__________________________
|
_James Arthur BATES _____|
| (1894 - 1967) |
| |__________________________
|
|
|--James Keith BATES
| (1933 - 1999)
| _Jonathon James MEDHURST _+
| | (1860 - 1938) m 1888
|_Ivy Sarah Ann MEDHURST _|
(1901 - 1989) |
|_Eliza CAFE ______________+
(1873 - 1938) m 1888
[476]
James Keith (Keith) BATES, third child of Ivy Sarah Ann MEDHURST and Arthur James BATES, was born on 12 November 1933 and writes of himself:
Profile:
I attended school at Bourke Street Infants, Sydney, Bankstown Primary then Bankstown Boys' High School.
On leaving school, I went to Hay, working as a Station Hand, then as a Stevedore on the Sydney wharves. I joined the RAAF (26 years service - No.A25767). After retiring from the RAAF, I was employed as a driver with a local concrete firm.
I met my wife, Val, at her home in Punchbowl (I was friends with her brothers). We were married at Campsie in St John's Church of England. We have three children: Kathy, born 4 February 1953; Steve, born 29 January 1958: and Julie, born 8 February 1961.
Over the years we lived at Lakemba, then various places due to my transferes:- Colyton NSW, Nelson Bay NSW, Ipswich QLD, Raymond Terrace NSW, where we finally settled in 1977.
I have been involved all my life with Rugby League - Playing, coaching and as Manager of teams. Now I have retired, we spend time travelling to the various stares of Australia
....and of his life:
I was born at East Hill, 1933, during the Depression. We children moved to Singleton when I was about three or four. From there I was placed in a Church of England Orphanage at Lochinvar NSW. My sister Madge, at a Church of England home at Mayfield NSW, and my eldest sister stayed at an Aunt's place near Singleton.
Later on, our mother took us from the homes and we all moved to Bourke Street, near Moore Park, Sydney, where I started school. Then we all moved to 99 Clarence Street, Bankstown NSW. In those days, Bankstown was an outer suburb and our house was surrounded by Ti-Tree scrub, and the roads were only dirt roads. I went to Bankstown Primary and Bankstown Boys' High.
Our mum always had to go out to work to keep us children - times were made easier when we were old enough to go to work ourselves.
After finishing school at 14 years, I worked for a short time at 'Hardman's Biscuit Factory", where both my sisters worked, then decided 'to go to the bush'. I got a job as a station hand at a sheep station owned by O'Neill's. Mr O'Neill was killed by a wool wagon running over him, and I stayed there another three months on my own, before being offered another job by Milligan's, who had a station of the Hay Booragul Road. I wanted to get myself a trade, so I joined the RAAF to train as an airframe fitter.
Meantime, Val and I got married and we moved around with my transfers from Richmond (22 Sqd) to Williamtown (76 Sqd), Amberley, where I was attached to the Army Helicopter and Light Aircraft Sqd - then RAAF 3 AD, 82 Wing, 6 Sqd, then posted back to Williamtown. My final posting was to Head Quarters, Melbourne, where I applied for a discharge to return to settle at Raymond Terrace. After 26 years of service, I was a Flight Sergeant on discharge.
I then worked at 'Raymond Terrace Ready Mix Concrete' as a driver for 15 years and retired from there in 1995.
1996
Keith, as we call him, and his wife Valerie went to Lochinvar in June/July 1996 to look for the Orphanage where keith was as a youngster. It was an emotional moment for them both as Keith recognised it at once which is supprising as he was only three or four years of age when he was left there and he is now 62 years old.
The buildings are no longer used as an Orphanage but as private residence.
There is a two storey house,a smaller one directly behind which seemed to havebeen a kitchen, Keith said the smaller house next door in the same grounds waswhere they used go to to have their meals. The dairy next door now only exist as a few run-down buildings. Some photographs were taken of these buildings.
Investigations have commenced to gain information about the period and timethat Keith was at this Orphanage and enquiries were made from the main Churchof England Rectory in Newcastle as to his information and also as to where hissister Madge was taken to, apparently a Church of England Home in the Mayfieldarea. This information could now be kept in the Archives at Newcastle
University and information from this area is being sought. Keith, his brother-in-law Bill Halbesma and Bill's grandson, John Halbesma visited the University and after consultation with the Director of the Archives, a researcher was appointed to corelate the information.
When Keith was about 10 years of age and attending Bankstown Boys High School he had been known to wag (not go to school without permission) on a number of occasions and always had some novel and plausable excuses. On one occasion he rode s Smelly Old Billy Goat to school, his female teacher noticing a very strange aroma comming from Keith sent him home forthwith. He always seemed to be able to avoid repremands for his escapades as his sister Madge aided and abetted him by writing notes of excuse and forging their mother's signature. They got away with this for a very long time until Keith brought a note to school actually written by his mother and the handwriting compared. Madge worked at a bakery, making and selling cakes and tarts and it appears that these two had some form of a scam in operation on a regular basis.
Keith enlisted in the Air Force 16 July 1952, his mother, Ivy's Prayer Book shows 17 July 1952.
During the 1955 Hunter Valley Flood he was billeted in a home near or next to the Maitland Hospital at Campbell's Hill, Rutherford, where they slept on the floor which he remembers as being carpeted.
At the end of 1997 Keith felt run down and had no energy, his sight was also failing him. A sugar test showed that the count was very high around 22 and it was very difficult for it to go down. On Monday 2 January 1998 he had a CAT scan carried out on his Pancreas which he was told was clear but when further tests were carried out such as an Ultra-sound on his Kidneys it was found that this was not the case and it seems that a cancerous growth does exist. His sugar count has come down to a reasonable level hovering between the low 7 to the high 8 and a shunt tube has been inserted in his liver.
He is scheduled to be opperated on to have the cancer removed on Wednesday 25th February, 1998 by a Dr. Gani at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle. This opperation is reputed to have a success rate of 1 in 5. His half sister Nancy Halbesma rang him on Tuesday morning 24th February, the day he is due to enter Hospital to wish him the best and Keith sounded confident and reasonably calm, even laughing when he was told that Nancy's husband Bill had been advised by the Mackay Base Hospital that due to his high colesterol he has to have three days a week of Alochol (Beer) free. All of Keith's relatives and friends are all praying for a successfull outcome.
On Wednesday 25th February, the day of the operation Keith was take to theatre about 12.20pm and prepped for surgery. The operation was commenced at 1.00pm and completed at about 8.00pm with only short breaks in the procedure whilst Pathology test were carried out to advise the surgical team as to how far to proceed. The Surgeon Dr. Gani advised Keith's wife Val that he was confident that they had been able to remove all of the growth. He also said that Keith was not out of the woods yet and time will tell how he recovers. The growth has been sent to pathology and a result of tests upon it would take about 14 days. Val did talk to Keith after he came out of aneasthetic and the doctor advised her to go home and try to have a good sleep as she had been at the Hospital since 8.00am she rang Nancy & Bill just before 11.00pm that night and advised them of his progress.
On monday 2 March 1998, Val rang Nancy & Bill to advise of Keith's further progress and she was quite cheerfull and impressed with Keith's recovery. He has been take for a walk up and down the hallway with assistance and the epidural tube which was giving him morphine as well as the introvenus tube has been removed making it easier for him to move and also more comfortable.
Keith has made a remarkable recovery from the operation and was discharged from John Hunter Hospital on Saturday 7 March 1998.
On Tuesday 10 March 1998, he said that he was glad to be home, he had a tangy taste in his mouth and was drinking small amounts of cordial to take the taste away, this is caused apparently by the injections he has been having. He can only take in small amounts of food due to part of his stomach being removed and is trying to catch up on much needed rest, having short sleeps in the morning and afternoon.
He is to see a specialist so that arrangements can be made to commence Kemo-therapy to erradicate the remaining cancer cells.
The bi-opsy on the growth then was that it was not a very invasive cancer, but that there are still problems, that is why Kemo-therapy is to be used.
When Keith phoned on Tuesday 17 March 1998, he said that he was only eating very small portions of food due to his stomach not being able to handle it yet and that no Kemo-therapy will be contemplated for at least three months and then only if it is needed. Why he was told that he would have to have this treatment is a mystery, it upset Keith as he believed that the operation was fairly successful. Otherwise he seems to be recovering quite well, with a positive attitude.
After some months Keith said that he still lacked energy and Val thought that he should have been showing some signs of improvement and putting on weight.
On Wednesday 12 August 1998 Keith rang Nancy & Bill and told Nancy that he had had a scan done the previuous Friday 7 August and that they were given the results to-day Wednesday and that he wished to tell Nancy of the results.
He told her that the cancer had spread to the kidneys and that Kemo therapy would not be carried out because the cancer was very aggressive, instead a metering injection system would be installed. He also told her that the Doctor told him that he had only about four to five months to live.
All the relatives in the Mackay area have been advised that very same night, except for Jim, as he was travelling on the road somewhere between Mackay and Cairns, but a message was left with the people that they are going to visit. He was advised two days later when he rang back.
Keith has had the first of the Kemo therapy on Thursday 3 September and he only had a headache as a reaction. They had changed their minds as to installing the metering system. He is apparently on morphene.
Nancy's daughter Kerrie-Ann and her de-facto Peter Smith, and Kerrie's son John, went down to Newcastle during the 1998 August school Holidays to visit her school friend and also to visit Keith. Kerrie rang to say that Keith had lost an enormous amount of weight and was very frail and week.
Apparently Keith remained on Kemo so that he could see out Christmas so that most of his relitives would be able to spend some time with him, especially Nancy and Bill, who were going to Newcastle at the end of November to see him, Pear and Max went later.
Nancy and Bill spent as much time as possible with him and he came for a meal at the Phoenix Club at Mayfield and supprised everybody by having a second helping of the main course and then backing up for three small lots of desert.
As Kerrie-Ann and Peter had announced that they intend to marry at the end of May 1999 and Bill asked Keith if he would do the honourof being the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, to which he agreed.
Nancy and Bill had to return to Mackay mid January 1999 and kept in contact with Keith and Val on a weekly basis until he started to deteriorate during April. On Tuesday 4 May (Bill's birthday) Val left a message on the answering machine that she wished to tell about Keith's condition. As Nancy and Bill returned home at a reasonable time they rang Val and she told them that Keith seemed quite resigned to his fate and was getting weeker and that she was not looking forward to giving his diabetes injections. The Doctor had been to see him that day and his heart seemed fairly strong.
On Thursday 6 May, Steven's wife, Debby rang Nancy just after lunch to say that he had passed away only a short time previous. Val later said that she was in to him earlier and made him comfortable and he went to sleep. The Palative Nurse arrived later and said that she would go and check up on him, Val told her that he was asleep, but she still wanted to see him. She came out and told Val that he had passed away.
His funeral was held on Monday 10 May at 10.30am at Raymond Terrace with a very big attendance of friends from all over the East coast. Nancy, Pearl and Jim leaving Mackay on Saturday morning early, arriving in Newcastle very early on Sunday morning having driven straight through.
Keith was dressed in his Air-Force Uniform with his cap placed upon the coffin.
_Harold Edgar BIENKE _+
| m 1930
_Harold James BIENKE ___|
| m 1976 |
| |_Dorothy May LUXTON __
| m 1930
|
|--Jasper Chard BIENKE
|
| ______________________
| |
|_Denise Cathleen CHARD _|
m 1976 |
|______________________
[1341] living - details excluded
_________________________
|
_Richard CULSHAW ____________|
| (1858 - 1939) m 1882 |
| |_________________________
|
|
|--Rosmond CULSHAW
| (1890 - 1976)
| _Charles MITCHELL _______+
| | (1822 - 1878) m 1847
|_Elizabeth (Betsy) MITCHELL _|
(.... - 1951) m 1882 |
|_Elizabeth Ann MEDHURST _+
(1830 - 1907) m 1847
_David DAVIS ________
| m 1834
_William DAVIS ______|
| (1832 - 1920) m 1856|
| |_Catherine WELLS ____
| m 1834
|
|--Ernest DAVIS
| (1879 - 1932)
| _John MEDHURST ______+
| | (.... - 1887) m 1833
|_Ann MEDHURST _______|
(1835 - 1923) m 1856|
|_Catherine SHAW _____+
(1799 - 1894) m 1833
[104] see page 66 of book
_Arthur Roland HALLORAN _
| (1902 - 1983) m 1929
_Peter Roland HALLORAN _|
| |
| |_Effie Emily WEARNE _____+
| m 1929
|
|--Samantha HALLORAN
|
| _________________________
| |
|_Dianne MAGUIRE ________|
|
|_________________________
[1626] living - details excluded
_George HANCOCK _____
| m 1943
_Raymond John HANCOCK _|
| m 1973 |
| |_Lila Maude MERRICK _+
| (1914 - 1987) m 1943
|
|--Karen Maree HANCOCK
|
| _____________________
| |
|_Roslyn COUSINS _______|
m 1973 |
|_____________________
[254] living - details excluded
___________________________
|
_Alfred TAYLOR _______|
| (.... - 1969) m 1911 |
| |___________________________
|
|
|--Kyrill Bruce TAYLOR
|
| _Donald WALL ______________+
| | (1857 - 1921) m 1881
|_Gertrude Laura WALL _|
(1894 - 1973) m 1911 |
|_Annie Catherine MEDHURST _+
(1858 - 1936) m 1881