The story of a good citizen

A LONE pillar on the edge of Barrack Reserve is all that remains of a tribute to one of Heathcote’s quiet achievers.

It was once part of a set of ornate gates erected in memory of William “Bill” George Story.

He was born in Heathcote in 1885 to Robert and Elizabeth Story, and he was the eldest of seven children.

When Robert died in October 1900, after being thrown from a horse, Bill stepped up, taking a much greater level of responsibility for his mother and siblings.

In Bill’s obituary, the McIvor Times noted that “the success he made of his life work was a tribute to his zeal, integrity and inherent ability.”

After Robert Story’s death, Heathcote residents immediately rallied to the aid of the young family and Bill repaid their kindness with decades of community service to the town.

He had started work at 13 with a very brief stint at the McIvor Times but quickly moved into auctioneering, joining Harry Bradshaw and company.

After this he worked in the successive firms of W Watkins, Watkins and Kilroy, and Kilroy and Hendy, and in 1921 he became a partner with George Kilroy creating the firm of Kilroy and Story.

They were in business for 28 years until George retired in 1949 and Bill carried on as district manager.

He married Marion Smith in 1910 and they had two children, Robert and Jean.

Story was active in the formation of the fire brigade and served in executive positions as well as being an active firefighter.

The brass band and the hospital fete committees also benefitted from his secretarial skills and he was a driving force behind the Back to Heathcote events held in the 1920s.

In his youth he was an avid sportsman with particular skills in running and on the football field, and in later years he was a keen bowler and president of the Heathcote Bowling Club.

His football prowess led to him being scouted by St Kilda but he turned them down, electing to stay in Heathcote.

Legend has it that a young Nellie Melba presented him with a trophy after a race win at Colbinabbin.

A love of speed also resulted in him falling foul of the law in 1905.

He was one of six young men charged with “furious riding” after a cycle race up and down the High Street where they reached estimated speeds of 18 mph, or about 29 km/h.

No conviction was recorded and each of the young men made a contribution to the poor box before leaving the court.

This incident appears to be a one-off for a man who later became a stalwart of the local Presbyterian church.

He was also a lifelong teetotaller and a Freemason for several years, as well as a McIvor Shire councillor, shire president in 1944, a water trust member, a reserves committee member and a justice of the peace.

But perhaps his most lasting public contribution was to the Heathcote Agricultural, Horticultural and Pastoral Society, more commonly known as the show society.

He began by assisting his employer Harry Bradshaw in his role as show secretary, and then took on the position himself from 1917 to 1947.

The McIvor Times noted that “his flair for organisation was never better exemplified than in connection with the Society and the success of the annual spring show and the reputation which the Society achieved was almost entirely due to the goodwill which Bill Story’s personality engendered.”

By the late 1940s his health was failing, possibly exacerbated by smoke exposure when fighting a fire at Redesdale.

In May 1950 he caught influenza and died at Heathcote Hospital.

The shire president, Cr Knight, paid tribute saying Story was “respected and honoured.”

“I think without exception that the passing of Cr Story is the biggest blow the council and the people of Heathcote, and the shire generally, have received for a long time,” Cr Knight said.

“I feel that it is no exaggeration to say that with his passing the town has lost the best citizen it ever produced.”

A committee was formed to raise money for a memorial and by 29 November 1950 the total had reached £87.

Cr Knight said he had hoped it would have been possible to erect another room at Heathcote’s comforts station to serve as an Infant Welfare Centre in memory of Cr Story, but there was not enough money for that.

“After discussion, it was decided that the memorial take the form of wrought iron gates to the reserve,” he said.