I first met Maree McKeown when my parents moved into Eileen Street, Ryde in late 1972. Her family had lived in Eileen Street, Ryde for many years. She was training to be a primary school teacher, and I was training to be a secondary teacher at Macquarie University.
We had many fun nights out on the town from the mid-1970’s onwards – The Basement, Johnny Walkers, The Marble Bar at the Hilton, and The Irish Club (Maree’s father was Irish) and The Sailing Club at Drummoyne were some of our social haunts. We always had a good laugh, enjoyed ourselves, and we met some characters along the way. Harold sometimes accompanied us “to look after the girls”. Maree often recalled the night that we met “Fighting Patrick” at the Irish Club. He spilled a drink over my dress, however he offered to pay for the dry cleaning.
I was posted as a Social Science Teacher to Figtree High School in Wollongong in January 1976. During this year, I came home to Sydney at the weekends, so we were able to continue our socialising. Maree taught at Villa Maria Catholic Primary School in Hunters Hill. In early 1977, I was transferred to St George Girls High School in Kogarah, where I stayed until I officially retired in late January 2012.
Maree married Peter Dorizas on 30 March 1985 at the Villa Maria Catholic Church in Mary Street, Hunters Hill. Peter and Maree travelled to Europe and included a visit to Ireland to catch up with her relatives.
Maree and I lost contact whilst Maree was married – she was busy teaching and raising two boys, Luke and James, as well as running a family household. I was teaching, but I was also involved in local politics. I was appointed to St George Hospital Board in 1985 and remained a Board Member until 1988; then I was elected and re-elected to Rockdale Council, 1991-1999; and elected and re-elected to Kogarah Council, 1999-2008. I also had elderly parents.
In mid-2006, I received a surprise call from Maree. She was ringing to check how I was going. I arranged to take her, in possibly October to attend Randwick Races, and to have lunch in the Galaxy Room in the Members Stand. We then drove to my home to see my elderly Dad, and then I drove her home to Ryde. She had been living with her mother, Bonnie for a while, as she was involved in a divorce from Peter. On this occasion, Bonnie caught up on my news, and then filled me in on the family news. She was always direct in her comments.
Maree’s father had passed in June 2006, and my father in late January 2007. My mother passed away in December 2002, and Maree’s mother in May 2009. We would often mention our parents in our conversations. My parents were Ron and Liz and her parents were Bonnie and Joe. And Bonnie’s beloved poodle sometimes rated a mention in our conversations.
Maree attended my Dad’s funeral, which was held in early February 2007. I was appreciative of her attending the funeral service and the wake afterwards.
My life continued to be very busy after I officially retired from teaching at the end of January 2012, so we spoke on the phone. I had a book “in progress” that had to have ongoing research and be published by mid-July 2016 – The History of Moorefield Racecourse, Kogarah (1888-1951) Sydney, Australia.
However, in the following years, Maree met with many health issues and spent considerable time in and out of hospital or in rehabilitation. Her mobility in particular was poor, and this was just one of her health issues.
I made many phone calls to her over the years, and we usually talked for some time on the phone. She received my annual Christmas Newsletter and photos, by email of my beautiful Cavaliers. Maree often talked about the family dog, Martin – he was good at escaping from home. In recent years, I have stayed on a number of occasions at the Big 4 Karuah Jetty Caravan Park. She told me of the times that she and her family stayed there, and how much the boys enjoyed it.
7-11 February 2012 Maree and I were in Coffs Harbour and stayed in my villa. Harold had passed away in September 2011, and the villa had to be organised for rental. We had a hire car, so we were able to see the wonderful scenery around Coffs Harbour. Maree and I had a great time exploring Coffs.
On 26 and 27 May 2012, Maree and I spent a weekend in Newcastle staying at the Chifley Apartments in Honeysuckle. We were able to visit her son, James at Newcastle University, where he was living on the university campus whilst studying engineering. Maree wanted to catch up with James, and to see the university accommodation.
On 26 September 2012, I collected Maree from her unit, as she was staying the night at my home. The next day our destination was Nowra. We called in to see Rhonda in Barrack Heights, Wollongong, so that I could meet my new Cavalier, Harry. In Nowra, we stayed at The Archers Hotel so that Maree could catch up with a friend of hers.
The next day, we had a long drive to Eden. We passed two vintage wedding cars, which were going into Tilba Tilba. I honked the horn to wish the bride well! Maree and I have often recalled in recent years our lovely trip south, the beautiful scenery, and the many things that we did on our road trip.
The purpose of my visit to Eden was to recommit my Grannie’s bottle to the sea on 30 September 2012, the anniversary of Harold’s passing. See my 8-minute YouTube, Anne’s Adventure, which tells the story of my bottle.
I had decided to put two bottles out to sea – my Scottish Grannie’s bottle, and one to acknowledge Harold’s life. The night before “the adventure”, Maree and I had some fun preparing Harold’s bottle. After “the adventure” was completed and I had returned to the townhouse, we drove south to Mallacoota in Victoria.
Our Eden accommodation was a wonderful townhouse, which overlooked the historic Snug Cove. Bass and Flinders had sailed in here and stayed for a short time – 9-17 October 1798.
We left Eden for a few days in Batemans Bay. Maree and I stayed in a lovely cabin at The Batehaven Caravan Park and had the opportunity to have a swim at the nearby Surf Beach. Sadly, we had to return to Sydney a few days later after a great trip.
I saw Maree again on 17 March 2014, at a St Patricks Night function at the Asquith Leagues Club, now the Magpies.
Maree was delighted when I acquired two rescue Cavaliers in 2015, and I named one James. The other one I named Lizzie, which was after my mother.
My “perfect gentleman”, James had a long life – 6 November 2002- 7 September 2018.
Maree had a kind and friendly nature. She had a good sense of humour and was well presented. Maree was always wanting to know what I was doing, and who was the current man in my life. One of her comments on the “man” subject was that “things are looking good at the Woolwich Convent“. We would sometimes talk about our former Eileen Street, Ryde neighbours.
My last phone call with her, some months ago, revealed the fact that she was in hospital for rehabilitation, due to her ongoing mobility issues. I had rung on other occasions and there was no response. I had rung her to tell her that I was going to Orange in early April 2022, and I had rung her again to tell her that I was back from Orange. Again, no response.
Christine, Janette, Maria and I will meet in mid-May 2022 for lunch at a restaurant to celebrate Maree’s life. We all knew Maree, and want to acknowledge her life as a school teacher, as a mother to two boys, and a grandmother.
Anne Field
