ELIZABETH Marie Leahy was the youngest daughter of Johannes (John) and Maria Winkler who emigrated from Germany to Australia in 1927.
They arrived at the South Brisbane Railway station unable to speak a word of English. They were befriended by a butcher who could speak a little German and Maria stayed in Brisbane whilst John went to Mackay to cut cane. Once the cane season finished they travelled to Stanthorpe and various farm jobs lead them to establish at Glen Aplin on the Granite Belt.
Leonard (Leo), their first child was born in September 1927, followed by Conrad, Bernhardt (Bernie) and on November 5, 1933, Elizabeth. Their first property was near the Severn River, however John was not happy with the frost at the Bottom Place close to the river and later purchased the Top Place.
In 1937 the family moved from the Bottom Place to the Top Place. One of the families houses consisted of corrugated iron shed with a dirt floor and a corn bag for a door, an unimaginable arrangement in frosty Stanthorpe winters.
John Winkler cleared the virgin lands that he bought and established orchards to grow apples, grapes and stone fruit including plums and apricots. The fruit was often picked from the back of a horse and dray. John later named the Top Place “Saxonia”, after the area of his homeland near Leipzig.
On August 7, 1940, John was taken away to an internment camp because of his German origin and separated from his young family for four years. Maria, meanwhile was left to manage four young children, and several orchards. She could not yet drive a vehicle, and son Leo was kept home from school to help on the orchard. Leo taught Maria to drive a vehicle and worked beyond his years. In those four years, she also engaged an engineer and built a house for the cost of 400 pounds on Pendle Hill. The children including Elizabeth were involved at a young age with the manual spraying of the grapes and fruit, carrying a heavy spray on their backs and assisting with the picking and packing.
Elizabeth and her brothers attended school at the Glen Aplin State School in the late 1930s. They doubled up on a horse and travelled five miles to the school and five miles in return. Their schooling was often interrupted during the grape season as they also had to cut grapes for three months at a time.
Elizabeth and her brothers also travelled on the train to Laidley to attend boarding school and Elizabeth attended St Ursula’s in Brisbane but finished school after her scholarship year. Elizabeth enjoyed her time with the Ursuline Nuns and ensured that her three daughters Dulcie, Catherine and Ann also attended St Ursula’s in Toowoomba.
Once her schooling was completed Elizabeth returned to the family fruit growing farm at Glen Aplin. She was a regular attendee at the local dances and social events. In 1953 she was named Belle of the Ball at an event at the Glen Aplin Memorial Hall. She was a member of the Junior Farmers Association being Treasurer and won the Golden Plough Award in 1953 which resulted in a trip to New Zealand on behalf of the Junior Farmers. She thoroughly enjoyed the trip and it was one of the highlights of her life and one she regularly told stories about. At this time in Australia not many young women were travelling overseas so this was a considerable achievement for Elizabeth.
Through the Junior Farmers activities, Elizabeth met a gentleman called Gordon Leahy from North Springdale (one of the areas original soldiers settlement blocks) on the western side of Stanthorpe - better known these days as Traprock Country. Gordon Leahy was the youngest son of John and Lola Leahy. John Leahy was the first Country Party President in Queensland from 1936 to 1943.
Elizabeth had a charming personality and was an attractive lady with long golden hair and beautiful fair skin similar to that of screen legend Grace Kelly. Gordon didn’t hesitate in his proposal and they married on New Years Day 1955. Elizabeth then left the fruit growing area of the Granite Belt for the Traprock Country where she continued to plant and propagate fruit trees, vegetables, roses and geraniums. Whilst Elizabeth developed her garden, family and cooking, Gordon was progressively adding further soldiers settlement blocks to North Springdale and other adjoining leasehold land in his planning to provide for the family education and expenses. When Elizabeth first moved to North Springdale there was no mains power or television and refrigeration was by kerosene fridge and there was limited telephone line communications – later on they built their own phone line across country to the Pikedale exchange. One can just imagine the outcome if the new bride arrived at her new home to this sort of arrangement today! Elizabeth was not disconcerted by the challenges.
In 1956 the family started with eldest child Dulcie, followed by Catherine, Gordon and in the later years Richard and Ann. Although not considered isolated today North Springdale posed considerable challenges in educating children. Elizabeth often told of how she had a school in the house for 20 years. The family employed a number of governesses over the years. At times Elizabeth drove some of her children to primary school at Glenlyon and also in later years did the teaching by correspondence herself with the assistance of the Brisbane School of Distance Education. All the children were educated to Year 7 and then attended various boarding schools.
Elizabeth was a wonderful cook, how she ever made sponge cakes and pavlovas on the temperamental wood stove at North Springdale defies logic – but she could do it. Everyone from the family members, visitors to shearers loved her cooking. She was always fashionably dressed, dressmaking many of her own clothes and whilst in Junior Farmers undertook a dressmaking project. She had no trouble drafting a pattern from an existing garment. She said that had life not taken her onto the land she would have become a homemaker teacher, teaching home economics and the skills of cooking, sewing, needlework and dressmaking. She truly loved these activities and the skills involved and taught her children these skills.
Elizabeth and Gordon whilst rearing and educating five children at North Springdale were passionately involved in their business of wool growing (or shepherding as it was often referred to by Gordon who preferred the more humble description). Their sheep and wool constantly won at district shows and together they attended the wool sales in Brisbane and Newcastle. Their superfine wool achieved top price at times at the Brisbane wool sales. They were both quietly proud of their achievement in an area where it was said “you can’t breed sheep on the Traprock”. Elizabeth and Gordon continued their business and went about doing just that for many years.
When the Australian SuperFine Woolgrowers Association in the New England district was established in the 1970s, Gordon and Elizabeth became members and greatly enjoyed being part of this organisation of superfine growers. They enjoyed entering their superfine fleeces in the Ermenegildo Zegna Wool Awards so they would be acknowledged and used in the finest Italian suiting. On several occasions, their wool, although not taking out the trophy, performed in the top 10 placegetters.
Elizabeth also accompanied son Richard to the Tenterfield TAFE College where they both undertook study towards their Wool Classing Stencil. Elizabeth completed her studies and in the process made many new friends in the Tenterfield area.
Elizabeth and Gordon moved from North Springdale in 2007 and lived on acreage on the western side of Stanthorpe where Elizabeth continued to live following Gordon’s passing in 2008. She then enrolled herself as a great grandmother in a computer course so she would learn to use a computer. She also was a frequent volunteer at the Stanthorpe Art Gallery and she enjoyed helping other volunteers learn the skills that she had learnt which even included using the EFTPOS machine.
In August 2012 she had a major operation in Brisbane and went to Sydney to recuperate and stayed with her daughter Catherine. However the best of health did not return for her and she passed away peacefully on August 7 at the North Shore Private Hospital in Sydney aged 79 years. She is greatly missed by her brothers Leo and Bernard Winkler and the family of Con Winkler (deceased); her children Dulcie, Catherine, Gordon, Richard and Ann and their partners; grand children Angela, Shannon, Tim, Katrina, Nicole, Anthony and Pierce and great grand children Amber, Ruby, Lana and Chloe; and her favourite white Border Collie dog, Dolly.
