SOME of the institutions, we may now take for granted, in Singleton came about because of the generous spirit of members of the Bourke family.
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Two members of this wonderful community-minded family were recently recognised when they were inducted into the Wambo Coal Singleton Hall of Fame.
The late husband and wife Aubrey and Mollie Bourke were inducted in the category meritorious family, thereby joining two other family members Henry (Harry) Bourke and Clive Bourke, who were given a similar honour into the Hall of Fame in 2014.
Patriarch of the family, Harry, appears to have instilled into his sons Clive and Aubrey the importance of serving your community.
Our ambulance service, town band, aged care, civic centre, school’s P&Cs, horticultural society, sporting and church organisations and so much more were all developed and assisted by members of the Bourke family.
Even our blood supplies, before a proper blood bank was established in town, were often reliant in this case on Aubrey Bourke.
Mr Bourke’s daughter Ruth Klasen said her father, whose blood type was O positive (universal donor), was often rung late at night to come to the hospital to give blood.
“Dad started donating blood in the early 1960s and he was always rung at night mostly due to accidents to give blood,” she said.
“At that time there was no way to store blood so dad went out on a regular basis to help someone injured.
“Only once he was told he was needed during daylight hours to assist a mother who lost a great deal of blood while giving birth.
“You were only allowed to give blood every three months but dad rarely made that date, usually giving blood every 10-11 weeks.”
Her parents were both born and bred Singletonians and very proud of their hometown.
Her father worked with his father Harry and brother Clive in Harry Bourke and Sons menswear store in John Street (located near today’s Bourke Arcade).
In 1939, he joined the army rising to the rank of lieutenant and seeing active service in Borneo.
He married Mollie in 1943 and the couple lived for many years in Gas Street, raising two children Ruth and Clem.
At their home the couple developed a beautiful garden which in 1971 came second in the Sydney Morning Herald garden competition.
They were founding members of the Singleton Horticultural Society and regularly competed in the horticultural section of the Singleton Show.
Mrs Bourke provided blooms for her Singleton Methodist Church and, one time, Mrs Klasen remembers gathering lilies from near Abbey Green for a church floral display.
“Mum put the lilies in a bucket on the front verandah,” she said.
“Unfortunately, it was the night of the 1955 flood and she was very upset to see them along with our deck chairs float away.
“Worse though we had to scramble onto our roof as the house was inundated.”
While her father was busy with his work and time spent in the town band and various other activities, Mrs Klasen said her mother was the queen of the kitchen.
“There wouldn’t be too many people in Singleton not to have eaten something mum had cooked as a fundraiser,” she said.
“Mum was best known for her sponges, slices and cheese cakes – all made in her tiny kitchen and all to support worthy local causes.”
Mrs Bourke’s great passion was the establishment of an aged care facility in town.
To that end, she spoke to Clive Gates who, on his death, bequeathed the land that now houses Alroy Hostel and Elizabeth Gates Nursing Homes.
Elizabeth Gates opened in 1964 with 12 beds.
“Mum told us she was going to get the then Governor General Sir John Northcott to open the facility and we all laughed at her saying he won’t come mum,” she said.
“Well, we were all wrong and he came on May 23, 1964, and opened the facility.
“Mum gave him a coffee table made from local timber sourced from Gould Bros.
“She was very happy to see that facility built.”
In their retirement after the shop closed in the late 1970s the couple remained active in their community with Aubrey pruning many locals’ roses and Mollie still busy cooking.
“One Christmas, mum single-handedly made143 Christmas puddings to raise funds for Elizabeth Gates,” Mrs Klasen said.
“And even with Alzheimer’s Disease, mum would take dad out of the nursing home and he could still weed gardens.
“They were an amazing hard working couple who did a great deal for our community.”
Aubrey died in 2006 and his wife in 2011 – as their Hall of Fame category states, they were one of our truly meritorious families.