Family Histories

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VENNING Gladys May

Gladys was orn 2nd August.1908 at Pingelly W.A.
Her parents were John Howard and Elizabeth Ethel (nee Black).
Gladys known as 'Glad' came to Gnowangerup with her family in 1915/16 and was educated at Gnowangerup School.
When older sister Doris ‘Dorrie’ at 9 years of age took over driving the family cart to school,
Glad became the disciplinarian. They picked up other children en route and Glad kept order with a rolled up umbrella.
It was said you always knew when the Venning school cart was coming as they were always singing or fighting.
Glad became a school monitor at 16 years of age and later shocked the district by riding a motor bike to Pallinup School to teach. Glad later completed her teaching degree by correspondence.
Glad was a keen hockey player and with sister Dorrie, played her mandolin in a band.
Gladys Venning began her teaching career at Boiylup - a school 12 km from Kojonup on the Collie Road, with an enrolment of 12 pupils. This was in 1927. At the height of the depression she was appointed to the Group 117 school near Northcliffe.

Glad was transferred to the Group Settlement area and was the youngest teacher ever appointed to a one teacher school.
Her first accommodation was a lean to on the end of a veranda. It was filled with pumpkins and other paraphernalia and she had to clean it out before she could move in. To make sure her new young boarder did not get up to any hanky panky after dark, the land lady would lock Glad in.
Had there been a fire it would have been a disaster. Glad’s landlady was Indian and Glad quickly tired of curry which was the only thing the lady could cook so Glad took over the cooking as well.
Because of the difficult living and economic conditions at the group settlements, mostly only men were appointed to these schools. But as Gladys had grown up on a farm it was felt that this background equipped her for the hard conditions.
While teaching at Group 117 she bought her first car. It was the only motor vehicle in the settlement at the time and she became involved in providing transport for every need and emergency. This was used to save a life when an emergency arose. The patient would not have lived had he been subjected to a slow trip by horse and cart to the nearest medical help.
 

GLADYS VENNING ON AN OUTING WITH HER FUTURE HUSBAND,
CHARLES BUCKINGHAM AND HIS MOTHER  1933
 

Gladys married a fellow teacher, Charles Thomas Buckingham, who was born near Ballarat on 24th May 1907. They were married in Gnowangerup on 2nd January 1935 and took up residence in Karridale.
From there they were posted to Darkan, Glen Forrest, Narrogin Agricultural School (till the Army requisitioned it) then Denmark Agricultural School, Pinjarra and finally to Perth where Glad taught upholstery. Glad was also a cake decorator and painted china and water colours.
They were first appointed to Group 123 school at Northcliffe.
 When they arrived at their accommodation in Northcliffe, which was a one room residence for a single teacher, they had a month's stores and four shillings and ten pence.
On arrival, the bride, formerly Gladys Venning, found that after she had bought milk and other perishables, she had one newly minted 1934 penny left. Bright and shiny, it looked like a sovereign and Mrs. Buckingham decided to keep it. She told her husband that in this way they could always say that they had never been flat broke.

 

They needed optimism in those early days. Their assigned quarters were so small that to get a small wardrobe and dressing table into the one room, they had to put their bed on the verandah.
Due to the exodus of disheartened settlers, Group 123 school closed some months after the couple married and they were transferred to a group at Eastbrook, Cranbrook. Conditions were similar except the quarters were better - they had two rooms.
After her marriage she resigned, but Mr. Buckingham taught at a succession of south west and great southern schools.
These included an appointment to the Narrogin Agricultural School.
When the army took that school over during the World War, staff and boys were moved to Denmark. Mr. Buckingham established the Denmark Agricultural School in 1942 and was principal there for over ten years.
That was followed by an appointment to Pinjarra, and then some metropolitan service before his retirement in 1972.
The couple had three daughters, Margaret (Mrs. Weaver), Wendy Joy (Mrs.Rogers) and Jeanette Dawn (Mrs. Knight).

When Charles and Gladys Buckingham celebrated their golden wedding anniversary the collection of memorability at the celebration party included a 1934 penny. It had significance only the couple could appreciate.
Gladys and Charlie died ten days apart in 1985.(1980?)
 

Every endeavour has been made to accurately record the details however if you would like to provide additional images and/or newer information we are pleased to update the details on this site. Please use CONTACT at the top of this page to email us. We appreciate your involvement in recording the history of our area.

 

References:                 Article:     Gnowangerup The Town by pearl Marshall
                                                 Research by Merilyn Stewart

                                  Image:    
                                                   

 

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