FIFTY years ago today, Jack and Zena Brody spent the morning at Cottesloe Beach, soaking in their new home.
It was a mild 22C day and the couple, along with their four children Gillian (11), David (9), Susan (7) and Barry (5), had the whole beach to themselves.
The day before – April 26, 1967 – the family had arrived in Australia after doctors in the UK advised them to move to a warmer climate because of Barry’s asthma.
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READ NOW“The family has never looked back,” Susan said.
Their first 18 months of Australian life was spent in Graylands Migrant Hostel.
Mr Brody worked for the Metropolitan Transport Trust and Mrs Brody had a couple of jobs including car cleaning at a Leederville dealership, and working at Brisbane and Wunderlich in Jolimont.
They bought land and built a house in Mullaloo, moving in at Christmas in 1968 and quickly settled into life by the beach.
“They sank a bore for water and paid for three power poles to connect the power,” Susan said.
“The only way in was from Wanneroo Road and this was a limestone track from Star Swamp to the beach.”
The children attended Wanneroo Primary School and Balcatta High School but as the northern corridor developed, new schools were built.
In 1973, Gillian was at Balcatta High School, David at Balga, Susan at Carine and Barry in his last year at Wanneroo Primary School.
Mr Brody and the boys became members of the Mullaloo Surf Life Saving Club, with Mr Brody, now a life member, taking on the role of secretary for many years and then president for a few more.
Mrs Brody and the girls also joined the club once females were accepted as active members in the mid 1970s.
Mr Brody was also the secretary of the Mullaloo Progress Association and the Carine High School P&C.
“Carnie High School had just been built and a P& C meeting was called,” Susan said. “Mum warned dad prior to the meeting, ‘don’t volunteer for anything’.
“It was that time in the night when the committee was to be decided and when nominations were called for secretary, the room was silent for what seemed a lengthy period of time until a voice from the back: ‘I nominate my husband Jack Brody’.
“Mum said she really wanted to get home that night so she just thought she would speed things up a little.”
Once settled in Mullaloo, Mr Brody started working at Diamond Foods in Osborne Park, which became Peters Ice Cream, while Mrs Brody worked for many years at the Diamond Foods chicken farm in Wanneroo then at St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School in Karrinyup until her retirement.
They have both been active members of St Peter’s Anglican Church in Wanneroo since the early 1970s, regularly attend the Wanneroo Senior Citizens Club and enjoy ballroom dancing.
“Mum and Dad say the best thing they ever did was immigrate to Australia and they are very proud to be Aussies and to be Ten Pound Poms,” Susan said.
“They have seen many changes in the areas of Wanneroo and Joondalup and they have made many lifelong friends who they consider family.”
The couple have now lived in Kinross for the past 23 years.
The have five grandchildren and one great grandchild.
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