“A few people around the place had a tennis court. We had a court here, the Cox’s also had one, and we’d go and play a match at each other’s property then go and jump in the river to cool off.

“You make sure you look after him, he’s a local icon.”
With Lloyd Polkinghorne’s words echoing in my head, I drive down the long gravel driveway that leads me to today’s ‘chat with’ subject, who has been nominated several times over the years.
A friendly Jack Russell puppy runs over to greet me at the car, jumping up for a pat as she dances around excitedly in front of me. “Get down!” A lady calls across the yard to the dog, she must be the owner. I assure her that I love dogs and that I’m happy to give her some attention.
The lady introduces herself to me as Lexie. She is the daughter-in-law of Peter Jackson who I am about to meet for the first time. This beautiful oasis in Moulamein houses three properties that overlook the stunning Edward River. Lexie and husband, Gary, live in the main house. Next to that is a cabin for visitors and a little further away from that is a tidy unit with quaint veranda where Peter lives. He is sitting at a table on the veranda with a cuppa waiting for me with the morning sun gleaming gently across his cheek. 
“You make sure you look after him…” there’s Lloyd’s voice in my head again, so after I introduce myself to Peter, I tell him about Lloyd’s message which makes him laugh. “I’m hardly anything special,” he laughs, “I don’t know how this is gunna go, I don’t have much to say really.” 
Peter is a humble man and noticeably a little reluctant. But with his son, Gary, sitting in the shade on the lawn and Lexie to his left, he has all the support he needs should his mind come to a blank.
Lexie makes me a strong cup of tea and after talking about this magnificent place he has called home since he was born on March 18, 1931, we begin the interview.
“My parents were Harry and Dorothy, and I was third generation on this property. My father mainly farmed fat lambs, and a little cattle.”
I’d like to ask Peter a bit about his parents, to try and find out where he gets his traits and sense of community from.
“Dad was pretty good. He died quite young at 62. He was a hard worker; pretty quiet I suppose. Mum was good, she was involved in a lot of community work. She was born in Pascoe Vale and was a strong Essendon supporter.”
The mug Peter is drinking from has an Essendon logo on the front so I’m guessing he too is a Bombers fan.
“I love Essendon!” He admits.
“Mum was a great cook. My favourite meals were the roasts she cooked on the wood stove. She lived well into her 80s and was one of the first residents at Murray Haven. She worked in the garden and the kitchen there.”
Peter tells me that he was the youngest of three children, with an older brother, David, followed by his sister, Pat. He says that the three siblings were always together and enjoyed a very full childhood. I ask if he was spoiled as the youngest?
“No favouritism! Yeah, right!” He laughs sarcastically.
There may not (or may have) been favouritism in the Jackson household but there was certainly an expectation to work, and that began at an early age. Barely of primary school age, Peter’s regular chore around the house was to milk and separate the cows before and after school. All three children knew their chores which they approached without protest. Country life was carefree but there was always plenty to be done and everyone was expected to pull their weight. Once chores were complete, the day was yours and a country backyard was the best playground a child could ask for. Rabbiting, a little shooting, taking greyhounds out, fishing, building various contraptions out of whatever scrap they could find, but everything was done as a family.
“I used to ride my bike or my horse, Katie, to school. One time I took Pat to the bus and Katie bolted! I was always around horses with the farm and always had a horse up until not too long ago. I used to take Mum out in the boat with a spinner to catch dinner. If we weren’t with our parents, we were also with the Addisons and the Kaylocks who were our cousins. Also, the Mertz boys when it came to horse riding. We’d go on picnics down the river. Wonderful times.”
I wonder what Peter’s impression of school was like.
“Well, we went to Moulamein Primary School. I was there until 6th class and then I went to Yanko Agriculture College. There were a few of us from around here who went at the time. George Rathbone was one. We used to catch the train together. Our parents would drive us to Hay and then we’d get the train from there to Yanko. It used to take us two days to get home and we’d stay at Clawton House overnight on the way home. I think I played too much sport and not much learning!” Peter laughs, sipping his cuppa, “they were big days. We’d have a full day of school, have tea then back to school again.”
Back in those days, Peter says that Yanko College was a little different to the college we know today.
 “There were no girls allowed at the college then. But there was one girl, and she was the daughter of our teacher, Mr King. He was great. We boarded at McCackey House with about four to a room. I was a practical bloke, not too keen on written work, but I did like maths. It was natural that I would end up on the farm.”
In fact, Peter couldn’t wait to get back on the farm, after all, that is where his heart lay. There was plenty to do with no state-of-the-art machinery. Everything was done by hand and there was no room for complaining. You worked hard and that was that. Peter believes his strong work ethic was instilled in him as a boy, working with his dad.
“We had no power, just a 32 volt. I remember helping Mum to get the Lister motor going which also filled the tank. My brother, David, was here for a while then left in 1951. Our family home was where Lexie and Gary are living now just over there,” Peter points across the lawn to the main house.
I realise Peter is a very private man, so I tread carefully when I broach the subject of romance. It appears he began a courtship with a local girl who was working on the telephone exchange as a telephonist. Her name was Kath Sherman.
“I knew of her as a local. David and I would go to the dances along with Stumpy Doran, Alec McKenzie, and Ken Holland. She would be there with her friends. She was fair haired, shoulder length hair, and she was a friendly girl who mixed in well with everyone,” Peter reflects.
They married on April 4, 1953 and were attended by Betty Clarke, Maree McKenzie (Greedy), Josie Bott (Cantwell), Alec McKenzie, Roy Doran and Ken Holland. The newlyweds took a road trip to Hay and West Wyalong with plans of eventually making their way down south to the Great Ocean Road. 
“When we got to Warrnambool I asked where the Great Ocean Road was only to find out that it ends here! So that was that. We came back home and rented a house in town for a little while and then Jenny was born. That was on May 1, 1954. Then we built a property just over the road there. Eventually that house was moved over here and added on to the main house when Mum and Dad moved to Box Hill for a while. Dad had stepped away from the farm and they moved down there to be closer to Mum’s family. Gary was born on November 8, 1955, then Susan came along on February 4, 1959 and then Jonathan was born on April 26, 1962. He has since passed away. All of the kids were born in Melbourne.”
Peter says that he loved being a father and was very proud of his sons and fiercely protective of his daughters. It was important to both him and Kath that their children maintain the close family bond that they had shared with their own families when they were growing up, as well as learning independence and practical life skills. It paid off, with all of the children playing an integral part of the farm and its day to day running. 
“We used to take the sheep down to the Neimur with the horses and we were involved in the pony club as a family. The horses were such a big part of our lives. We used them to work the farm as well as for recreation. There’s so much you can do with them. I always had a strong relationship with the horse.”
Something else that has been a significant part of Peter’s life is sport, in particular cricket, tennis, and polo cross. He took up cricket when he was studying at Yanko and tennis was a huge part of the Moulamein and surrounding communities for as long as he can remember. 
“A few people around the place had a tennis court. We had a court here, the Cox’s also had one, and we’d go and play a match at each other’s property then go and jump in the river to cool off. It was a real family affair, and everyone brought afternoon tea and did their bit. Country tennis was a big thing in those days.”
It’s clear that Peter followed in his mother’s footsteps in terms of his dedication to volunteering and community work. It has not gone unrecognised either, with him receiving various accolades for his efforts such as becoming a life member of Moulamein tennis and cricket clubs, and West Riverina and Golden Rivers Football Clubs. He has also been a member of the Masonic Lodge for 60 years and has gone to the chair 15 times to keep it going. In 2002 he was made Citizen of the Year for the Wakool Shire, and in 2010 he flew to Sydney in recognition of his volunteer work, receiving the NSW Regional Seniors Achievement Award. His tireless efforts with the tennis club resulted in the two synthetic courts being named in his honour. He helped introduce polo cross to the district and was made a life member of Blue Gate South Polo Cross. He talks about that time –
“A chap came to the district, John Leonard, asking if anyone would be interested in playing polo cross. I was interested straight away, and it was another activity I could do with my family. George Rathbone also played. I played for 55 years and won the McDougal Trophy twice with my champion horse, ‘Pammy’.”
During the 1960s with the farm now completely run by Peter, he introduced dairy to the mix and was a supplier of cream for Murray Goulburn. It was common for a dairy farm which was solely producing cream to have pigs on the farm to drink the milk, so at the same time the property grew pigs. Country life was ticking along nicely, business was good, and the kids were happy. Then in 1971, Kath became unwell, resulting in 15 years of doctor’s visits and eventually Peter became her full-time carer.
“She had trouble with her kidneys and had to go to Melbourne for dialysis. Jenny and Gary were older and were working, but Johnno and Susan were still at school, so we put them into school in Richmond and we relocated to Melbourne and lived with friends for 12 months while Kath had her treatment. My father had passed away 10 years prior, and we had built this unit that I live in now for my mother to live in after he died. It was built by the Dunstones from Swan Hill. They brought a tent here and that was their accommodation while they worked. So Mum was here at the farm while we were living in Melbourne. I had to get a job while we were down there and I started working at the abattoirs to help pay the bills. Then I’d come home here every weekend and try to work the farm, but it was suffering. Eventually we had to sell off bits of the farm to survive. We had a kidney machine in the house and we came back home, but we had to filter the water. Then Swan Hill got a dialysis machine there and Kath was the first patient to use it. We used to go to Swan Hill three days a week for dialysis. After a while it all became too much and Kath passed away. She was exhausted,” Peter concedes.
Once the dust had settled following Kath’s passing, it was time for Peter to get back to work, and to work with Gary to help get the farm back to its full capacity, but he needed money. So, he began working for Neil Arthur and Neville Mertz, doing whatever he could to help with the running costs of the farm. 
“I had kept the river block and we still had stock. I just wanted to get things running better so I wouldn’t have to go out and work for other people. I wanted to be on the farm. In 1988, Mum went to live at Murray Haven and that’s when Gary and Lexie moved into the main house and I moved into the unit we had built for Mum. They had been running the milk bar in town and when they came out here, Johnno took over the milk bar. He ended up moving to Bendigo and then finished up in Townsville doing earthmoving work and in 2011 he passed away suddenly, which was a huge shock.”
Not one to ponder over what might have been or to wallow in despair, Peter casually brushes off this time in his life and is more comfortable talking about his biggest happiness in life, his family.
“Family is everything. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be here today. Living here, I just sit out here and think of how lucky I am to be here. I love being here. Gary and Lexie have three daughters and 10 grandchildren; Jenny has three kids and five grandkids; Susan has two kids and four grandkids; and Johnno has two kids and four grandkids.”
I’m so impressed by Peter’s sharp memory!
Although Peter has (sort of) retired from the farm, he is still actively involved within the community. He unloads groceries for IGA, maintains the lawns for the football and tennis club as well as doing the time keeping for football, and cooking barbecues for social events. He has been involved with Legacy and Meals on Wheels for as long as he can remember. If there is any community event looking for volunteers, you can bet Peter Jackson will be first to put his hand up. He has no time to sit around and that’s just the way he likes it. The walls of his unit are adorned with photos, drawings, cards and mementoes from his family. As Lloyd warned me before arriving at Peter’s place today, he really is a ‘local icon,’ almost like a celebrity within his beautiful community. He laughs when I mention this.
“Oh, I don’t know about that. I just like to help people. I’ve enjoyed the farm and playing sports with the kids. You just have to pull your socks up, keep going and work hard. But don’t forget to make time for your family. Keep your family together, it’s important to bring your family together.”
Peter is getting restless and mentions it must be time for another cuppa, but I want to ask him one last question before I leave. What would he like to say to his family? There is a long pause.
“Well. How do I answer that? That’s a very hard question… Hmmm… I don’t know how to put it into words. Let me think about that… I hope you all have good lives and be good to your families. I’ve been very lucky with my kids. I’m proud of the whole lot of them. How is that?”
That sounds perfect, Peter. 
I take the cue that it’s time for me to go, as Peter is getting up from the table and taking his empty mug inside to make a fresh cuppa. I ask him if the interview was all that bad and his response is reassuring.
“It was really lovely talking to you. Thank you for coming out to talk to me.”
(See Lloyd, I didn’t hurt him a bit!)
Peter Jackson, I am honoured to have had the opportunity to merely scratch the surface of your fascinating life. Thank you for the chat.