It was a wedding in the lock-up.  Well, Jean Miller, who I bought the kiosk from, went to work for Nicholson's in Barrack Street. They were a music shop at the time, and her mother and father – her father was the gaol-keeper in Beaufort Street. And they lived on the premises too but were quite nice premises – two-storey. And Jean Miller – I was friendly with her, always whenever she passed she'd drop in because she had to pass the kiosk She was within walking distance – the shop was. 

 

And we'd have a chat, and one day she met a fellow – a farmer with the name of Dick Turkington from Koorda and she met him in the shop. He came and had a drink or something and sat down at one of the stools, and Jean met him and they fell in love. So he used to come here in the truck quite often and see Jean; she was a lovely person – and then they decided to get married and the wedding was in their lounge room in the lock-up. In the Roe Street lock-up.  

 

And I went to the wedding, and the one that catered for the wedding was a prisoner, and – she was a most beautiful cook. She put on a spread – it was absolutely so artistic. She was actually a daughter from a station owner – a wealthy station owner. But she was a gin drinker – she was a drinker, and she would only get put into prison. She came to live here – she didn't want to live on the station. She had a Switzerland education; she and her sister went to Switzerland to be educated, that's where she learnt cooking. And she was quite a caterer on little spindly legs. 

 

And she was always drinking gin, but not of course in gaol but when she got out. When she did her time they always saw that she wouldn't go to Fremantle [prison]. Because she was handy for them – she did the cooking and she was a wonderful cook and whenever they used to put her inside after being drunk and disorderly – she used to get disorderly. And they would say "Oh we'll have Daisy" and they would have her there and she would do the cooking.  

 

So she had the women's cell, but they wouldn't send her to Fremantle and the same was with a fellow with the name of O'Brien. Mick O'Brien. He was a black, from the black and tan from Ireland – and he was a policeman in Ireland. When they had trouble in Ireland they pensioned off all the policemen – there was trouble and he was a remittance man from Ireland. And he was such a gentleman and lovely fellow when he was sober, but when he was drunk that was his trouble. He was dreadful – he was a lunatic. 

 

But he had beautiful handwriting; I remember his handwriting. He had beautiful hands and he used to keep the books for Tom Miller, the gaol-keeper. He wouldn't allowed to go to Fremantle either; he was only in for drunk and disorderly because he use to do all the books perfectly. Tom Miller, the gaol-keeper didn't know how to, but Mick O'Brien did and he used to keep the books. So they had their favourite prisoners – they were never sent to Fremantle. And sometimes because being a habitual drinker or prisoner, they sometimes use to get six months and oh, they thought that was lovely because they had – they used to keep his books. Beautiful writing, beautiful handwriting. So they had their favourites.  So I went to this wedding and it was beautiful, and Dick and Jean got married and she went to live in Koorda for a while and the last was that he and his brother, George, must have leased the Hyde Park Hotel. One day I'm going to take my glasses and look it up because I've got pictures on the wall and I'm just wondering if it would be pictures of them.

 

Ella Bryer interviewed by Janet McNie, 2003

OH200326 | City of Perth Cultural Collections