Jill Sebire has compiled a book of people’s memories on life in the Wandin district.By Melissa Donchi
FROM a very early age Jill Sebire loved to listen to her grandmother’s stories about growing up all those years ago.
So it was no surprise to those who know Ms Sebire that she would go on to compile a book of memories about other people’s lives.
When Ms Sebire met her husband Alvin more than 40 years ago his mother told her about their family’s history in Wandin.
“I thought it would be nice to share their story and approach some other people in the district about their stories,” Ms Sebire said.
As I Remember: Memories of Life in the Wandin District is a collection of 39 memories of life in the Wandin community compiled by Ms Sebire.
Many of the contributors were children during the time of the Depression and World War II giving these dark years a carefree innocence that is not often found in ordinary history books.
Memories include working with their parents on the farm, trips for supplies to the general store and the little classrooms at Wandin Yallock Primary.
Judith Adeney remembers looking forward to birthdays and Christmas as well as the Sunday School Anniversary, the Harvest Festival, the Sunday School picnic, Guy Fawkes night and the Wandin Show.
“The Wandin Show was held on the Wandin Recreation Reserve,” Ms Adeney said. “I recall foot races, wood chops, lucky dips with gifts buried in large barrels of sawdust, sheaf tossing and the event I hated — the greasy pig chase!”
It took Ms Sebire a little over two years to complete the book as many of the contributing authors were old and some correspondence was lost.
“I have to emphasise that it’s not an academic history cross-checked and referenced,” Ms Sebire said, “It’s a collection of memories of life in the Wandin district as written by the individual.”
One of the most remarkable stories in the Wandin district is of the Sebire family whose history in the area dates back to the 1880s.
The historic homestead Mont De Lancey was built by hand by Henry Sebire, a stonemason by trade, for his wife Martha and their children.
The name Mont De Lancey was derived from Delancey Lane, St Sampson, Guernsey, which was Henry’s former family home.
It was the home of the Sebire family from 1880 until late 1991 when it was donated to the community.
Mont De Lancey now consists of a museum, heritage room, chapel, gardens, homestead, slab kitchen, dairy, a working blacksmiths and the newly renovated Les Chesselles Cafe.
