By JESSE GRAHAM
JAMES Charles Melrose (Jim) has been remembered of a man who held his community close to his heart.
A councillor in the Shire of Healesville for nine years, a shire president for two terms, a firefighter with Badger Creek and a man who surrounded himself with friends and family – that’s how his daughter, Darlene, remembers him.
Born on 23 March 1939 in Yarrawonga to Jack and Allie Melrose, Jim moved to Healesville when he was seven years old in 1946 and was a student at St Brigid’s and Healesville Primary School.
He later left town and moved to Sydney, and during his time away from Healesville, he worked in a number of areas – including as a foreman when the roof was placed on Tullamarine Airport.
In 1976, Jim, his wife Beth and his family moved back to town to settle down.
“During that time, he got involved in a lot of communities, and was instrumental in a lot of things we take for granted,” Darlene said.
The Don Road Sporting Complex, the Healesville Tennis Clubhouse and a number of other structures around the town all had Jim’s fingerprints on them, according to his daughter, who said he was deeply involved in connecting to people in his world.
A poignant moment in his career as a councillor was meeting Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, along with the late Princess Diana and Prince Charles, as a representative for the town.
Beth told the Mail that he was respectful to those around him, and got on with anyone he spoke to.
“He had an eclectic mix of friends,” his wife, Beth, told the Mail.
“He treated the garbage man the same as a king, and was always courteous around the police and around women.
“He was a bloke’s bloke – he loved to fix cars, loved his motorbikes, and was never happier than when he was slashing paddocks.’
Beth and Jim owned a garden supplies business in Healesville for 12 years, which Beth said was inspired by Jim wanting to connect to his town even more.
“We opened it because he was on the council and he thought he needed to know how businesses were run in Healesville,” she said.
“He opened it so he would have first-hand knowledge of the problems they were facing.”
The pair met in 1957 at a dance at the Box Hill Town Hall, and were married in 1960 at St Luke’s in Vermont, later having four children – Debbie (deceased), Dearne, Deirdre and Darlene.
Outside of his council work, Jim was a board member at the Badger Creek Primary School, won gold medals at the World Masters Games in 2002 for shooting and even fought the Ash Wednesday fires with the Badger Creek CFA.
Darlene said that Jim always loved sports, and “anything that went fast”, owning a Harley Davidson when he was 18 and having a strong interest in rally driving and Porsche racing.
Darlene and Beth said that Jim was a man of innumerable talents and interests, and that his impact on the world around him was made obvious when over 300 people attended his funeral on 7 November.
Jim died suddenly after suffering a stroke on 29 October 2014.
He was a husband to Beth, a father to Dearne, Deirdre, Debbie and Darlene, a brother to Annette, a father-in-law to Rob, Ben, Adam and Glen; a grand-dad to Katherine, Michael, Natalie, Tori, Candi, Cleo, Lexi, Darcy, Baxter, Anika, Keith, Nichole and Dan; a great-grand-dad to Izach and Naite; and had an impact on countless other lives in his time.
