Familiar Faces: Little Toot
Monday March 23 2015, 8:00am
Article provided by Rick Stoker
At the age of 10, Peter Lloyd underwent a medical procedure at the Birmingham Eye Hospital, to correct a defect in one eye.
Following this meant recuperating for weeks with both eyes covered.
The convalescent home was near the main railway line.
Unable to see until the bandages came off, Peter’s main sense channel was his hearing and he loved to listen to the steam trains as they were assisted by other locomotives up the Lickey Incline, on their journey from Bristol. Thus began his second-greatest love affair.
One of Peter’s early jobs was at the Birmingham Railway Carriage Works and an early hobby was trainspotting with friends.
During an annual holiday he travelled down to London for this purpose and met up with many other likeminded people.
In 1965 at a public drinking fountain, Peter met the main love of his life, the charming Anne Flaherty.
They married in 1966 and about half of the 125 wedding guests were trainspotters.
In 1971 the two came out from England to Adelaide where two of Peter’s sisters already lived. They stayed and worked there for almost two years and then decided to see something of Australia.
Pulling a tiny caravan behind their 1968 Holden Belmont Station Wagon, they travelled through Victoria, New South Wales and on up into Queensland.
On the road their caravan became known by other travellers, as the ‘Honey Moon Van’.
Not being in a hurry they continued north, stopping where it suited them and for as long as it suited them and taking jobs as it suited them, and having many adventures along the way.
In Brisbane they caught up with Peter’s sister Pam, her husband and kids and while there, naturally did the tourist things around the Gold Coast and the hinterland.
They liked the Bundaberg region where they spent four months, with Anne working in hospitality and Peter working at his trade of fibre-glassing. Peter also stayed in a construction camp through the weekdays only and one night after a few drinks, he retired to his room to read.
His workmates continued drinking and became noisy and aggressive.
One of them got the rooms mixed up and an axe came through Peter’s door, and he went out the window.
North West of Bundaberg, they loved the Monduran Dam region where Peter worked on the spillway and did foam-setting. They also worked at picking and harvesting.
They continued northeast along the coast and stopped at Pioneer River where the caravan park they were staying at, flooded.
They also loved the Whitsundays.
At Townsville Peter again worked at fibre-glassing and Anne worked in the Norgate Roadhouse.
A chance encounter in Cairns got Peter a job fibre-glassing boats in Port Douglas.
This resulted in them become acquainted with local fishing, tourism and the individuals associated therewith.
When Peter worked at the sugar mill, they purchased a house in Miallo.
Anne worked in a pie shop for Maurice, a chap who didn’t like his name, so changed it to Mocka.
They duly purchased Mocka’s and owned it for 18 years.
Now retired, they continue to do voluntary work for the Historic Society and on Sunday mornings when you hear the friendly toot from the tourist train, think of Peter at the controls and Anne selling the tickets.
