Eulogy Earl Symonds

Eulogy Earl Symonds
2/2/1916—9/2/2012
Earl was born on 2-2-1916 at Temora Hospital as it was said the Parkes
hospital was not up to standard at the time He was the second eldest of five
children Merle Dec Earl Keith Dec Vera Dec Roy At Rosedurnate
He left school at 13-14 years old as He was needed on the farm (the Gums a
part of the original Goobang station,}. This didn’t mean he was not a bright
student as some years later whilst staying with Joy and Rob they were doing
accounts. Joy was reading out the figures and Rob was punching it into an adding
machine. Before he had pushed to total button Dad had sprouted out the correct
answer. He had done all the calculations in his head. He was often asked by
people with higher qualifications to come up with solutions to problems and
inevitably he would come up with a solution. The faithful ready reckoner was
never far away far data
On leaving School He worked on some farms for contract using his Fathers
second horse team Plowing Chipping Burrs and fencing
Dad was called up during the war with the 2nD Australian Army Troop Coy
(Engineers Known as The blue ducks) Time was spent in Katherine Alice springs
Darwin and other places in the Northern Territory
Whilst there he became lonely so one of the other members of the Army
Joe Doust suggested he write to his sister Grace. On one leave he went from
Darwin to Adelaide then back to Parkes and Fifield to meet Mum.. The initial
meeting was standoffish as they were both shy and reserved people. They were
Married on 2
nd May 1946 and Moved to a tin hut at Myralee where dad was share
farming.
After a mix up with the banks and solicitor where he lost his deposit on a
new farm, he also lost the share farming and worked for sometime in town with
the caterpillar company in Parkes. When this job fell through he started his own
farm machinery business there and eventually moved to the outskirts of Parkes
town just after Graham was born
Here they raised all their Children Phillip, Brian, Rose, Milton, Graham, Ian Lesle
Karen or Joy.
Dad worked from 6am to 10pm most days as he said” I’ve gotta keep the
wolves from the door “At no time were we ever hungry or wanting of the
necessitates of life .Some people paid by stock or eggs or some other means
when they had no Cash on hand.
Dad and Mum in the early days never went on holidays except to visit
family at Fifield over Christmas each year. When Phil and I become involved in the
town band, Dad and Mum became involved in fundraising. During this time He
Help shift the OLD RSL building to the Cook Park for a new Band Hall. He also fixed
many music stand and Instruments Made trestles and tables out of old pipes and
packing boxes just to save the band some money. It was here he met Pat and
Harry white (now deceased) who become good friends of the family. They
introduced us to the annual Family Camping Holidays on the beach every year>
this was a great time for the family and included many fishing expeditions to
supplement the family budget and save on meat
Phillip did his apprenticeship as a fitter and turner with dad. Some of the
jobs beside general farm repairs were reconditioning Crawler tractor tracks and
rollers ,Changing iron tyred farm vehicles to rubber tyred farm vehicles and as
always plenty of picks ,crowbars and jackhammer points to build up and sharpen.
One time a guy turned up From Wollongong with at trailer load of these for dad
to do as he said “They don’t bend shatter or wear down easily. His comment was”
he was the only person who could do it properly “They also built bulk wheat bins
on the back of trucks for harvest transport when bulk delivery of wheat came in.
After a antique farm Machinery day at the Parkes Show, Dad become more
interested in the old farm equipment machinery and wanted a record kept for the
coming generations. He used his old home made crane and a trailer and collected
a lot of farm gear for the museum. He has been quoted as saying he used about
44 gallons of fuel a fortnight which he paid for out of his own pocket. Mum would
also go with him on these travels. He also donated and sold some of the eight
acre block so they could have somewhere to put this equipment Establishing
sheds and moving Buildings on the site including the Wongalea school and the
Goobang Church where had attend as a child
In latter years he was involved in the men’s shed where people just met
and talked about the old times which he thoroughly enjoyed
In growing up the children all had chores to do either in the shed or around
the house in the garden etc One chore was cleaning bricks and pulling nails out of
second hand wood as over a process of time dad moved four houses to the
bottom of the block, initially for rental but each one was sold at a base price to
the eldest children when they married to start them off in life. The rest of the
children were given a helping hand in some way by cash etc. He did this so we
could have a better start in life and I know I was very thankful for this as I was
starting out with a new family.
He would often go to clearing sales and buy a heap of scrap iron just for
one piece in it. Before he left the sale he would generally sell other items in it plus
using his crane would pay for the fuel and outing for the day. The rest of the scrap
would be placed in a heap in the back yard. Years later he could still send
someone down to the heap to collect a piece that they required from it
The shed became a meeting place and focal point for the boys as they
repaired cars upgraded engines and made trailers Cement mixers etc. over the
years Dad was innovative in the units he built from scrap iron Chairs ,cement
mixers saw benches wood slitters cranes and all sorts of equipment was
manufactured to meet the needs of his customers.
In his early years he was involved with the freemasons in the” Lodge star of the
West” and the “Blue Lodge “He revisited this after retirement
At another time he did a display for the sword turning into a ploughshare as
mentioned in the Bible and this is on display in the rear of the Anglican Church
Parkes
After retirement he enjoyed to travel. He visited family in Papua New
Guinea USA and at Gosford. He also went on numerous bus tours. These entire
journeys were taken with the faithful Grace by his side. They rarely went
anywhere unless they were together, Dad loved his sea food especially his feed of
prawns at family gatherings He was one to ever say much but enjoyed seeing his
family especially the Grandkids
His latter days after the death of Grace were spent at the Southern Cross
Village where he said “Good food, company and a warm bed, what more can a
man want?”
I have found dad very quiet and a reserved person, true to his word and
not willing to back down if he knew he was right, a willing listener and always
supportive. He enjoyed the simple things of life. Hard work and, Integrity was
important to him. More important than all the goods we can acquire.
On closing I would like to comment on the strength of his Hand grip. Even in
old age he could grip you like a vice. Even when he was very ill in recent weeks
when you squeeze his hand he gave you a large squeeze back .His life was built
about the anvil of time and shaped by his hard work and the family he loved.
We Miss you dad
Brian