Custody

By Danial Kenneth Mason

Inspired by a true story. Custody -Blood is thicker than water unfolds an incredible story of a father fighting for justice to have custody of his only son.

Danial Mason grew up in central Victoria Australia and had a yearning to travel, in 1966 ventured to Auckland New Zealand. He met a girl got married, he was gifted with a s

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paper Leaf Agency
• Release date: Aug 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638123934

Book preview

Custody

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Copyright © 2022 by Danial Kenneth Mason.

All rights reserved. No part in this book may be produced and transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Published by Paper Leaf Agency 08/03/2022

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If you have a dream, then pursue that dream.

Life is like a circle and seasons come and go

and what you cannot achieve today

there is always tomorrow.

When you think all is lost, never give up.

Hope, have faith, and believe in what you can achieve.

—Danial K. Mason

Contents

Preface

The Story Brief

Chapter 1Australia (1946–1966)

Chapter 2The Next Chapter in My Life

Chapter 31967—The Year I Met Claire

Chapter 4The Engagement

Chapter 5Family Violence

Chapter 6The Wedding

Chapter 7The Pregnancy

Chapter 8The Birth of Our Son Oliver

Chapter 9Oliver’s First Visit to Australia

Chapter 10The Movie Business

Chapter 111974—The Year of Incidents

Chapter 12Claire’s Secret Trip to Wellington

Chapter 13Our New Home

Chapter 14The Breakup

Chapter 15Claire’s Custody Application

Chapter 16Premonition or Divine Intervention

Chapter 17Meeting Ms. Chamberlain

Chapter 18Statements Made Before the Hearing

Chapter 19Interim Custody Hearing

Chapter 20The Dinner Party

Chapter 21Oliver’s Fourth Birthday

Chapter 22Christmas in Australia

Chapter 23Sunday School and Kindergarten

Chapter 24More Incidents, Allegations, and Lies

Chapter 25Meeting Department of Social Welfare

Chapter 26Statement from Witnesses

Chapter 27My Final Submission

Chapter 28Report by Department of Child Welfare

Chapter 29Incident Two Weeks before the Hearing

Chapter 30The Custody Hearing Day 1

Chapter 31The Custody Hearing Day 2

Chapter 32The Custody Hearing Day 3

Chapter 33The Custody Hearing Day 4

Chapter 34The Custody Hearing Day 5

Chapter 35The Judgment

Chapter 36The Conclusion

About the Author

Preface

In the 1970s in Australia, United Kingdom, and New Zealand, a group was formed named Families Need Fathers (FNF). This was a registered charitable social care organization that provided information, advice, and support to parents whose children’s relationship with them is under threat during or after divorce or separation, or who have become alienated or estranged from their children. This was due to the fact, as the research had shown, one-third of children from separated parents have no contact with their father. The organization is chiefly concerned with maintaining a child’s relationship with both parents during and after family breakdown.

The law in New Zealand at the time favored the mother of the children as it clearly stated that a child or children under five automatically goes with the mother; in many cases, the father does not even get access to their children. The court and welfare system favored the mother despite what she may have or have not done.

In cases of domestic violence, when the father of the children is abusive toward his spouse/partner or the children, then that is another issue, and the father in these cases should lose all his rights to protect his partner and the children. In these cases, FNF provides relief, assistance, guidance, and support to those parents.

In New Zealand, Families Need Fathers (FNF) group was founded in the 1970s. It is a registered charitable social care organization that provided information, advice, and support to parents, particularly fathers, whose children’s relationship with them is under threat during or after divorce or separation or have become alienated or estranged from their children.

FNF also advocates for stronger court actions when a custodial parent defies court orders, requiring them to allow their children a relationship with the other parent. The goal is that children of divorce and separation should not lose the love and care of one of their parents.

FNF and other groups advocated for shared parenting, more time for children with their noncustodial parent, and stronger court actions when a custodial parent defies court orders, requiring them to allow their children a relationship with the other parent. The organization’s goal is that children of divorce or separation should not lose the love and care of one of their parents.

This is very significant to the story you are about to read as this relates to a mother who dearly loved her son, a father fighting for his rights to have custody, and one little boy, three and a half years of age, torn between his mother and father when his mother left the family home and was the center of a hotly disputed custody battle.

My name is Danial Mason. I was born in Australia in 1944 in a town that was built in the gold rush era in the 1850s, a place called Bendigo, and this story starts in Australia. I was part of a very large family—ten boys and three girls—and I was the second youngest child. I have blond hair like my mother and elder sister, and the rest are like Dad with black hair.

I was called Smiley by many, but mainly at school, I was called Snowy as I had blond hair. We were what you called a not-so-well-off family, and my mum was something else. We went through very hard times when we lost our father. I was then seven years old. Noel was the youngest; he was four years old.

I decided to take on a journey at the age of twenty-one to venture out into the world, and the destination was New Zealand and the year 1966. I had no idea what was in store for me over the next ten years that took me to 1976 into a courtroom in Auckland, and I was embroiled in what was said at the time, This is a hotly disputed application for custody. This remark reflected onto the unusual custody case, at that time recorded as being the longest custody case held in New Zealand with an unusual, overwhelmed verdict.

The novel Custody is nonfiction and is based on factual events set against me being the father and my quest to have the custody of my only son Oliver. One may say this was out of sheer revenge against the boy’s mother, not a fight for justice. This clearly was based on an unfair legal system at the time to favor the mother, and as the law stated, any child under the age of five years automatically is awarded to the mother.

This ruling was a harsh and bitter one and set by the Child Welfare Justice System, and then I, being the father, set out to challenge this. This was a monumental challenge, and I faced many difficulties to find a lawyer who would represent me, let alone set out to try and win the case. The lawyer itself was a defining part of this extraordinary court case and how it all unfolded.

The story covers many incidents and events leading up to the court hearing. Some you will find hard to believe, but the mother left the family home and left her son behind and shifted in with her lover. Did the court have pity on her being the mother, or was this her undoing?

The Story Brief

This is a story based on actual events. It became a bitter battle between the father, Daniel Mason, and his wife Claire over custody of their only son, Oliver.

First and foremost, this story is about the father’s endeavors to keep custody of his son. Claire, his wife and the mother of his son, left the family home when Oliver was three and a half years of age. She had an adulterous love affair. She embarked upon defamatory evidence that she put in her submissions prior to any court case as she claimed that the father was a very violent person. He assaulted her and portrayed him as a potential murderer. Her many accusations were supported by her lover and her family.

A major point was, was her lover the best person to be the father figure in the child’s life? As you will find out, her lover did have a shady past.

The father of the child operated a movie business and screened the latest movies to various clubs in and around Auckland, and also at his home where he had a very large home cinema. This raised many concerns that became a central part in statements proceeding the court case and was a contentious issue throughout the court hearing. These allegations were very damaging as they claimed he had shown blue movies. They also claimed he showed adult movies when his son was present and that he had him up at all hours when he should have been in bed. There were many allegations that he held drunken parties; then there were the questions relating to the Child Welfare Department as it was suggested by her lawyer that they assisted in his application for custody, which was farther from the truth. Then there were allegations against the kindergarten, then the issue about Claire’s father being involved in domestic violence and his drinking. It was said at the time at the hearing by the judge, "I am very conscious of what the lawyer for the mother has said that one needs the wisdom of Solomon in a case as this.

The story covers the father’s fight for justice to keep his son, Oliver, from being caught up in the trauma between his father and his mother. This resulted in bitter dispute along with arguments—the hurtful experience of a very fierce and intense court hearing for the custody of one little boy, Oliver. Despite the father’s efforts to protect his son, the mother was very vindictive and created incidents, which also involved her family in particular her mother.

The racist slur by her brother and sister-in-law regarding the Māori children that Oliver played with was seen as racist and a slur against Māoris.

This story is all about justice, and in doing so, it is to give fathers the courage to challenge the welfare and court system to obtain custody or to have access of their children. Men are continuously wrongly accused, inasmuch of not being supported within the child welfare system or within the family courts. This often results to their children being taken away from them, the custody of the children awarded to the mother, and access denied to the fathers, and far too often, the mothers do fabricate stories that do influence the courts as well as the welfare system and lawyers and backed by injustice laws in favor of the mother.

It is also important to mention that in many cases, many fathers lose all credibility because of domestic violence and child abuse, and this always should be condemned by the courts and welfare and deal with them accordingly, and they do lose their rights to their children.

The story and the court case the father was faced with was a huge dilemma that he could not find a legal representative to take on his case, despite many efforts to find one to represent him. Then something extraordinary happened when he had a premonition to go to church on a particular Sunday, and at the service, there was a guest speaker who spoke about single mothers and the welfare system. He thought at this point that this was the reason why he went to church this particular day. After the service, the minister of the church introduced him to the guest speaker, who then heard the father’s story and the difficulty he had and what he experienced finding a solicitor to take on his case.

Then what took place next was quite remarkable as the guest speaker arranged a meeting with a prominent barrister, a woman who was conversant in the family law and custody matters where she held a distinction in this field, and after hearing his story, she then took up his case. This was a blessing and a game changer for him.

He found that he was well supported by the church and lady lawyer; and as this unfolded, there were many issues, rights, and wrongs on both sides, although it came very apparent that the mother loved her son even though she walked out of the family home. It also became noticeably clear that she was a vindictive person along with her family as well as her lover—based on the lies and the exaggerated accounts of incidents, which were many and supported her in her endeavours so she can regain custody.

You will find this story as it unfolds as a compelling one when a high-profile lawyer defends a father in an unusual custody case never been held before in New Zealand—her professional manner and the understanding of her client, how she took on the case and presented the crucial evidence during the court case when all odds were against the father.

The presiding judge gave a lengthy judgment, and he had a challenging task to make his decision on evidence that was fabricated and damning toward the father, portraying him as a violent and potential murderer and that he also abused his wife.

This story is written by the accused, Daniel Mason, and outlines and deals with various incidents in detail prior to the court case as well given in evidence to support the mother’s application for custody of the boy. It was also noted by the judge, and I quote, I am satisfied that the father of the boy is aggressive when roused. I am also satisfied that there have been deliberate attempts to arouse him and to provoke him so that the mother’s case could be better advanced in court.

It was also stated and should not be overlooked that the father of the boy was not totally exonerated. Inasmuch, the mother entered a world of lies and deceit and created violent scenes, as did her own family, and created incidents that neither took place nor were substituted or provided with credible witnesses to such events. This resulted to the father overreacting to many situations.

What was the final outcome of the custody case? Did the court hold to the law where a mother is awarded custody of a child under five? Did the mother get custody or the father? It was without question that the welfare of the child is paramount, and the final decision was made on what was best for the child moving forward.

It is a well-established fact that a very large majority of separated people go through varying amounts of stress; this is regardless of if you’re the one who was left or the leaver. In this case, there was a large and strong pull toward the marriage that Danial Mason cannot deny. As time went on, the situation worsened after the breakup, then at times anger and resentment made him detest his estranged wife. He found himself at times very alone as his family was back in Australia, unaware of the situation. He found himself in a very uncomfortable and, in fact, a lonely situation. Then again, he felt that if he was the one who broke up the marriage, then he may have done things differently. The person who was the most loved and dearest to him was his son, Oliver. It was his mission in life to make sure that his son remains with him.

Oliver’s mother had different ideas, and her desire was not to give up her son. The anger she demonstrated and her fighting for the custody along with her family and her lover plunged into destructive behaviors and nonstop activity; and in many opinions, she became delusional and lost all sense of what was really taking place.

Danial Mason then became the enemy, and she spent every waking hour wrapped up in the past and what he was doing. She and her family became very hostile toward Danial. Danial was extremely lucky and fortunate that he had many friends who supported him along the way. Then of course, his religious beliefs and the guidance the church gave him helped in so many ways.

The ironic part of this story is that Mrs. Mason made Danial out to be the guilty one. He also was not quite sure if Claire may have had a split personality. Her claims to police and lies, including bizarre behavior, became a feature of her sometimes hard-to-believe allegations toward Danial—such as bizarre claims of him wanting to kill his son. Then one of her closest friends she knew from childhood came face-to-face with her in one incident. Many of Danial’s friends became hostile enemies. Her accounts of things did become quite bizarre. Her secret love affair that went undetected added to the conflict that unfolded.

Anger and resentment finally made Danial detest his wife, Claire, whom he once dearly loved. He had hopes for her to come to her senses—this was not to be. He had no doubt that he played no part in the marriage breakup. This was despite her lies and deceit, her love affair, and her not taking full responsibility for her actions. Danial looked at his marriage to Claire as a legally binding and bonding relationship; and this, he found, was hard and difficult to give up. The shared intimacy and the shared parenting of their only son, Oliver, made this very upsetting. Her leaving the matrimonial home was devastating for Danial and very hard to comprehend and was upsetting. As it was, there was no turning back, and he came to the final conclusion it had to be.

Footnote:

The interest or belief by anyone concerned about the ultimate impact of court proceedings and choices on a child’s best interests makes this a must-read book. All this should be considered by a wide range of readers interested in child custody matters.

1

Australia (1946–1966)

My Story Starts in Australia in 1944

It was in November just before the Second World War ended. It was a hot stinking day well over one hundred degrees when I came into the world, as recalled by my mother as she told me many years later having me nearly killed her. My father did not go to war. As it was said, at the time the war broke out when men were enlisted, my father was told he was too much of a liability to go to war as he had too many children. In fact, I was number twelve. Noel came a few years later, and that made up thirteen children. I was named Danial Kenneth Mason, after my father.

We lived in a very small house. It had two bedrooms, a small kitchen, a small lounge, and a bathroom. I am not sure how we all fit into such a small house, but we did.

For some reason, Mother did favor me in many ways, and it did show some resentment from the younger brothers. Father was very strict, and if visitors came, we all had to go outside. There was one time when a couple of the older brothers got into trouble. Dad would hitch them up on the old peach tree down the back of the yard and let them dangle by their braces. I was called Danny most of the time, and because I had blond hair, this changed to Snowy and sometimes Smiley as I always had a big smile.

Bendigo, where I was born and raised, had a lot of history—a city built on the foundations of the gold era in the Victoria Gold Rush during the 1850s. It was once the richest place on earth because of the gold. People came from all over the world, in particular the Chinese as they have formed a great part of Bendigo’s history and continue to the present day.

In 1908, Sidney Myer and his brother Elcon opened the first Myer store in Pall Mall, Bendigo. The brothers opened a second Bendigo store in 1911. Sidney Myer bought adjoining properties on Melbourne’s Bourke Street and opened the Myer Emporium. In 1915, this then became their head office. The original Myer Store remains today.

After the war, Bendigo flourished and showed steady growth and opportunities, even though it was the post-war. Many families struggled to make a living while others progressed and met the challenges of the ’40s and ’50s. It was this period, and early childhood and upbringing, that played a very import part of my determination later in my life due to coming from a poor family.

My father worked day and night to provide for us. He had a market garden, a large property near Pyramid Hill; the block we called it. This was some fifty miles from Bendigo, and on this property, Dad grew lots of vegetables that supplied the local market. We had a dog called Bluey. He was a blue healer, and he was a very smart dog, and what Bluey did was remarkable. It is still hard to fathom how he knew his way home from the block. Bluey was always with Dad when he worked in the market garden.

As I recall on this day, I was outside playing out front, and Bluey turned up. I ran inside and yelled Bluey had come home without Dad. This was very odd as the block was many miles away, in fact around fifty, and then we all felt something was wrong. One of my elder brothers, George, went to the block, and he found Dad lying facedown in the paddock. It was apparent and a shock to George that Dad had passed away. It was only for Bluey coming home to Bendigo that alarmed us that something was wrong.

I was just seven years old at the time, and my father died at the age of forty-five. This was tragic and had a significant impact on the whole family and a huge burden for my mother to survive and look after thirteen children.

My mother was now left with thirteen children to bring up. The youngest, Noel, was only three years old, and the eldest was Boy, only eighteen years of age. It was extremely hard to imagine how my mother managed to look after us all on her own. Not long after Dad died, my mother struggled and worked endlessly to provide for the family, which drew the attention of the Child Welfare Department as she was confronted by them seeking to take all the younger children away and we to become wards of the state.

On this day, two welfare officers arrived at the house, stood at the front door, and told my mother that they will take all the young ones away as she cannot or could not manage all these children on her own—inasmuch that the young ones will become wards of the state. My mother, in response to the two welfare officers who stood at the door, courageously picked up a broom that was resting at the front door and boldly told them in a nice and polite way that no way were they were taking any of her children. Defiantly she raised the broom at them and chased them out on to the street and shouted that they will never take her children away from her.

The overall incident (I remember it very well at that time as I was standing right beside her when they came to the front door) apparently was the way it was then. They—the system—did things in those days, and it was well known that the welfare could and would take children away without the consent of the parent/s.

It was well documented at that period that the Welfare Department took the indigenous children away from their parents as well as noncolored children, inasmuch as the Welfare Department took custody of children or a child from young girls who had children that the department felt that they could not support or who do not have support from the girl’s parents.

This structure of receivership and custody over children did come into force when a parent or parents abused or neglected their children, as on many a case along with alcohol- and drug-related issues. It was unfortunate that in my mother’s case, the welfare was trying to seize the children. It was none of the other cases listed, but through the misfortune of losing her husband tragically, with the task of being a great mother and provider for her children, as that was all that mattered to her, and all she wanted was her children, which was overlooked by the welfare system.

The Baptist church played a significant role in my mother’s life. She was raised as a Baptist, she had strict beliefs, and she attended church every Sunday and made sure that all the children attended Sunday school and took part in the morning service—nicely dressed and well presented with a bonus that she gave us a penny for the plate, even though it may have been my mother’s last penny. My mum was much loved by the church and well respected.

The gossip, which one could call rumors, spread around quickly about the welfare officers coming to our house. The minister at the Baptist church at the time heard about it, and so did most of the congregation. With my mother being a very staunch member of the church, the minister and members of the church decided to prevent Mother from losing her children. It was arranged that all the young children would go and stay at different church members’ homes—an ideal arrangement until Mother got back on her feet, so to speak, and she could cope looking after us again without being stressed and bullied by the authorities.

All of us young ones were billeted out to good homes. We were all loved and cared for. It’s worth noting that Welfare did come back to the house and, by this time, found that we were all settled in the various homes and being in the care of loving families. The minister of the church and the mayor at the time, along with church members, said there was absolutely nothing they (the authorities) could do about it, and the Welfare was duly notified by the church minister and the mayor of Bendigo.

I along with my brothers and sisters spent around six months away from our home. We all did get visits from Mum at the various homes we were all staying in. Each Sunday we would all catch up at Sunday school when Mum came to the church service. It was like a family reunion each week. My mum was a treasure, and how she handled all of us, as I look back, she made sure we were all well fed, clothed, and often and on most cases, she went without a lot of things herself.

The family I was privileged to stay with was a young newly married couple, and looking back on it now, I did give them a hard time. And being so young, just losing my father, and very unsettled as well as missing my mother and the rest from the family, I did cry a lot. But as time went on, I settled down as they were great people I stayed with. How grateful we were that the Baptist church rallied together to keep us all together as a family. The love and affection the minister and the parishioners did for our family was instilled in me throughout my life. There are so many bad things you hear about people, and this enshrined in me there are still very good people in this world who do lend a helping hand, particularly when people are in need, as I found out so early in my life.

My early life was not like a bed of roses. It was tough, but I would not change it for anything. I often envied kids who played sport with their dads, went camping, fishing; and when they talked about their dads, I missed that part of my life. Some of our older brothers did take me to the movies, or we played games.

We as a family always went to the annual Sunday School Picnic, allotted annually on the Melbourne Cup Day, a great church gathering, which took train rides on the huge steam train to a chosen location, but that was different from having your father around.

When growing up, I did see the event of television in 1956. It was September 16 and Channel 9, and Bruce Gyngell was the first person seen in-vision, introducing This Is Television. One of my older brothers, Milton, was a genius. He loved electronics, and he built his own television set, and we did see the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne in November that year. As I was a bit of a larrikin growing up and loved playing tricks on people in a fun manner, when the Olympic torch toured around Australia, I was then twelve years of age, and I dressed up in white shorts and T-shirt and made a replica of the Olympic torch, and I ran down the main street with the torch with a large flame coming out of the top. The streets were crowded. As I ran down with the torch, people applauded as they thought it was the real thing. I heard someone in the crowd yell out, It’s Danial Mason! It was a lot of fun until I was escorted off the road by a policeman who was not amused by my prank, and he said to me, You did fool us all.

At the age of fifteen, I had to leave school. Things were difficult for my mum, and she could not afford for me to continue with school. I remember the day very well as it was my fifteenth birthday. Mum said to me, Take this letter and give it to your teacher. I went off to school and handed my mother’s note to the teacher.

The teacher read the letter and said, Daniel, your mother cannot keep you at school any longer, and she wants you to leave today. The teacher was taken aback a little by the letter and could only reply, I am sorry, Daniel, that I had to tell you this.

My only response was that I never said a word to the teacher and was emotionally upset. I went to my locker in tears, packed all the books and other gadgets I had, and stuffed them into my schoolbag. I went home all upset and said to Mum, It’s my birthday, and I had to leave school today.

Mum put her arms around me and said, I know you will do well, but I just cannot afford to keep you at school any longer.

To me, the whole bizarre affair was a reality shock, and I thought, Welcome to the big wide world. What unfolds, unfolds.

The next day I looked for a job, and the first place I went to was an exceptionally large variety store, which was situated in the main street of the town. I went to the main office and asked if they needed any workers. I was taken quickly to have an interview with the manager. I was so nervous, and after the interview, he said that I could I start the next day. He also said, Your brother John also works here. I said yes, and he did not know I had applied here for a job. I wanted to do this on my own. Good for you, he replied.

I started work at the variety store the next day, and I was put in the storeroom, this being my brother’s department. My pay was three shillings and sixpence for a whole forty hours per week. I thought I was in heaven having money to spend; I did give Mum most of it and kept what was left over for myself.

In the late ’50s and into the ’60s, self-serve grocery chains opened around Australia with threats of overtaking the small grocery shops. With the new threat of the supermarket, a new self-serve supermarket was opening in the town and looking for staff, as this was now the new era in grocery. I decided that I needed to move on, and having worked at the variety store for well over twelve months. I applied for a job, and I started there as an apprentice grocer.

I worked in the grocery business for over four years, and during this period, I met James, and we had a lot in common and got on rather well. We became great mates, and we spent a lot of time after work to go to football as oddly enough, we found out we both barracked for the same team. In 1964, we went with others from work to see the Beatles concert at Festival Hall in Melbourne. It was just hysteria, and the screaming was so loud, you could not hear them sing. At least we were there, and as years rolled on, the Beatles created history as their music and hysteria made them famous worldwide.

At the age of eighteen, I became assistant manager and then relieving manager and travelled around Victoria working at New World Grocery Stores operated by G. J. Coles. I left school at an early age, which made me a different person, and at the time, I did not understand many things. With the thought there would be no tomorrow, I did not have the education that I wanted or even needed. However, I made up for it by sheer determination, a willingness to learn, and I strived to do better by working hard and showed enthusiasm and took on any job given to me, where I found it was my success, and I did not need an advanced education. My willingness to work hard and learn was my success.

1962: Vietnam War

In 1962, the Vietnam War had broken out, sending almost sixty thousand Australians, including ground troops and air force and navy personnel, to Vietnam where 521 died because of the war and over three thousand were wounded. By the end of the year, it had committed two hundred thousand troops to the conflict. In that year, compulsory national service for twenty-year-old males was introduced under the National Service Act of 1964. I had just turned twenty-one and was in the lottery draw, which was called the Vietnam Lottery for Service. The selection of conscripts was made by a sortation, which, in governance, sortition is also known as selection by lottery. This was the selection process of political officials as random samples from a larger pool of candidates or what they called a lottery draw based on date of birth. All conscripts were then obligated to give two years’ continuous full-time service, followed by a further three years on the active reserve list. In 1966, the Australian Task Force was committed to Vietnam, and on March 8, 1966, it was announced that the Australian Battalion in South Vietnam will be replaced by a larger task force under Australian command consisting of 4,500 men.

I was very fortunate I missed out on the lottery draw by two days that was carried out in March in 1966, and I was not conscripted; but one of my best mates, Alex, whom I grew up with, did get conscripted, and he was one of the ones who did not come home. One of my best mates, David, who lived three doors down from where I lived, joined the air force. As history tells us, many Australians lost their lives, and there was a lot of controversy that surrounded the Vietnam War, and plenty of protests were held around Australia.

1964: The Beatles Tour Australia

It was June 14, 1964, when the Beatles came to Melbourne, and they stayed at the Southern Cross Hotel in Bourke Street, Melbourne. It was estimated around one million people were outside of the hotel and filled the whole street, and they made their famous appearances on the balcony of the hotel and later at the Melbourne city hall. I was there with James and friends to witness this, and then three days later, we all went to the Beatles concert. This was a memorable occasion. The concert was held on June 17, 1964. The noise during the concert was electric, and you could not hear them sing. The girls were screaming and fainting; it was unbelievable to see. One thing was that I was there to witness such an iconic event.

The Concert as Reported in the Newspapers.

It was an iconic performance from the Festival Hall. It was the thick of Beatlemania. The band graced the country for thirteen incredible performances. The lineup consisted of John, Paul, George, and fill-in drummer Jimmie Nicol—Ringo missed the tour due to illness.

2

The Next Chapter in My Life

We arrived in New Zealand Airport, and it was around eight thirty, not long since dark. We picked up our luggage from the baggage hall. I turned to James. Right. Let’s ring that hotel and check out our reservations. We quickly located the airport’s phone booths, and I called the hotel where we had booked before coming over, and we planned to stay for the night. And rather disappointing and frustrating, I found out they did not hold our booking, and the only option that we had do was to find somewhere else to stay. I said to James, This is a great start to our venture.

Not knowing our next move, or for that matter where we would stay for the night, sleeping in the airport’s lounge was an option. I noticed large tourist posters showing major tourist sites and another large sign, Visitors’ Kiosk. Under the heading was written New Zealand Government Tourist Bureau. We wandered over to the visitors’ kiosk where a woman of Māori heritage met us.

I explained to her that the hotel did not hold our booking, and we had nowhere to sleep for the night. She beamed with enthusiasm. No worries. We’ll just have to find somewhere for you two boys. Very efficient, well-organized, very lovely manner, and helpful, she smartly called around to various hotels and hostels and very quickly found a hotel in the city. She had the right approach, and we got a good introduction to a new country. She was very pleasant and welcomed us both to New Zealand. This was the first time I met a Māori and was very impressed, and she gave me a slip of paper with the address on it and said the hotel was expecting us. She turned and picked up a phone. You boys hang on for a minute. You’ll need a cab to get you to that hotel. We waited no more than several minutes; she put the phone down and said, There’s a cab waiting for you outside in the taxi rank, just outside our main exit door.

We sat back in the cab, relaxed, as now things did not seem all that bad. The Māori taxi driver was a very chatty fellow, and he asked, Where you boys from?

We told him we were from Melbourne.

He laughed. Maybe I will see Melbourne sometime? He pulled up in front of the hotel right in the city center. I paid the driver and thanked him. He smiled, and then he asked me if I could pay him in Australian dollars as Australian currency was worth more in New Zealand. I said that I am sorry because I exchanged my money at the airport. After I paid him for the fare, he said, You guys have an enjoyable time, and welcome to New Zealand.

The first night was a bit ordinary. It was a low-budget hotel, not that flashy, but will get us through to the next day as our next move was to find a flat or unit where we could stay.

The next day we went to a local estate agent in Auckland, where we were told that there was a shortage of flats and units. The cost was, at that point, over the top, and knowing that we had to find somewhere to stay, the agent said, "We have a listing of a boardinghouse in Herne Bay very close to the city, and it has some vacancies. I am sure it will be suitable for you and your friend. You would have your own room, but share the bathroom, kitchen, and lounge."

I said to him Yes, it sounds ideal. We will take that. I agreed as we had to have a place to stay.

We hurried out to Herne Bay in a taxi with our luggage and arrived at the boardinghouse in Mascot Avenue, which had a great view across the harbor. We were greeted by the landlord, and he was a "Pom, a rather tall person, and he had strict rules. He said, No parties, no girls allowed, and pay your rent on time. Keep the kitchen clean and your room. There is cleaning stuff in the cupboard and a vacuum cleaner, and I will do a weekly inspection."

The place was very old and a bit dumpy, and we had no option but to take it. Jimmy and I paid the landlord four weeks in advance, so with that, we moved in and quickly settled in. Later that day, we met up with the others who stayed at the boardinghouse as this was a very large boardinghouse with many rooms. All the boarders congregated in the communal lounge. Most of the people staying there were on working holidays like we were, except one who was a permanent, and he was hard at times to understand.

The next important thing to do was to find some work, as we did come over with limited cash as we were told there was plenty of work in New Zealand. I had exceptionally good references from my church and employer back home in Australia along with character references as they were important if you were looking for work.

The following day, it was a Tuesday. I went to one of the large department stores, and my interview went very well; and with my experience in retail and management and the employment manager really liking my references, I started the next day. This was great as at least I could start earning some money. And that day as well, James got a job in a downtown hotel as he had particularly valuable experience in working in hotels as a barman, apart from his supermarket experience.

We both decided to have a beer and celebrate, so we headed off to Ponsonby, an inner-city suburb of Auckland located two kilometers west of the Auckland CBD, all just a ten-minute drive from the city center. We went into a local pub called the Glue Pot, which was close on the way back to our boardinghouse.

On entering the pub, we realized that it was full of smoke and very noisy, and I noticed it was full of islanders and Māoris, and we were the only whites in the place. I looked at Jimmy and said that I was not sure if we should stay here or not. Immediately as I said this, a big Māori guy came up to us.

He was at least six foot six, and he said to me, Bro, where you boys from?

We replied, From Melbourne, Australia.

He said he’d never been to Melbourne but had been to Sydney. He asked, How long you boys been here?

We said, A couple of days.

He then invited us over to his table, and he said to meet his brothers, as he called them. We had a few beers with them, and I found that the Māori people were lovely and friendly. They told stories about the All Blacks as rugby was like a religion to them. We did not stay much longer than we expected.

Well, after leaving the pub, I said to Jimmy, The people here are very friendly and amazing and made us very welcome. I learned this area was predominantly islanders and not so many Māoris lived in this area.

We did visit that pub a few times, and each time they remembered us from the first time. It was convenient as the trolley bus stopped right outside, and we used to get off there and then walk from the pub to our boardinghouse.

I started work the next day at the department store, and I was placed in their food court. This suited me down to the ground as it was exceedingly small, like a mini supermarket. I found the store staff exceptionally good, and I soon fit into my job. The manager said that next year, New Zealand will be changing over to decimal currency, and it would be an immense help as I had just experienced this changeover in Australia.

I agreed and said, I can be of great assistance as it went very smoothly as long as you have the right training for staff well before the event.

The store department manager, Mr. Sheldon, agreed with me, and he said I could call him Peter, and we did get on very well.

I celebrated my twenty-second birthday during my first week in New Zealand. Peter, along with Jimmy, and I invited a few others from work to get more acquainted with them, and we all went out to dinner. Peter suggested a nice restaurant in Auckland we could go to dine and have a few drinks. We all had a good time, and I made sure it was not a late night because of work the next day.

As time moved on, Jimmy and I settled into Auckland, and we had good jobs, which paid well. We were living in the suburb of Herne Bay where I eventually became a member of the local Presbyterian Church. On Christmas Day, James and I went to the Christmas Day Service, and we were invited to Christmas dinner with one of the church leaders, a Mrs. Fields, and both of us went there, and we had a lovely Christmas dinner and spent the rest of the day at her house. She worked as a receptionist/nurse at a doctor’s surgery. Dr. Henderson was also an elder at the church.

Mrs. Fields was a widower, and we became particularly good friends. She helped me in many ways in my early days in New Zealand. She was a devout Christian, and she had lost her husband due to a serious illness, and she also liked the company of other people, and often she invited us to her place.

It was through Mrs. Fields that I learnt a lot about New Zealand, and it was through her that I became a Sunday school teacher at the church. I think having a connection also with the church did help me in many ways as this enabled me to meet a lot of new people of all ages, from the young and old, and helped me settle into the country much easier.

The department store where I was working was closed over Christmas, and I had the normal Christmas period holiday and would start back on January 2. In this period, Jimmy did not waste time in finding a girlfriend, as he met her at the hotel where he was working. And on New Year’s Eve, Jimmy and his girlfriend and I all went to downtown Auckland to ring in the New Year of 1967. My first two months in New Zealand was great, meeting people and landing an excellent job, and I became very settled in many ways.

When I was in Australia working in supermarkets, I had an uncanny knack for picking out shoplifters and catching them. Most times it was because of their unusual behavior. Now while I was at the store for just a short time, I noticed different staff going to the in-store post office sometimes on a daily basis. To me, this looked very suspicious. I mentioned this to my manager, and he said, We will look into this, so a store detective was alerted. Within a week, the loophole was closed down as some staff were sending parcels out without paying for the goods. The issue was also the store has a post office right opposite the food hall and was easy for staff to steal stock and send this out to relatives and friends. The post office staff would not think of this as out of the ordinary as they thought it was customer purchases. I know this finding was appreciated by the management, and they never told anyone who the source was who detected this. The store detective was not doing his job.

3

1967—The Year I Met Claire

Well, another year had gone, and who knows what this year would bring. I started back at the department store, and it was good to get back earning some money again. The following Sunday was January 7, and New Zealand held the Formula One car race, so I went along with Jimmy James. We headed on a bus to Pukekohe, which was down south of Auckland. I was very interested in Formula One car racing and thought this was also a good way to see some more of New Zealand.

Going down on the bus, I could not get over how plush and green everything was. We arrived around 10:00 a.m. and soon found a good advantage spot to see the race, and as I recall, the race had nineteen starters, and it was a great day with plenty of crashes. Jackie Stewart won the race, and our Australian Jack Brabham crashed out, and it was not far from where we were watching the race. On the way back, there was a fatal car crash at a railway crossing, which held up the traffic for miles, and we arrived back in Auckland some three hours later than anticipated.

Well, my hopes and dreams to venture on from New Zealand, as what we both planned, may not be on the agenda anymore. It was this year when I met Claire. I never would have dreamt that I would meet a girl and stay in New Zealand. Our plans to go to Canada was not even mentioned as Jimmy found himself a nice girl and was now content to stay on in New Zealand.

I loved my work in the department store and made friends with many. I found most people I met easy to get along with, and the people at the church, in particular Mrs. Fields, was like a mother figure to me. There were many times, being away from home in Australia, I had my moments, and after chatting with her, things seemed a lot better. Most Sundays after church, she would have us over for either lunch or dinner. I offered to bring something, but she insisted we don’t as she appreciated our company.

It is strange how things seem to fall into place as I settled back into work after the Christmas and New Year break. The work I was doing was well recognized by the management, particularly Peter, whom I did get on very well with. He told me that training for decimal currency conversion was starting soon, and he said with my experience, I should be part of the team. So in early February, I was selected to work with the management team in the main office on the staff decimal currency conversion training.

So fate happened as this was where I met Claire. I did often see this young girl around the store and thought I would love to meet her; she was very attractive, and I used to see her glide past, and she was wearing a pink smock, and so did other women who worked in the office. So I then guessed right—she was one of the office staff.

The day I started in the head office, I did get a chance to say hello to her. She was working at her desk, and I introduced myself to her. She said, I know who you are as you have only been here a few months, and I do your pay-up each week.

I said, I would love to meet up with you some time, and we may have a coffee after work.

She said to me, I will think about that.

Oh, I thought I may have a chance here, so I did see her often in the office. We said hello to each other. On this day I was in the staff canteen; I went there most days as the food there was exceptionally good and only then one pound per meal as this was subsidized by the company. This day I was in the queue buying my lunch, and Claire was in front of me. I leaned over and said quietly, Do you want to share a table with me?

Claire replied in her soft voice, Yes, I would like that. Claire waited for me until I got my lunch, and I picked out a table for us both. We sat down, and Claire spoke in a very quiet voice, and we chatted over lunch, mainly about where I came from and what I was doing in New Zealand and if I planned to stay.

I said, Depends, I suppose. This is a great country, and the people here are very friendly, and I just love the Māori culture. We seemed to hit it off, and over the next few weeks, we did.

We met regularly for lunch at the staff canteen. I eventually got the courage to ask Claire out. I suggested to Claire we could see a movie or dinner.

Claire replied, Yes, I would love to. Before you take me out, you will have to meet my parents first.

I was a bit taken back by this. Oh well, I thought, if that is what a man has to do to take her out, so be it. I said this was fine by me. I was not sure how old Claire was, and one day at the canteen, she told me that she would turn eighteen soon.

Claire told me, My father is very protective of me. My mother is too, but not like my father.

With that, I arranged to meet her parents on the following Saturday afternoon as they lived on the North Shore. I had to board a bus that went over the Harbour Bridge. I could have taken the ferry, but I decided the bus would be quicker.

I finally arrived at Claire’s place. Their house was on the main highway Ocean Road, and luckily, it was not far from the bus stop. I walked up the pathway, and I knocked on the door. In a few minutes, the door opened, and a stubby man stood there. He seemed rather youngish-looking, and he said, You’re Daniel? I said yes, and he shook my hand and said, I am Kevin. Please come in.

Then Claire appeared at the door, and she said, I see you already have met my dad. With that, she introduced me to her mother, Rose; then there was her older brother, James; and the younger brother, John.

On first appearance, I thought, What a lovely family.

Rose, her mother, said, Claire has told us a lot about you.

I was invited to have lunch with them. Rose fussed over me and made sure I had plenty to eat. After lunch, we all ventured into the lounge room, and Kevin, Claire’s father, said, You plan to take Claire out?

I said, Yes, if you are okay with that.

He replied, Yes. You seem like a pretty decent fellow.

It was arranged then, so I said I would take Claire out to dinner as seeing it was our first date, so to speak; and if Claire agreed going to a restaurant, then that was what we would do.

Kevin said, I will bring Claire into the city around 7:00 p.m., and we can meet in Hobson Street.

I said, I will then bring her home.

Kevin said in a stern voice, Make sure it’s not too late as she is only seventeen, you know.

Claire yelled out, Yeah, Dad, I will be eighteen soon.

We all chatted for a while, and Kevin told me about his work where he was a supervisor in a food processing plant, and Rose worked in a clothing factory a few days a week. James was a builder and an exceptionally good football player, and John was still at school as he was ten years of age, the youngest of the family. Well, that was the family I had met, and this family becomes a major part of the story that unfolds.

Rose said to me, When you bring Claire home tonight, you can stay here as we have a spare room.

I said, Thank you. I will take you up on the offer. I then added, I will get a cab from the city to make sure I get her home on time.

Rose said, Do not take much of her father as his bark is worse than his bite, and she laughed. I did observe her father was watching the races and had a big bottle of pint-sized beer.

It was around 3:00 p.m. when I left Claire’s place, and I caught the bus back into the city. Kevin did offer to take me, but I said, No. It’s okay. I will catch the bus. At this point, I did not have a car, so I had to rely on buses and taxis.

When I arrived back in the city and caught the trolley bus back that stops at the end of my street, it was getting very late in the afternoon and not much time to get ready. I had a shower, and I put on my best suit. Around six thirty, I caught the trolley bus back into the city and arrived around 7:00 p.m. where Claire’s father, Kevin, was dropping her off in Wyndham Street near the hotel. I was there only a few minutes when Kevin pulled into a parking bay, and Claire got out of the car. I thanked her dad and said to Claire she looked so lovely. Claire suggested the hotel in Wyndam Street. Claire said they have good food there, and her family had been there many times before. I said this was good enough for me.

We walked to the entrance, and the bouncer at the front door said I was too young to go in. He then said, Your girl can, and I was taken aback by this.

I said to the bouncer, I am twenty-two years of age, and he then asked for ID, but I did not have a license or any ID to show him.

He said, Sorry, you cannot come in, so we had to leave the hotel.

I thought, This is a great start for our first date.

Claire said, I know a good restaurant, but we would have to grab a cab as it’s in Khyber Pass.

I hailed a cab, and we shortly arrived at the restaurant. It was the El Matador, and it looked impressive. As we did not have a reservation, however, we were lucky they had a table for two left.

It was said to us Saturday nights are usually hard to get into the restaurants unless you book. Lucky for us, there was a cancellation. We were shown to our table by the