Maxwell Leslie Gillespie's memory board

Eulogy for Maxwell Leslie Gillespie 28th January 1928 – 9th March 2016 TO BEGIN Much of this eulogy comes from Max’s life story which he penned himself not so long ago. Max was a true gentleman. He was reliable, organised, always well prepared, and not one to waste words… but his early years reveal that there was quite a bit of larrikin in him. It all started in Rockhampton on 28th January 1928, in Rockhampton, christened Maxwell Leslie Gillespie to proud parents Rose and Ken Gillespie. Sister, Beres would follow a full seven years later, and then little sister Mavis exactly another seven years after Beres – to fill the family home at 69 Davis Street Rockhampton. Max went to Rockhampton Boys Grammar School, where his days were full of sport - footy, cricket, athletics, tennis, gymnastics, rowing and swimming. The pool was filled from the well on Mondays and by Friday it was green and literally ‘growing’. Filtration was a modern invention he was yet to enjoy. WARTIME YEARS Max’s high school years were the war years – thankfully he was ‘just’ too young to be sent to war – but life was disrupted all the same. Most of the essentials of life, food, clothing, petrol etc were rationed. No purchase could be made without the appropriate "coupons". In the period 1939 to 1943, the whole country became self defence minded and Max, along with other boy scouts, was considered dependable enough to be a bicycle messenger. During this time they were issued with a gas mask and a steel helmet and he was expected to ride his bicycle to alert the air raid wardens. There were the frequent air raid drills with everyone running to the slit trenches and diving in. Max was also trained in aeroplane spotting. Every plane passing overhead had to be reported to Central Control following a set code which described such things as how high, direction and whether identifiable or not. This interest in planes, among other things, endured lifelong. He could always identify World War planes – any planes really. Max was always very ‘handy’, probably a result of his early years on the family cattle station in St Lawrence, near Rockhamption where his father Ken was originally from. Electricity had not arrived in St Lawrence. Kerosene lamps and wood burning stoves were standard. From the age of about 13 he was driving vehicles secretly in St Lawrence. Max remembered those times very fondly with his cousins, the Landsbergs and Mowthorpes, at "Waverley" cattle station. BRANCHING OUT In 1943 at the age of 15, Max joined the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Gladstone. No sooner had he arrived in Gladstone than Max became secretary of the Surf Life Saving Club. The fact that Gladstone has no surf was incidental, there was a club! Bear in mind that Max was all of 15 years old! Always one for details, Max remembered that his first pay brought a net figure of two pounds eleven shillings or $5.10 per week out of which $2.10 was for private board. He even saved a little. His leather jacket cost $10.00, something he needed as he was to get into motorcycles himself. Those days in the bank, everything was done by hand, and everything had to be balanced to the "penny" as it was then. All ledger records were hand written – which might explain Max’s extraordinary handwriting – almost like calligraphy. As you might imagine, Max was very good with numbers. Even in recent years, when asked to complete a standard capacity test in order to qualify for basic assistance at home, son Peter did his best to convince Max not to try too hard, given that a more average score would mean a better level of assistance. As the test proceeded, the assessor asked Max to count backwards in sevens from 102 – which he did. The assessor stopped him on the way, as she exclaimed that she had never seen anyone do that before! Working with the bank, brought many moves mainly in country areas around the State – involving more adventure than you might expect from the mild mannered Max you thought you knew – riding horses, mustering cattle, catching wild pigs unassisted, fishing and shooting, country races, cruising on motorbikes and also in his precious “four in the front seat” 1949 Vanguard, as well as acting as an honorary Ambulance bearer – There were 10 moves in all between 1941 and 1966, when the family finally moved to Wynnum Manly – and then five more moves within Brisbane. 1943 Gladstone, clerk 1962 Rockhampton, Senior Asst 1947 Mt Morgan, clerk 1964 Charters Towers, Accountant 1947 Rockhampton, clerk 1966 Wynnum, Accountant 1952 Hughenden, 2. I.C. 1968 King George Square, Asst Manager 1954 Babinda, 2.I.C. 1970 Queen & Edward Sts, " " 1956 Mt Isa, Senior clerk 1972 Fortitude Valley, " " 1957 Rockhampton, " " 1978 Ashgrove, Manager 1960 Gladstone, Accountant 1980 Upper Mt Gravatt, Manager Retired 11th July 1984. Early on, Max met Joe Goicoechea in Hughenden and they were in a band together called the "Hughenden Hot Shots". They played at dances, picnic races and social activities which frequently involved leaving after work to travel more than 100 km to play, and then return for work the next day. Who would have guessed that our Max, the original “Mr Responsible” had such wild roots? And it was in Hughenden at Joe’s wedding (1954) that Max first met Joe’s sister, Maria Rosario (known to most of us as Rosita) Goicoechea; and again later when she visited in Mt Isa. Max said there were many very late nights and many blurry days at work during those few weeks. Something gelled and in no time they were engaged to be married, impetuous couple that they were – despite the quiet concerns of Max’s conservative parents Ken and Rose, who were not at all sure about these immigrant Spanish people. GETTING A FAMILY Max married Rosita on 24th August 1957 in Ayr North Queensland, Rosita's home town. It was a great occasion with plenty of music and fun; and they honeymooned on Hayman Island which was up-market even then! More good years followed, in Rockhampton (again) by then: Tony was born in 1958 and Pete in 1960, both in Rockhampton, and Amaya followed two years later as they moved to Gladstone. And in 1966, at the dawn of decimal currency, when the family moved to the big smoke, to Wynnum-Manly, they moved into the family home in Greta Street, where Max was to live until very recently. Wynnum-Manly was really like another country town, and Max joined the local Lions Club which introduced Max and Rosita immediately into local life, and to their large circle of “close” friends who also knew how to have fun! These were memorable days with great company and great service to the community too. Max soon moved from sleepy Wynnum to the big bank branches in the city – it was hectic and there were plenty of stories. Max experienced one of the first bank robberies, which might explain why he had a pistol in his top drawer – and routinely went to the shooting range to practice. Between those early years out West and his natural instinct to be precise, Max’s aim was certainly very good. Max was resourceful too. During his time at Fortitude Valley, he came across many “characters”. An elderly gentleman from a local halfway house was having trouble cashing a cheque because he was unable to produce identification. In a flash of inspiration he removed his false teeth to reveal his name engraved on them. Max found no reason not to accept this form of ID and the gentleman was out of there in a tick. And then there was the time that the bank down the road had trouble opening their safe in the morning, so who did they call? Sure enough Max managed to crack the safe ready for opening time. The Grand/children The three of us children – Tony, Peter and Amaya, thrived in Wynnum and Max was very proud of their achievements, probably only eclipsed by his pride in his four grandchildren. Tony and his wife, Cathy, have three children – Meghan, Tessa and Jack. Max was so proud that all three had studied hard and found work upon graduation – something that cannot be taken for granted these days. Especially in recent years, Max was so pleased to see so much of these kids. Busy as they were, they made space for him – such a special gift that only you three could give him at that time. Amaya and her husband David have a daughter, Ruby who is just finishing high school. They have lived overseas for almost 20 years, and their visits were also precious, supplemented with many phone calls, emails and even a few old fashioned letters. The closest thing to boasting that you would ever hear from Max, is him talking about these grandchildren. TRAVEL Max and Rosita travelled overseas quite extensively for those days – but the most adventurous trip had to be the big decision in 1970 to go to see Rosita's relatives in Spain – they were away for four months - leaving the three children with Max’s parents. Another indication that his couple was not exactly orthodox. Well prepared as always, Max was quite handy in Spanish and all the relatives there were so impressed with this handsome Aussie Rosita had found. Even recently Max was happy to converse with one of the Spanish speaking carers where he was living. RETIREMENT: After working more than 40 years, Max retired at the age of 56. And this is when Masters Swimming really kicked in for him – and he amassed a large collection of medals and ribbons. In so many ways that club enhanced his well-being – not only the physical fitness but also the amazing social activities – especially after Rosita passed away in 2004. He swim club was a place where getting older was a definite positive – and made Max very much sought after for the cumulative age relays…. When he was 70 Max actually said that he looked forward to 75 so that he could be the youngster in the 75/79 age group; let alone turning 80. He was very proud to say that he is a Life Member of Queensland Masters Swimming. END At 88, Max’s life was long, much longer than he expected – certainly the result of good planning more than good luck he always said. He was the type that you want on your team; the type to read all the instructions before plugging things in. He valued everything he ever owned, and would much rather repair than renew, no matter what it takes. He was handy, he was patient, he was honest and so very fair, and he was thoughtful. They say that you don’t remember so much about what people say, but you remember how they make you feel. And Max made people feel good! Thank you for being here and celebrating a life well lived.