A piece of advice given to Resthaven Marion Community Services client Mrs Lesley Burgess when she was in her 40s was, ‘You’re never too old to learn a new skill’. Following her interests in dance and music, this is something Lesley has taken to heart.
A former employee of Resthaven, Lesley shares her birth year with Resthaven and will turn 90 in 2025. She learnt to swim when she was almost 50, took up tap dance at 43, and learnt the banjo at 65. Lesley continues to bring new skills into her life with scrapbooking, knitting, quilting and embroidery. Alongside all these achievements, Lesley says that the biggest event in her lifetime was the ‘meeting, engagement and wedding to my husband, Ray.’
Ray, who is also a client of Resthaven, was born in England, and was sponsored to come to Australia as a farm worker when he was in his late teens. His first farm position was at Melrose, before moving to Port Augusta and then to Tarcoola. It was here that Ray, who has a love of trains, was asked to be the fireman, or stoker, for the trains that stopped at Tarcoola.
‘He absolutely loved it,’ Lesley says.
Ray’s family also made their way to Australia, and lived at Maylands, next door to where Lesley’s grandmother lived, on the same road as Lesley’s family.
Lesley made friends with Ray’s sister, Rosemary, and it wasn’t long before Ray felt the pull to reunite with his family and moved to Maylands to be with them.
‘He was so lovely and so nice,’ Lesley says. ‘We started to go out on dates. Every Saturday night we would go to the pictures, and he would buy me a box of Old Gold Chocolate. I kept the empty boxes, and it wasn’t long before I had a “tower” of them in my room.’
The pair were engaged in 1954 and married in 1956 at the Maylands Church of Christ, where Lesley’s parents had been married years before.
A home and a family
Not long after their honeymoon, Lesley and Ray heard that they had been successful in getting a Housing Trust Home. It was at Brighton Gardens, the suburb that later became Dover Gardens, and they lived in the house for 57 years.
‘When we arrived, there was a house and nothing else,’ Lesley remembers. ‘There was a mud road, and no gardens. We were all starting from very new.’
Ray was working as an accountant, and Lesley, who had been a typist at the Lands Title Office in Victoria Square (but had had to resign when she got married), had just started doing copy work in the city. The couple had put their names down to adopt a baby.
‘My boss knew that I was waiting for a telegram that would let me know when our baby had arrived,’ Lesley says. ‘One day, in 1960, I came home from work and the telegram was there and I could hardly even turn it over to read it I was so nervous.’
The telegram told them there was a nine-day old baby boy waiting for them at the Henley Grange Private Hospital.
‘We had a lovely little baby,’ Lesley says. ‘I took in a bassinet full of all the things we needed, and I begged the nurse that we should be allowed to take him home with us that day. She agreed and we took Christopher home! We had no experience with babies (as many first-time parents don’t), but, we survived!’
A second adopted baby arrived in December 1962, this time a three-week old girl.
‘We had a bit more experience by this time,’ Lesley laughs. ‘In the 1950s and 60s married life was having children and being a mum at home. I loved the first five years with our children before they started school. It was the norm, and I accepted it with pleasure and happiness.’
A trip home
When the children were aged five and seven, Ray wanted to spend some time back in his home country of England. The family sailed on the Oronsay passenger liner, taking four weeks to travel from Australia to London. They boarded the boat in December 1967 and enjoyed Christmas and New Year’s Eve onboard.
‘We were encouraged to take part in dress up competitions on the ship,’ Lesley says. ‘We could buy crepe papers in all colours from the ship’s shop, so I dressed the children up as bonbons and we won first prize! We had a lovely time on the boat, of course now it would never happen because people just fly.’
The family made their way to South Croydon, where they lived for 18 months.
‘We did so much while we were there – much to the astonishment of our neighbours,’ Lesley says. ‘Each weekend we would hire a car and travel to a different county.’
Ray found work as an accountant, and Lesley would walk the children to and from school, even collecting them each day so they could have lunch at home.
Before returning home, the family visited a few other countries in Europe, then, it was back on the liner in July 1969.
Revisiting a childhood favourite
As a child, Lesley and her family attended the Maylands’ Church of Christ. The church had a class going for gymnasium – now known as calisthenics.
‘My mum took me over and enrolled me in the classes, and I loved it,’ Lesley says ‘It was not just the marching and rod exercises that we did, but we also did dance as well.’
Lesley excelled at gymnasium and she and a friend won first and second place in the local competition and were chosen to attend the National Gymnasium Competition in Ballarat in 1949. She then took up ballet with a teacher, Dorothy Slane.
‘I enjoyed it very much, but I couldn’t keep up with the other girls,’ Lesley says. ‘Dorothy told me that I had probably started too late.’
With her children at school and more time to herself, Lesley accepted a job at Resthaven Marion where she worked for 15 years in the kitchen, bringing meals to the residents. She also went back to dancing in 1978, this time taking tap dance lessons. Her teachers were Dorothy Coleman, Phyl Skinner and Josie McGuinness.
‘I loved my teachers,’ Lesley says. ‘We did such wonderful dance routines and would go to different aged care homes and do volunteer performances.’
Lesley remembers a special performance they did in 1995, when she was 60, to commemorate the 50th year of the end of World War II. It was a variety show held at the Festival Centre, and the tap dancers were on stage with well-known Adelaide-born Australian performer, Bobby Limb.
After the excitement of the concert, Lesley felt it was time to hang up her tap shoes. A new interest was waiting in the wings.
Playing dixie
On her 65th birthday, Ray asked Lesley to come with him for a drive to a secret location. They arrived at a local musical instrument shop where Ray had arranged lessons and the hire of a banjo for her.
‘Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to learn to play the banjo,’ Lesley says. ‘But, it wasn’t an instrument that was considered “appropriate” for little girls. I loved it!’
Lesley practiced and practiced, and her second banjo teacher, Rob, taught her to play ‘clawhammer style’.
Rob put together a band with his stringed instrument students, playing bluegrass and country style music. The group, called the Adelaide Old Time String Band, performed at many events, including two years at the Kapunda Music Festival.
‘I used to love the jam sessions we would have,’ Lesley says.
These days, Lesley and Ray are supported to live in their own home at Camden Park by Resthaven Marion Community Services. Ray’s health has been affected in recent years after he suffered a heart attack and stroke. Lesley is his carer, and Ray is an active member of Resthaven Marion Community Services’ Men on the Move group.
Lesley reads a lot, as well as being a member of the SA Hand Knitters Guild, where she knits and crochets items for charities. She also enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles. The pair now have three grandchildren, as well as four great-grandchildren.
In reminiscing about her life, Lesley talks about the ups and downs.
‘Things were so different,’ Lesley says. ‘So much has changed. But, I have found that it is important to learn and work hard for the needs and incentives in life – it is much more fulfilling that way.’
Both Lesley and Ray share their birth year with Resthaven – all celebrating 90 years in 2025! We are honouring those turning 90 in our 90th year with a series of articles showcasing their stories – building a picture of life in South Australia over the decades. You can find more 1935ers on our website.
About Resthaven:
Established in 1935, Resthaven is a South Australian not-for-profit aged care community service associated with the Uniting Church in Australia.
Every day, Resthaven shares the lives and wisdom of older people and their carers, opening doors to the full range of aged care service options available.
Services are provided throughout metropolitan Adelaide, the Adelaide Hills, Murraylands, Riverland, Fleurieu Peninsula, lower Barossa region and the Limestone Coast of South Australia.
