Kaaren Whyte

“I have been living in Mildura in the Princes Court Village for nearly six years. Before that I lived all my life in N.S.W. I was born in Sydney in 1932 and came to Mildura via Broken Hill, Curlwaa, Wentworth and Pomona. “My father, Edgar Deans, was born in Perth W.A in 1903. As my grandfather was ordained as a minister in the Congregational Church, the family moved around a lot from Kalgoorlie (W.A) to the suburban areas of Sydney and Melbourne. My father left school at 16, found a job and studied at night school to become a qualified accountant. My mother, Amy Kathleen ‘Cappy’ Mahady was born in Melbourne in 1900. “Her family also moved around as my grandfather worked for the Victorian Railways. He was for a time, Station Master at Minyip, and Heathcote. My Mum remembers climbing on stacks of bagged wheat, and also enduring a mice plague. When she was older the family moved to Melbourne, and she received training in secretarial skills-typing, shorthand, and book-keeping. “She obtained a position in the Architectural Office of Walter Burley and Marion Griffin.