pub – they would ride Dobbin, their father’s stock horse, going across country to the pub most Fridays to slake off the dust of the week, opening and closing gates on the way. George and John tended to doze on the way home, but the ever-patient Dobbin would stand still at each gate until one of them woke, fell off, opened and closed the gate, clamoured back on and then proceed to the next gate, repeating the performance until they were home.
Jack, their father, had George and John undertake some share farming work he had contracted. They camped in a tent. The boys were rotating shifts, working around the clock. However, George developed pneumonia and become desperately ill. John, not having any way to contact their father continued working around the clock. Jack called in to see them and George was rushed to hospital. The Strudwick boys were never work shy. True sons of the soil.
George was known for his cheeky lopsided smile, one eye usually closed while shaking his finger at my mates – he did it to everyone – they did not know if he was happy to see them or not – they all got a bit wary.
Authored by Shane Strudwick