Lakes Entrance identity Marion Holding recently celebrated her 90th birthday with her five children,
14 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren with another one on the way, her sister and extended family and friends.
Marion Scarce was born on May 29, 1935, at St Helens in Sale. Her parents took her home to The Camp.
“It was at Dutson, two single workmen’s huts pushed together out in the scrub,” Marion said.
“It was the end of The Depression and companies were looking for oil, so dad had the job of looking
after the bores.”
Seventeen months later Marion’s sister Helen was born.
The family then moved to Sale living in a two bedroom house with two other families. Her father then worked in Morwell, Marion, her mother and sister, lived in Bairnsdale. It was war time and Marion remembers a plane crashing in the Morass. Bairnsdale had a RAAF training facility for
young pilots.
“It was kept hush hush,” she said.
“War time was very tough, everything was rationed. We then moved to Morwell and had two rooms in an elderly lady, Mrs Jackson’s, home. Another daughter, Heather, was born in 1945, she has since passed away from Leukemia.”
It was at about this time she
first encountered a boy call
George Holding.
“I was a well behaved girl, he was a real show off, not my type at all, they lived in a nearby street. At 14 I belonged to a Fellowship group which George joined and we became good friends. He looked more
interesting then.”
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Marion excelled in her academic studies and when she finished grade six was offered a bursary to attend St Anne’s Grammar School, which she refused as she wanted to stay
with her friends attending Yallourn High School.
By the end of form 11 teachers encouraged her to take up a traineeship as a technical librarian, which
she refused. She decided to go on and do form 12.
After completion of her schooling she obtained a pharmacy apprenticeship in Morwell. Her boss spent a lot of time out at the local airfield, so she had to learn quickly on the job.
Marion was now engaged to George at 21 years old.
“Helen had gone to England and I realised I was missing out, so in 1956 I embarked on a trip by boat to England. On the way the ship stopped at Suva and I arranged to meet a pen friend I had had for a very long time from Port Moresby. He was training as a doctor and I was so happy to finally meet him.
“On arrival in England I got a job with Reader’s Digest, the girls I worked with were lovely, but I didn’t really like the job until I got a bonus and Christmas present, so I stayed.
“George wrote letters and was busy setting up Hazelwood control systems and then did his National Service which he loved and because of his bossy nature became a sergeant.
“I was living with my sister in Earls Court and then we went hitch hiking around England, staying in Youth Hostels or with people who invited us in. I remember the weather
was just so bad. We then booked to go to the Continent and hitch hiked around there.”
Marion then boarded a boat home which ended up being the first through after the Suez Canal crisis
in 1956.
She married George and they moved to Terang having three of their children. On an Easter trip back to Morwell Marion was involved in an accident where she received whiplash then experienced seizures.
“I spent five weeks in hospital in Melbourne paralysed down my right side and my neck. They couldn’t find out what was wrong, and I transferred back to Morwell hospital. Mum looked after the twins, Peter and David, and baby Kim was with dad’s bosses wife while George worked in Terang. I forced myself to learn to walk and we moved back to Morwell where Mark was born.
“George then got a job in distribution in Bairnsdale where Stuart was born. When he was seven weeks old we moved to Orbost. The kids were enrolled in school and this is where I started volunteering with the church group, mothers club and Little Aths.”
It was here that Marion noticed a spot on her leg. The doctor took a biopsy but did not get results
for six weeks.
It was a melanoma and so right on Christmas Marion was rushed to Cotham Clinic in Melbourne f
or surgery.
Marion loved living in Orbost, but George got a promotion and the day before school started in 1973, they moved into a Harbeck family home in Mourilyn Street in Lakes Entrance, where Marion still lives to this day.
It was a busy time with children at a variety of schools and Marion once more became active in volunteering.
“After a while it was it was clear George was not well but undiagnosed, so we decided it was time to buy the house and settle. George built a boat which many enjoyed being on and that is where he had a seizure,” Marion said.
“George was diagnosed with a brain tumour on his 50th birthday and died at 52. A workmate George had worked with over many years under the huge power lines at Terang died of a brain tumour also.”
Marion kept herself busy. She was the secretary of the Girl Guides Association, involved in Scouts,
on the Nagle College, Tech
School and Bairnsdale High School parent’s clubs.
“When I came to Lakes Entrance I didn’t know anyone, although I had a lot of relatives here as my grandparents had lived at Kalimna. I met Betty Dorling and became an Avon Lady which helped meet people,” she said.
Marion was very hands-on with her young grandchildren and was also busy as secretary of the Genealogical group in Lakes Entrance. She joined the Historical Society in 1977 to do reenactments and was involved in Nyerimilang for 40 years.
She has also been involved in U3A in Bairnsdale as a presenter and U3A in Lakes Entrance, joined Red Cross helping to organise Red Cross Calling, Meals on Wheels, Christmas Cards and Dutch Auctions.
She helped form what was known as the Merringbaur Red Cross and they did much fundraising around Lakes Entrance. She received a service award and 50-year badge from the Red Cross. The Field Naturalist group was also an interest.
“The historical society has meant a lot to me, and they held a lovely gathering on my actual 90th birth date,” Marion said.
“The family get together was wonderful with my sister and her son there, my sons and especially my daughter Kim coming down
from Queensland.
It was great to see everyone interacting,” Marion said.
