by Ken Curnow O.A.M.
Rupert Curnow rode with the 8th Light Horse Regiment in Harry Chauvel’s mounted forces in the Sinai and Palestine from 1917 until victory in 1918, leaving the Army in 1919. Overcoming health problems that arose during his war service, he was an outstanding citizen who later helped returning service men and women after World War II. As the Member of Parliament for Ivanhoe, he served his community in many ways, most notably in education and health services.
My father, Rupert Curnow was born in Ballarat, Victoria on the 30th of October 1898, the only son of Josiah and Florence Curnow (nee Daws). He was educated at a Ballarat Primary School and later at Ballarat Grammar School, obtaining his Matriculation in 1915. He entered Melbourne University in 1916, commencing a degree in Medicine.
He enlisted in the Australian Military Forces on the 5th of January 1917 and was posted to B Squadron, 8th Light Horse Regiment on the 2nd of February 1917. He embarked from Australia at Melbourne on His Majesty’s Australian Troopship A73 “Commonwealth” on the 2nd of November 1917 for Palestine – and the Australian Desert Mounted Corps, under the command of Lieutenant General Sir Harry Chauvel.
He was wounded in the Jordan Valley and spent some time in a military hospital in Jerusalem. On discharge from hospital, he returned to his unit to take part in the advance to Damascus, and later Aleppo. Rupert was promoted to Corporal before war’s end, becoming part of the force that remained in Palestine until later in 1919.
Rupert returned to Australia on the “Malta” on the 7th of July 1919 and he was discharged from the Military Forces in August 1919, having spent some two and a half years in the Light Horse, mainly in Palestine, returning just before his 21st Birthday.
The unsettling nature of military service, living in the harsh deserts of the Middle East, the stress of military service – often under enemy fire – being wounded and hospitalized in Jerusalem, had disturbing effects on him and many who served in the First World War. This was not conducive for Rupert to return to study medicine at Melbourne University.
He decided to apply for a parcel of land that was being offered to soldiers returning from overseas service in the 1914-18 war under the “Soldier Settlement Scheme”. This was designed to give the men returning from active service a parcel of land to develop and make a living.
As many had no experience of life on the land, they had to spend 12 months gaining some knowledge of the land. The year 1921 saw him spend 12 months jackarooing on the famous “Overflow Station”, a 50,000-acre property in Central NSW highlighted in some of Banjo Patterson’s poems and stories. The ‘Overflow Station’ was situated North West of Condobolin at Bobadah to Nymagee south of the Nyngan Cobar section of the Barrier Highway.
In August 1922, he was granted 400 acres at Biggara east of Corryong Victoria under the “Soldier Settlement Scheme” to take immediate possession.
On the 16th of November 1923, he married Eileen Adeline Purcell, originally from Limavady Northern Ireland, at St John’s Church of England in Camberwell, a suburb of Melbourne.
There were no buildings on the land so he and Eileen lived in a tent for the first eighteen months while building a two-room slab cottage in which to live. In 1929, while living in the cottage, Rupert and Eileen had a daughter Kathleen Mary who died shortly after birth. In 1932 a son, Kenneth Rupert Murray, was born.
Rupert was elected to the Upper Murray Shire Council in 1929. Five years later, in 1934 ill health due to general debilitation through war service and severe asthma attacks, which first became evident in the deserts of Palestine through 1917-1919, and compounded at Biggara, caused he and Eileen to leave the Biggara property. It was to be for a period to seek medical attention, and a neighbour was left to share farm the dairy.
They moved to his father’s residence at “The Olives” in Buckland Street (now known as Rosanna Road) Heidelberg, a suburb of Melbourne. With medical attention, his health improved and he was appointed to the board of the Army Repatriation Commission, assisting returning military personnel being repatriated from service in the Second World War 1939-45.
In 1944 Rupert contested the Federal Parliamentary seat of Corio, in Geelong Victoria, as the United Australia Party candidate. At that time, the United Australia Party was led by Sir Robert Menzies who later became Prime Minister of Australia from 1949 until 1965.
The United Australia Party changed its name to the Liberal Party in 1946, and it still bears that name today. The sitting member for Corio was John Dedmann, Deputy Prime Minister in the Curtin war time Labour government, who eventually retained the seat at the 1944 election.
In 1947, Rupert contested the Victorian State Government seat of Ivanhoe as the Liberal Party candidate, winning the seat by a large majority, and he entered the Victorian State Parliament.
Rupert was an active member of the Ivanhoe branch of the Liberal Party. His friends of this period were many of the ex-servicemen and women he had assisted in their repatriation from military service. Some of the people he helped became noted identities in both the civilian and the political fields through the years following the war.
Rupert assisted Sister Vivian Bullwinkle who was a lone survivor from a Japanese massacre and internment. On her return to Australia, he helped with her repatriation into post war rehabilitation. She later became matron of the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital and a noted hospital administrator during the latter part of the last century.
Other members of the Victorian Parliament who were elected in that period were William Kent-Hughes, a former member of the 8th Light Horse and Sir Henry Bolte, both former Ballarat Grammar students. Sir Henry Bolte later became a long-serving Premier of Victoria for 19 years. They became close associates during this period of his life.
Another close associate was a former neighbour from his Biggara days and owner of Towong Hill, Corryong, Thomas Mitchell and his wife Elyne.
Tom Mitchell was elected as member for Benambra in the Victorian Parliament in 1947, serving for many years, at one time being appointed as Victoria’s Attorney General, under the John McDonald Country Party Government. Tom Mitchell’s wife Elyne was the daughter of Sir Harry Chauvel, commander of the ANZAC Mounted Division (and later the Desert Mounted Corps) in Palestine between 1915 and 1918, under whom Rupert served during the war years.
As with all members of Parliament, he would get calls from the general public to rectify the large and small complaints that they had, ranging from blocked sewers to trains running late, or streets that had not been swept. People believed the local Member of Parliament ought to have influence with every Government institution and local municipal council!
During his tenure as the Member for Ivanhoe, he sourced the land for the establishment of the Banyule Primary School. Eventually the school was built and currently one of his great-grandsons is at the school.
He did much to increase the size of the Austin Hospital which today is a huge complex and many patients from around the state of Victoria are sent there for specialist treatment.
In late 1949 Rupert’s health declined rapidly as a legacy of his war service and other health problems that manifested from lung infections and asthma, and he died on the 18th of December 1950 at the age of 52. Rupert was interned in the Warringal Cemetery Heidelberg.
The dairy farm at Biggara was kept through the years with the assistance of share farmers. This provided an income to Eileen and the family after Rupert’s death. In 1958 a long-established share farmer on the property purchased a farm and was leaving the property.
A decision had to be made what to do with the dairy farm. Ken Curnow who had recently married Lorraine was establishing a career in the Victorian Soil Conservation Authority which he joined in 1954.
In 1956 at the age of 23, Ken was appointed as the District Officer and manager of the Charlton Victoria region which had secretarial staff, earth moving plant and plant operators for major earth works associated with soil conservation projects in the district.
It was indicated to Ken that he might have a promising career ahead of him in the Victorian Public Service, and he was offered a free place at the Melbourne University to undertake a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Science on a full salary.
After much deliberation, Ken and his wife decided that as the farm had been held for so many years, and that as they had an interest in the farming scene, they would return to the farm at Biggara.