Dawkins Constance Lilian

Fast Facts

Type of person	Individual
Also known as:	nee Wilkinson
Date of birth	1918
Place of birth	Laura, South Australia.
Principal occupation	Secretary
Date of death	1996
Place of death	Place of Burial: Stone Hill Methodist Cemetery, Gawler River, South Australia, Australia

Extracted from the now-defunct "Significant Women of Gawler" Project:

CONSTANCE LILIAN DAWKINS (nee Wilkinson) 1918 –

by Judy Gillett- Ferguson

Constance Lilian Wilkinson was born on April 20th 1918 to Lilian (nee Walter) and Thomas Wilkinson of Gawler, South Australia.

Her father worked at laying small bridges over culverts on the lines for the future India/Pacific Railway but after the first World War, the family moved to Berri with Thomas’ brother, Norman, where they took up a Soldier Settlement Block. The block grew sultana and currant grapes and a variety of other fruits.

At this time ‘Con’ as she prefers to be called was only a small child of 4 years old and had two brothers, Ross, two and a half, and John, just newborn. They lived for some months under a ‘bough shed’ – a makeshift sort of lean-to made of tree boughs, until their house was built! Con’s parents got a 25-acre block of their own some 6 years later on the eastern side of Berri on the river flats, where they grew vines, oranges and other fruits.

Con attended the local Berri School held at that time in the Methodist Church Hall. This building was on stilts and Con remembers that the school chairs were stored under the building at the end of each week so that there was room for Sunday service to be held.

Eventually a new school was built up on the hill and Con attended it when it opened in about 1929. This school later became an R-12 Area School and Con left there in her early teens due to ill health.

She helped on the fruit block for a while but when she was 18 years old, she decided she wanted to complete her secondary education and told her parents that she wanted to go back to school and get her ‘Intermediate’ and ‘Leaving’ Certificates.

She was then, at 20, able to train as a nurse at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and lived in the Nurses’ Home on Frome Road.

Con felt that in this way she was able to make a contribution to the War effort as the Second World War had broken out in 1939 and both her brothers joined up.

Her brother Ross had joined the Second Eighth Field Ambulance Service and saw action in the Middle East at El Alemein. While carrying wounded on a Bren- gun carrier - as there were not enough ambulances - he was shot himself and died of his wounds. He was only in his early twenties.

Brother John went into the RAAF but never left Australia.

Con’s parents were now without any of their children at home and struggling to manage the block.

During this time, Con was working very hard as a nurse. She tells about working in heatwaves (no air conditioning) and not getting time to stop for a drink! She would visit her aunts on her days off and it was at their home that she met Boyd Dawkins, a young man from a family well known to the Wilkinsons.

Both the Wilkinson and Dawkins families have a long history and connection with the State, as ancestors of both families arrived by sailing ship at the very beginning of European settlement in 1838 and 1839 respectively. In 1849 they took up land near each other at Gawler River. Members of both families became friends and were often thrown together in the small but developing town of Gawler.

Boyd’s grandmother was Rebecca Wilkinson who had married Sam Dawkins on the 13th. October 1861. Boyd came down to Adelaide by train on Mondays for singing lessons at the Elder Conservatorium and then stayed for the Adelaide Philharmonic Choir rehearsals before returning to Gawler River.

Their ‘designing’ aunts’ invited the pair to social gatherings at their home and the ruse was successful. The young couple hit it off and when Con had to give up nursing and return to Berri to help her ailing mother, she was already engaged to Boyd.

They were married on August 24th 1943 at the Berri Methodist Church. The reception was in the church hall and catered for by the Church’s Women’s Guild of which Con’s mother was President.

Boyd borrowed his parents’ car and they drove to Gawler River for their honeymoon arriving at 3am.

They stayed there for 2 nights alone at the farmhouse as Boyd’s elderly parents had moved into Gawler.

They then drove into Gawler and caught the train to Adelaide where they put on their wedding clothes again for an official wedding portrait at a photographer’s. They caught another train to Victor Harbor where they stayed at a Guest House and spent many happy hours walking along the beach.

On their return to Adelaide they stayed with friends in Unley for a week or two before settling into the homestead at Gawler River on their own.

Boyd’s parents had moved into Gawler to a house at 11, Tenth Street, the home of Boyd’s maternal grandfather, Rev. Richard Yeoman, a former Methodist minister.

The farm at Gawler River was a mixed farm, mainly stud Dorset sheep (a meat breed) and mixed cereal - wheat, barley and oats. They first ran Dorset Horns and later Poll Dorsets, usually about 300 head at a time. The farm area increased from 500 acres initially to finally about 1200 acres.

During this time their first son, Ross was born in 1946 and then later, John in 1954.

Boyd was a cultured ‘gentleman farmer’. He was a talented singer and musician. He attended the Elder Conservatorium every Monday for many years and Con would accompany him to Adelaide. She would use this time to shop and catch up with friends. She also, later, joined the Adelaide Philharmonic Choir with Boyd and practice sessions were held in the Pirie Street Methodist Hall. They walked from Pirie Street to the Adelaide Station to catch the 9.30 pm. train back to Gawler and often had to run to catch it. Boyd continued to sing solos with this choir and often performed for ABC Radio.

At this time Con’s musical interests in Adelaide were seriously curtailed by ill health but she was actively involved in her local Gawler River Church that had its own amateur choir that assembled for special occasions.

She also became active in the local Gawler River School and Mothers’ Club that fund-raised for the children and put on an annual Christmas Party for the school community every year. Children came from miles around to attend it.

Amazingly this group is still going although it has changed its name to the Gawler River Ladies’ Club and has about a dozen members! It meets regularly and has one of its original members, a lady in her mid nineties who has been a member for over 60 years!!

Con’s sons attended the old Gawler River one-teacher school. It only had about 20 students and the teacher lived in the attached school-house. The teacher was always a man whose wife was expected to do the cleaning (including the toilets) and other odd jobs around the school such as taking the girls for sewing! The building is now a small museum.

During the 1950’s Boyd’s parents had become frail and Con spent much of her time caring for them. She had two small boys and was often left in charge of the farm when Boyd had to be away interstate showing and judging sheep. One trip to England involved Boyd in judging sheep at a special Dorset sheep Fair.

This took toll of Con’s health and so she and Boyd decided at first to have the boys as weekly boarders at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide and then later as day students.

While her sons were attending college Con would share ferrying a carload of children on a daily basis from the Gawler River neighbourhood into Gawler Station each morning and then pick them up in the evening. John and Ross later spent some of their secondary schooling at Gawler High School.

After secondary school Ross graduated from Roseworthy Agricultural College and then came back to assist in running the farm.

John also studied agriculture, first at Roseworthy and then at Glen Ormiston in Victoria but politics proved to be his first love – an interest he had learned from his father who had been elected to the Legislative Council in 1962 when John was 8 years old.

John worked for various Federal members of parliament including, Neil Andrew, Alexander Downer and Nick Minchin.

Boyd served in Parliament for twenty years from 1962 – 1982 and as Government Whip for the last three of those years before retiring.

Con, during this time, was involved with the Gawler branch of the then Liberal and Country League (or LCL) later to become the Liberal Party.

As the wife of a prominent member of parliament Con accompanied Boyd all over the state, Australia and overseas on official business.

It was especially hectic during election time.

Con was also the president of the Gawler Women’s Branch of the Liberal Party when Gwen Riggs and Dawn Eastick were secretaries. They worked as a team for many years. Between them they organized many large functions for the Party over the years.

Even during his parliamentary career Boyd was actively engaged in showing and judging Dorset sheep all over the country. He would start at the Gawler Show then Adelaide then all the other State capital shows in turn. Con kept ‘the home fires burning’ while he was away for extended periods with the help of four men employed during this period.

In 1975, Con had the good fortune to accompany Boyd on a visit to New Delhi, India for the Commonwealth Parliament Association. Boyd was the only representative from South Australia.

While the conference was in session, Con and the other wives were picked up by bus and taken on tours of various places around the capital. Con and another woman were taken to visit a local hospital that was a real ‘eye-opener’ for her. The matron explained that they were trying to introduce a form of birth control using an injection, as even then the population of India was a terrible problem.

In the second week of their visit, they were taken by bus up into the hills to Megalawa where people lined the streets to greet them.

Con and Boyd also had overseas trips associated with their agricultural interests and formed many great friendships with people in the UK, some of whom have visited them in Australia.

In 1982 Boyd decided to retire at the age of 65. Con was worried that this might curtail her own interests and her access to driving the family car!

She joined an orchid society that met monthly and this was a great interest for her. She drove to Gawler at night on her own to attend the meetings. Con wanted to learn to play the cello her father had bought years before from an advertisement in the ‘Advertiser’. She had the instrument repaired and found a teacher who was a Czechoslovakian refugee and played in the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. He interviewed her and decided to ‘give her a go’. So she began lessons and travelled once a week into Adelaide, firstly at the Adult Education Music School in Flinders Street and then at his home for several years.

Con played with the Nuriootpa High School Orchestra for about 2 years and really enjoyed playing with the young people. She drove to these sessions on her own but if she had a lesson in Adelaide, Boyd usually found an excuse to go with her and on those occasions he always drove!

As well as this, Con took lessons on the pipe organ with a prominent teacher of both adults and children in Gawler, Miss Del Wiebusch. This teacher also took classes in Adelaide and was one of Gawler’s ‘personalities’. Con’s older son, Ross married Sue Bagshaw at Roseworthy College Chapel on 23rd January 1971. They have 3 children – Ann, Matthew and Andrew.

John married Helena McGreen on 28th February 1976 at the Church of SS Peter and Paul, Gawler. They have 2 children – Leah and Thomas.

Con has spent many hours babysitting for her various grandchildren.

In October 1996, Boyd became unwell at a Liberal Party meeting and he was not eating very much. He got worse overnight so Con brought him to the Hutchinson Hospital. He was seen by Doctor Hyde who referred him to a specialist at the Wakefield Street Hospital where he was diagnosed with pancreatitis.

Sadly, Boyd died aged 79 after a week in intensive care following an operation.

This was a terrible shock for Con and her family.

She stayed on alone at the farm for another 2 years and then moved to James Martin Village, Willaston in 1998.

Con remains very active. During her life she has nursed, sung, learned and played musical instruments, organized and run organizations, groups and meetings, supported her husband in parliament, raised a family, cared for grandchildren, supported her church and community, fed shearers for 40+ years, managed a farm and generally filled her life with hard work, commitment to her beliefs and ideals and the needs of others.

She now lives in retirement but continues to care for her less independent neighbours and to participate in and support local activities and groups. She has a busier diary than many half her age!

I feel privileged to have been granted some of her precious time to record her achievements and contributions, not just to her immediate community but to her state.

Thank you Con!

Constance Dawkins is represented on the webpage created for the Significant Women of Gawler Project. To read about her life please click here.

References

Memories of Dawkins Constance Lilian

Do you remember Dawkins Constance Lilian ? Then Join up and add your memory here.

Support our sponsors!