DOROTHY “Dot” O’Brian and husband Terry, of Adelaide, travelled to Wallaroo to see a mural panel featuring Dot’s father Frederick Karl “Karl” Bennett recently.
The heritage mural — along the old railway station platform — was instigated by the Wallaroo Lions Club and painted by local artist Julie Cheshire.
Julie painted the panel featuring Karl from a photo of him loading bags of grain onto a flatbed railcar, which Dot provided.
Also there to inspect the mural panel were Dot and Terry’s daughter Julie Patterson, and nieces Dorothy Hewett and Barbara Newman (all Karl’s granddaughters); nephew-in-law Greg Hewett and grandson Jay Newman.
Dot and Terry’s other daughter Cheryl died in 2020.
Karl was born at Bute in 1894 and moved to Wallaroo Mines with his brother to live with their grandmother at age 11.
He married Hilda Sutton in 1917, and they had six children (including Barb’s late mother Merle and Dorothy’s late father Doug, Arthur and Dot), all born in Wallaroo.
Karl and Hilda’s first two children, May (aged 5 months) and Winnie (3 years), died just 10 months apart in 1921-22.
Dot, now the sole surviving sibling, donated Winnie’s tea set to the Wallaroo Heritage and Nautical Museum last year.
Karl’s various jobs included caretaker of the Wallaroo Gaol, water divining and blacksmithing.
During the Great Depression, he would line up at the wharf with all the other hopefuls, looking for a day’s work; Dot remembers many meals of rabbit and home-grown veg during this time.
The Bennetts moved to Adelaide in 1942 when Karl secured a job at the British Tube Mills, Kilburn; Dot, along with brothers Arthur and Doug, also joined the company.
Karl passed away in his sleep at 73 at Kilburn.
“Thank you to Wallaroo Lions for allowing this tribute to him to be included on the mural,” Barb said.
“And thank you to Julie, Dorothy and Greg, who made Aunty Dot and Uncle Terry’s trip to Wallaroo possible.”