Albert Bernard O’Brien and Bertha Ann Dunn

Albert Bernard O’Brien

Albert Bernard O’Brien, known as “Johnny O’Brien,” was born on September 12, 1917, in Ettrick near Kyogle, New South Wales, as the youngest son of James Joseph O’Brien and Lena Noonan. His parents were share farmers who had moved from the NSW South Coast around 1908, and the family frequently moved around due to his father’s liking for alcohol. They lived at various locations, including Boorie Creek near Lismore and Upper Mongogarie near Kyogle, until they settled in a house at 21 Kyogle Street, South Lismore, around 1935/1936, which remained in the O’Brien family for the next 50 years.

Johnny worked in various labouring jobs, including at the Broadwater Sugar Mill, during his early working life. It is evident that he was a hardworking individual despite the challenges his family faced with their frequent relocations.

During this time, Johnny met and married Bertha Ann Dunn, who was also known as “Betty” or “Toby.” According to family history, he initially dated Bertha’s sister, Eunice, which is how they met.

Bertha Ann Dunn

Bertha Ann Dunn, also known as “Betty” or “Toby,” was born on February 7, 1922, in Bombala, New South Wales, as the eldest child of Charles Henry Dunn and Bertha Rixon. Her father, who fought in the First World War, worked as a linesman for the Post Master General in various locations, including Orange, NSW.

One of Bertha’s earliest memories, as she recounted to her family, was seeing snow on the ground.

In the mid-1930s, Bertha’s parents had moved to Lismore on the New South Wales North Coast. According to electoral rolls, they resided at different locations in the area, including 37 High Street, Lismore Heights, 8 Baillie Street, North Lismore, and Ballina Street, East Lismore, before finally settling at 13 Union Street, South Lismore, near the railway viaduct, in approximately 1941.

1940s

Albert Bernard O’Brien, known as “Johnny O’Brien,” and Bertha Ann Dunn met and married, raising a family of four daughters and one son. Their children were Margaret (1940-2015), Gloria (1944-2010), Nancy (1945-2021), Lynette (1948-), and James (1965-). Sadly, they also experienced the loss of a stillborn child, Joan Kathleen O’Brien, who passed away on July 9, 1953 (21816/1953) and was buried in an unmarked grave in the East Lismore Cemetery. As noted on the Lismore City Council website, it was common practice to bury stillborn babies in unmarked graves.

Albert and Bertha lived in the O’Brien family home at 21 Kyogle Street, South Lismore, where Albert’s mother, Lena, also resided until closer to her death in 1953.

1954 Lismore Flood

There are many fascinating family stories, particularly related to floods. One of the most vivid anecdotes is about the 1954 flood. During this time, the entire family, including Bertha’s mother, took refuge in the low-set house’s roof as floodwaters surged below. This was before the State Emergency Service was established, so individuals had to fend for themselves. To escape the rising water, my mum and grandmother sat on chairs on the kitchen table until the waters forced them to seek higher ground. However, they soon discovered that my overweight grandmother couldn’t fit through the manhole to the roof. To solve this problem, they took a saw to the manhole and enlarged it, allowing my grandmother to get through. For almost a week, my parents, my uncle, my four sisters, and my granny stayed in the roof of our house while the floodwaters swirled below.

During the 1954 flood, Lismore was genuinely cut off from the outside world. According to a media release issued by Telstra a few years ago, my Uncle Alf was recognized as “Bigpond’s Oldest Customer” because, during the 1954 Lismore flood, he provided the only communication to the outside world for telegraphs, police, and councils.

1960s

In 1959, Bertha’s mother, Bertha Rixon, and her brother Leslie John, a wardsman at St Vincent’s Hospital, moved into the family home on Kyogle Street. By the mid-1960s, three of their daughters had married and moved away. Margaret relocated to Sydney, then Hong Kong, and finally Brisbane due to her husband’s job in the army. Gloria moved to Brisbane and later got married, while Nancy had stints of living in both Sydney and Brisbane.

On November 9, 1965, Bertha and Albert welcomed their last child, James Charles John – that’s me – into the world.

1970s

In the early 1970s, the land at 21 Kyogle Street was sold to make way for the establishment of a “weigh bridge”, and so the house was relocated to 195 Casino Street, South Lismore. The house was also “raised” to avoid further risk of flood.

There is another unforgettable family moment that involves the 1974 flood, where the family, along with others, was stranded for several days. Unlike the 1954 flood, the water did not enter the house this time. I vividly remember that it was a Sunday night when South Lismore was flooded. Although my father must have anticipated the levee bank’s failure, which was expected to be disastrous, we spent most of Sunday afternoon securing things beneath the house. We raised the washing machine three or four feet off the ground and moved the family car to the higher block of land next door. With everything secure, we went back upstairs and sat to watch our usual Sunday night tradition, “Disneyland”. By the end of the program, our house was surrounded by almost six feet of water. Needless to say, both the washing machine and the family car were submerged in water.

As our house was elevated on stilts, we were fortunate to avoid flooding during the 1974 flood. However, our neighbours, the Jobsons, who lived across the street, had to be evacuated in the middle of the night. The floodwaters surrounded our house for several days, and once the waters receded, we walked around the neighbourhood to check on our family and friends. In those days, telephones were not yet a household staple, and communication was limited. We were particularly concerned about my sister Pat and her infant child, who lived opposite a fuel depot. She told us about her fears during the night as she heard the floating fuel drums banging into each other while her husband was out volunteering for the State Emergency Service.

After checking on our loved ones, we walked across the Ballina Street Bridge to survey the damage in the CBD. Before the levee bank was built, many families, including Aboriginal families, lived along the riverbank. From the bridge, we saw the water rushing rapidly, carrying livestock with it. I distinctly remember a distressed cow mooing mournfully as it floated underneath our feet.

1980s

I’m not exactly sure how long Albert worked as a plumber at the Lismore Base Hospital. In 1981 however, due to ill-health, he was forced to retire medically unfit.

Upon retirement, he performed some voluntary work for Meals On Wheels. Soon afterwards, he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a form of cancer.

For the final twelve months of his life, he was weak and spent a great deal of time in bed. He spent almost all of the last month of his life in hospital. In the early hours of the morning of June 22, 1982, he suffered a stroke which caused his death . The indirect causes were Multiple Myeloma, Cachexia and Cerebral Atrophy . He was buried on June 24 at the Lawn Cemetery, Goonellabah. The funeral announcement appeared in “The Northern Star” on June 23 and 24, 1982.

For the next two years, however, Betty suffered increasing ill-health due to a combination of heart disease and asthma. She died from a heart-attack on November 7, 1984 at about eight o’clock in the morning, with attempts at revival unsuccessful. She was buried the next day at the Lawn Cemetery, Goonellabah.