Shep's Place Family Tree

Her education was at Black Forest Primary and Unley High Schools followed by Charters Business College, Adelaide in 1941, and the college which found positions for its students, placed her with Guinea Airways at Parafield in the September. They were generous with free flights to Kangaroo Island and other centres. She was secretary to the Manager but was not kept busy enough and resigned to join Civil Defence, at first at the switchboard and with typing pool duties before becoming assistant to the Accountant. After 3 years ‎(1944)‎ Betty transferred to the Land Army ‎(Australian Womens Land Army)‎ as a Staff Officer, secretary and aide to Miss Marshall, the chief officer.

During her teen years she was an active member of the Caledonian Society, had the full Scottish regalia ‎(which Violet made, even to the knitting of Royal Stuart socks to match the kilt)‎, and learnt all the Highland dances including the sword dance which needs such dexterous footwork. The war had effectively stopped the debutante balls so Betty was denied that particular pleasure. She continued with the Land Army and travelled a good deal on inspection tours to the country areas. She was aged 18 when she became engaged to Bill Muller on 12 Oct 1944. His family was known to the Keith Stevensons as not only had his father and eldest brother Mervyn worked at the Government Printing Office, but his maternal grandfather R.L.E. Rogers had been a former Government Printer under whom Keith had worked. Bill's charming and artistic mother with lovely red-gold hair died when Bill was less than two years and they were living at North Glenelg. Thereafter his two sets of grandparents cared for him ‎(successively)‎ until his father remarried in 1937 and lived at Payneham.

Bill was educated at East Adelaide Primary and Nortivood High Schools and was apprenticed to Horewood- Bagshaw of Mile End, S.A. from 1938-1943 as a boilermaker. His brothers were in the services ‎(Rodney, the second one was killed during pilot training 1940)‎ but Bill was required to complete his apprenticeship before joining up. He entered the Royal Australian Navy in August 1944, trained at Flinders Naval base, Victoria and served aboard the survey ship H.M.A.S "Warrego" until August 1946. His ship saw Pacific service and went in ahead of the American fleet which liberated the Phillipines in 1945.

From the Adelaide "Advertiser" of 7 Aug 1945:
"Warrego" back from 8 months service was attacked by Japanese suicide planes and engaged at short range by shore batteries. This sloop has returned to Sydney to re-fit. She packed her last 8 months duty with almost continuous action. The "Warrego" took part in 8 pre-landing operations, the highest for any Australian craft in the area and is officially credited with one aircraft destroyed and two probables....... medals bestowed were next listed..."

The Chief Petty Officer ‎(engineering)‎ was down below during all this activity supervising the all important ship's motive power. He returned on leave to Adelaide while the ship was being refitted and on August 24, Bill and Betty were married at his local church at Payneham.

EMS was unable to be present at the wedding due to lack of transport from Penrith, N.S.W. There was a reception for 50 guests at an Adelaide restaurant, borrowed bridal finery and arrangements made in a matter of hours that went surprisingly smoothly. A honeymoon at the vacated house of an aunt followed, where she had kindly left bedside reading which included a book on "A Thousand Ways to Use the Lemon". Betty remained with the Land Army until the end of that year to help with the winding down process which followed cessation of hostilities.

Betty then became a Navy wife, and with other wives moved from port to port following the "Warrego" which was surveying and sounding waters north of Tasmania to modernise the charts which had not been altered since 1912. Betty returned to Adelaide from Melbourne at Easter 1946 to live with, and take care of, her Great Aunt Maude Wilson at Reade Park ‎(now part of Colonel Light Gardens, some two miles from Clarence Park)‎. This relative was well over 80 and a difficult personality. Bill completed his Navy service in 1946 and joined his wife at 44 Tidworth Crescent, Reade Park. Bill commenced an engineering business at Pirie Street, Adelaide in partnership with A.E. Williams which only lasted until February 1948, when, owing to the severity of import restrictions on the raw materials they needed, the partnership was dissolved and the business closed down.

The great aunt died in March 1947, Betty having looked after her until a broken hip put her in hospital only a few weeks before her death. The house was willed to the eldest Lakeman aunt and she had no wish to occupy it, so rented to the Mullers, then sold it to them on 9 Jun 1954.

Bill joined the P.M.G. Department ‎(now Telecom)‎ in April 1948 and during his work there his invention to greatly shorten the testing time of new telephones earned him a bonus of 100 ‎($200)‎ and saved the Department much more. When he was promoted to Senior Technician he found he could go no higher, for lack of an engineering degree ‎(which the Depression years and his father's financial status prevented)‎ so he transferred to Weapons Research Establishment, Salisbury ‎(now the Defence Research Centre)‎ in February 1963.

They had the deep sadness of losing their youngest child in 1962. Bonnie Marguerite had been named for Bill's mother, named Vessie but known always as Bonnie. She was a sunny natured little girl with pale gold hair that fell below her waist. She did well at school, was a promising pianist and had composed a Christmas carol which the children sang at the church she had attended the Christmas before her death. There was a special bond between her and grandfather KMS. Her 9 weeks of illness of an obscure internal disorder were endured with much fortitude at the Adelaide Children's Hospital where she died on 11 Feb 1962 in her 10th. year.

By 1969 Bill was a Foreman Grade A. at W.R.E. with a large staff and engaged on secret experimental work. His particular hobby in leisure hours was building model train engines and by the time two of these were ready for the tracks he and Betty had bought an almond grove of 200 trees at Strathalbyn ‎(in July 1973)‎ and soon an extensive network of lines, bridges over the creek and so on appeared there when suitable accommodation had been built for weekends and holidays. By 1979 they had acquired a further two acres from the neighbouring farmer that could be used as a building site.

At W.R.E. Bill was gazetted Technical Officer in 1970, but his job was one of particular stress and he retired due to ill health January 1980. Their house at 44 Tidworth Crescent was sold on 29 Feb 1980 ‎(Leap Year)‎ and while the System Built transportable house for Strathalbyn was being constructed they moved in to the Lindsay farm and horse stud ‎(at Strathalbyn)‎ to oversee the farm workers while the owners were overseas. Meantime preparations for the house beyond the almond grove went ahead for workshop, vast rainwater tank, cement piers and pad for the house, etc. Came the day of delivery, 28 Mar 1980, when the 60 feet long, 40 ton house, complete except for brick cladding and connection of services was to arrive.

The black plastic wrapped parcel on a wide load transport left the depot at Cavan north of the city at 9.a.m. and with a police escort crept through the city to the south-eastern freeway and by 1 p.m. it had reached Strathalbyn and the corner of Manse Road and Taylors Lane ‎(the latter rather narrow)‎ and the entrance to the Muller almond grove that they Christened "Strathburn" though the waterway is actually Paris Creek, and found that all those trees were an effectual barrier to the house site. There was but one route to take, down Taylors Lane to the far end and son Rodney's property the back of which adjoined "Strathburn". This way was so narrow, with only inches to spare, that Bill and Rod had to go ahead of the vehicle and saw and cut away overhanging tree branches as it inched along.

The town turned out to watch and be entertained. Folding chairs and refreshments and even a neighbour preparing vegetables were lined up. Some hours later the Rod Muller acres were reached, and over his flourishing young plantation of native shrubs and trees rolled the load without crushing any, past his house and down to the creek and a trek alongside it brought the new house to its resting place. By dusk it had been winched onto its foundation and the only damage sustained was a cracked tile in the kitchen.

The refinements, the brickwork, the car port and 12 ft. wide, 60 ft. long verandah along the back, the cement paths and surfaced winding driveway through the trees took sometime longer, but by the end of June they were comfortably settled in and six years later well and truly established at 25 Manse Road.

"MULLER, Betty Marion. Passed away peacefully on August 19, 2018 Aged 92 years Dearly loved wife of Bill ‎(deceased)‎. Very much loved mother and mother-in-law of Marion and Graham, Rodney and Sandra ‎(deceased)‎, and Bonnie ‎(deceased)‎. Loved Grandma to Ben; Cathy, and Julie. Great-Grandma to Mitchell and Kye."