War ends; life begins

By Casey Neill
KATHLEEN Whyley was born on the day the carnage of World War I came to an end.
The Irish-born Mrs Whyley celebrated her milestone, which coincides with the 90th anniversary of Remembrance Day at Burrinja Café in Upwey last Sunday.
Her four daughters, nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren came together to mark the special day.
Mrs Whyley said there was no secret to her longevity.
“I’m just one of the lucky ones,” she said.
Daughter Pauline Spears put it down to determination and a positive attitude, “and I think mum’s got a great sense of humour,” she said.
Mrs Whyley’s father was killed in France some time between February and November 1918 leaving her mother to raise her alone with no financial assistance.
“When the war ended my mother took me to London,” she said.
“She had to make a living and she couldn’t make one in Ireland.”
Mrs Whyley lived with “lovely’’ foster parents while her mother worked. “I had a very happy childhood,” she said.
It was in London that she met and married soldier George Whyley.
The couple – Mrs Whyley was pregnant with Rosemary when they made the ocean journey – moved to Australia with daughters Sylvia, Pauline and Gloria in 1955.
“We thought it was a good prospect for the children,” Mrs Whyley said.
The family lived in Brooklyn Hostel near Footscray for two years.
“Then we bought a little house in Upper Ferntree Gully,” she said.
Mrs Whyley worked as a stenographer for the Shire of Ferntree Gully, later the Shire of Sherbrooke, from 1959 until she retired in 1979.
Mr and Mrs Whyley spent their retirement in the coastal town of Aireys Inlet and Mrs Whyley has lived at Balmoral Gardens Retirement Village since her husband passed away in 2005, aged 85.
The couple were married for 64 years. “We were generally very happy,” she said.
Although the world has changed dramatically during her 90 years, Mrs Whyley has taken it all in her stride.
“Generally speaking, I haven’t seen that many changes, I don’t think,” she said.
“I suppose I was too busy to notice.”
Raising four children and holding down a job has kept Mrs Whyley busy, especially without the technology we now take for granted.