Caitie Richardson is a local family photographer who is passionate about capturing people of all ages and walks of life.
As a side passion, Caitie has been talking to and photographing the older generation of the Gippsland community.
GRAEME Dyer was born in the Sale Hospital on August 1, 1938.
He was the second youngest of 11 children, and growing up at this time certainly was not the easiest.
This is his story.
Graeme’s father Leo was one of six children who grew up on paddle steamers along the Murray River carrying and trading loads.
When Leo was 19, he headed to Melbourne to enlist in The Great War.
He landed in Gallipoli seven days after the first landing. Throughout the Gallipoli campaign, Leo was not only commended for his heroism but was awarded the Military Medal for bravery.
The award reads:
On one occasion when a party was under heavy machine gun fire, Leo helped bring in the wounded and volunteered to go out again after an officer had given the order to discontinue.
Leo was a humble man, and believed his only heroic act in life was when he went out to No Mans Land to rescue a fellow comrade from the battlefield. Leo was wounded in France, and by the time he had recovered the war was over.
Leo then returned to Renmark, South Australia in January 1919 where he met and eventually married his wife Annie in 1924.
They welcomed seven children during their time working and living in Renmark, but tragically one of their daughters, Vonda died at 13-months-old. It was a tough way of life back then, and at times Annie would tether the children to the paddle steamer so they wouldn’t accidentally fall into the Murray River while they worked.
In 1932, Leo, Annie and their now six children and two trucks left Renmark and moved to Sale.
Leo was searching for a fresh start for his family and commenced his own road transport business ‘WL Dyer Transport Services’.
He soon proved himself to be a trustworthy and hardworking man among the local community, helping him and his family to fit in nicely in their new township.
As Leo’s children grew, they each played a part in the family business. The Dyers Transport business was then and is still today very much a family owned and operated business.
The Dyer family were able to be quite self-sufficient at home with eggs and meat from their chickens, milk from Milly their cow, and vegetables from Leo’s garden. Graeme felt like he drew the short straw with being the youngest as he was the one who had to be home to milk Milly, but admitted he did have a soft spot for her.
Most people during this era bartered items around town, so having their own cream and milk was a huge advantage for their large family.
Having an air raid shelter (a brick lined well) in the front yard of their Lansdowne Street home was quite fascinating for the young siblings.
Graeme remembers playing in his family’s large backyard with the neighbouring kids and feeling very lucky. Their family outings included driving in Cloe (Leo’s truck) to collect and chop wood, and Graeme fondly remembers his father Leo bringing along his rifle to teach Graeme how to shoot.
With a shortage of most things during that time, water for bathing was also rationed, with Graeme recalling he was only allowed one hot bath a week. Any washes during the week would mean a quick cold wash with a face washer.
By 1945 Leo and Annie had a large family of 11 children.
The year 1949 was one never to be forgotten by the Dyer family – a year that still pains Graeme 75 years on.
In February of 1949, Leo and Annie’s eldest child passed away from Tuberculosis at the age of 24.
A short time later Leo lost his soul mate Annie on his own birthday, leaving behind nine children, five of which were still young and dependent on Leo.
These great losses took a tremendous toll on the family, and Leo never truly recovered his heartache.
Graeme was 11-years-old at the time, and his younger sister was just four years of age.
Graeme loved his mother very much and couldn’t fathom not having his mum by his side for a warm hug, to offer advice, or simply just to chat with.
This is one thing Graeme has always missed terribly, being able to chat to his mum and listen to her words of advice.
Graeme has always been a dog lover and at that time their family dog became his greatest friend and councillor, sitting for hours together. Two of Graeme’s eldest sisters were nurses who stepped up to become mother figures to the siblings, which Graeme appreciated even though he said sometimes they were just plain bossy.
Everyday life had to keep on going even through immense heartache.
The Dyer family had a widowed housekeeper, and her child came to live with them which provided huge help around the home while Leo was out working to keep money in the bank and food on the table. It was a very busy household, with many coming and going on top of the neighbouring children who would come over to play.
Just like his older brothers, Graeme also learnt to drive a truck from a very young age.
So young that he struggled to see over the dashboard and had to stand on the floor of the truck to pull the heavy steering wheel around due to no power steering back in those days.
Graeme remembers being around 14-years-old and having the local policeman wait behind him while he reversed the truck into the yard.
The policeman would tell Graeme to at least take his school jumper off while driving so he didn’t stand out as much. Graeme gained the fitting nickname of ‘Diesel Dyer’.
Over the weekends, Graeme would be on his pushbike riding with his friends. They would ride for hours most days and often rode to the swing bridge to have a swim. Graeme has very fond memories of his group of friends and says they were a great supportive bunch of boys.
Graeme enjoyed school and attended 545 Primary School before going on to Tech School until Year 10.
Graeme then took over the family business finances once his older brother left.
Graeme’s love for maths and his people skills were pivotal in drawing more profits into the business. At the age of 16, Graeme was living in the shed of their Morwell Depot. From a young age he was given a lot of responsibility, and with his mother passing when he was only 11-years-old, he had to learn to grow up quickly. Graeme to this day is a firm believer that the younger you give a child responsibility, the more responsible they will become.
Cricket was one of the sports Graeme enjoyed at school, but soon didn’t have time to play due to working six or seven days a week.
Christmas time was the rare chance that the Dyer family got away together for a holiday as their business customers would shut for a break.
The Dyer family holiday would involve heading to Seaspray for a few days with everyone piling in a truck with the children sitting on the tray.
Graeme looks back on these days and smiles. He enjoyed his childhood and was thankful he had great friends and was close with his siblings and father.
In 1961, Graeme married Carol and moved into a house on Raglan Street in Sale. They had three boys together – Scott, Greg and David.
Unfortunately, Carol was taken with a mental illness and moved out of their family home shortly after their youngest David was born.
From then, Graeme raised the three boys on his own but luckily had support from his sister-in-law Gwen who is still a great friend of his today.
In 1962, the Dyer family business purchased a new site – the Silver Lake Flour Mill – which anyone local to Sale will know and will still pass today on their way out of town towards the Swing Bridge.
Graeme’s three boys also spent a lot of time running amok around the depot in their younger years learning to ride bikes and drive trucks with Graeme just like he did with his own father.
Being a sole custodian of his children and a busy business owner certainly had its challenges.
Graeme’s three active boys would tear around the truck yard aggravating him, but Graeme would think back to when he was young doing the same thing and would cut them a bit of slack.
Graeme designed Dyers’ first crane in 1960, which was used to put up the screen for Sale’s drive-in theatre.
Later, another job was to erect the large palm tree outside the Star Hotel, which still stands tall today.
In 1970, Graeme tried his hand at many businesses including super spreading, owning a ready-mix plant alongside the road transport business. He also bought into a farm with his brothers but quickly realised he knew nothing about farming at all.
Graeme’s father Leo sadly passed away in 1985 shortly after his 90th birthday. Graeme married Alida in the same year.
In 2011, Graeme had the honour of accepting an Order Of Australia medal for his service to the community.
For 53 years Graeme has been a part of the Rotary Club where he is still a member today. He remembers going out to Holey Plain Estate with others to cut wood for widowers.
In 2012, Graeme was inducted into the National Road Transport Hall Of Fame.
In 2013, Graeme was inducted in the Bendigo Bank Gippsland Business Award ‘Hall Of Fame’.
If you can’t already tell, Graeme is a man who has achieved many things. There have been many triumphs throughout his life with just as many failures, all of which have shaped him into the strong, wise man he is today.
When I chat to Graeme, I see Leo. Although I will never get to meet him, I can tell Graeme holds many qualities and similarities: sheer perseverance and undeniable loyalty.
Graeme said: “nothing comes easy, and you need to know how to work hard and appreciate what you have.”
Graeme still enjoys going into the family business head office most days, as well as getting out and catching up with old friends, and baking the odd cake not letting anything slow him down.
Family is very important to Graeme, and luckily, he is graced with grandchildren and in more recent years has been graced with great grandchildren.
There is nothing Graeme loves more than spending quality time with them all.
Being a quietly spoken man and often not saying too much, there is a certain twinkle that comes to his eye when he speaks about visiting his great grandchildren each week.
Keeping active is also very important to Graeme, and one of his favourite activities is his daily walk with his neighbour’s black Labrador – which she loves just as much.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Graeme which was filled with many chats, laughs and words of wisdom.
It was wonderful hearing not only his story, but the incredible history of the Dyer family who have been an important part of Gippsland for more than 90 years.
I would like to thank Graeme for his time and for his granddaughter Bess’s valuable input.
If you would like to learn more about Dyers Transport and how it became what it is today, I highly recommend reading As Fate Would Have It – a book celebrating the Dyer’s family business written by Shane Coats (available to loan from the Wellington Shire Library).
I hope to continue to find locals that would like their stories told.
If you have someone in mind that would like to share their story with me, please email me at caitierichardsonphotography@gmail.com
