Thank you, Pop Dobbs, for having patience with me

By Warren Nunn In reflecting on growing-up years, it’s worth remembering those who influenced you and what they did and said that had a long-lasting effect. My Pop was the grandparent who touched my life in a real, tangible way. He was patient with a wilful,...

Rob Silver reflects on family visits to Boolburra

Robert John Silver (1927-2016) was the son of my grandmother’s brother John, or Uncle Jack, as he was known. Rob fondly remembers his growing-up years and summer holiday visits to Boolburra with his parents and sisters Jean and Peg. Following are Rob...

How tennis brought communities together

Tennis was a great outlet for my grandparents and their small community at Boolburra. My grandfather, Alex Dobbs, set up a court near the house and it was still in use, although a little worse for wear, in the early 1970s. The following report of a “tennis...

No surprise that Dawson River floods at Boolburra

A cursory look at this satellite view should make it obvious there were many challenges for those trying to make a living from the land in the Boolburra district west of Rockhampton, Queensland. While some of the river-front land offered opportunity for crops and...

Dobbs family … some photos

What follows are several images from my collection of memorabilia of the Dobbs family from Boolburra, Queensland. John Alexis Dobbs Coker and Margaret Isabella Silver, known as Alex and Bella Dobbs, raised a family of four on a farm near the Dawson River.
Ray Dobbs on growing up at Boolburra

Ray Dobbs on growing up at Boolburra

Before he passed away in 2000, Ray Dobbs recalled life on the farm at Boolburra. Looking back some 60 years I think how lucky we were; a family with not much money but a lot of love; no car, no TV or radio but had happy times; always something to do. We had very few...