By Catherine Watson
“POULTRY farm manager Merve Drowley, 38, of Hoddles Creek, near Warburton, told his four children that if they wanted their bicycles at Inverloch for the holidays, they could ride the 93 miles …
“So at 5am last Thursday, Russell, 12, Sandra, 10, and twins Glen and Julie, 9, set off on the long trip ...”
So starts this story in the Wonthaggi Express of January 9, 1969.
When Teresa Coldebella republished the cutting on her Facebook site Old Photos of Wonthaggi it took off too, with comments marvelling at the endurance of these little tykes.
“POULTRY farm manager Merve Drowley, 38, of Hoddles Creek, near Warburton, told his four children that if they wanted their bicycles at Inverloch for the holidays, they could ride the 93 miles …
“So at 5am last Thursday, Russell, 12, Sandra, 10, and twins Glen and Julie, 9, set off on the long trip ...”
So starts this story in the Wonthaggi Express of January 9, 1969.
When Teresa Coldebella republished the cutting on her Facebook site Old Photos of Wonthaggi it took off too, with comments marvelling at the endurance of these little tykes.
According to the Express, their parents joined them for morning tea at Koo-wee-rup, then, “satisfied that their flock was safe and well”, carried on to Inverloch.
Ninety-three miles is just under 150kms, about the distance from the Melbourne CBD to Inverloch, a challenging enough ride for lycra-clad lads today on the latest 12-speed carbon framed whizz-bang cycles. The Drowley kids had no gears, shock absorbers, lycra or water bottle holders.
Not surprising then, as the Express put it, “At Grantville the kids were feeling the pinch. At Bass they were sunburnt. They walked up the steep Anderson hill – the only stretch they had to walk. “
Ninety-three miles is just under 150kms, about the distance from the Melbourne CBD to Inverloch, a challenging enough ride for lycra-clad lads today on the latest 12-speed carbon framed whizz-bang cycles. The Drowley kids had no gears, shock absorbers, lycra or water bottle holders.
Not surprising then, as the Express put it, “At Grantville the kids were feeling the pinch. At Bass they were sunburnt. They walked up the steep Anderson hill – the only stretch they had to walk. “
The Drowleys, taken about the time of their epic ride. From left, Russell, Sandra, Julie, Glenn,
Laural and Douglas.
Laural and Douglas.
The newspaper article mentions that Merv Drowley had previously farmed at Inverloch and Bass, and that Mrs Drowley was the previous Dawn Akers of Wonthaggi. Using the local grapevine, which sometimes works better than Telstra, the Post managed to track down those intrepid kids – now all in their mid to late 60s – and asked them what they remembered of the epic ride.
Russell, the oldest, recalls that they had pestered their parents to be allowed to do the ride. “Mum didn't want us to do it. She was the worrier in our family. But Dad was ‘All right, you can do it’. We had two other younger siblings but they were too little.
“Dad got us out there early in the morning and off we went. I remember it was very hot. We’d do 10 miles and have a rest.”
Russell, the oldest, recalls that they had pestered their parents to be allowed to do the ride. “Mum didn't want us to do it. She was the worrier in our family. But Dad was ‘All right, you can do it’. We had two other younger siblings but they were too little.
“Dad got us out there early in the morning and off we went. I remember it was very hot. We’d do 10 miles and have a rest.”
“I knew they would make it okay. They are in the Scouts, Guides and Brownies, and know how to look after themselves.”
Merve Drowley
Russell’s bike had three-speed Sturmey Archer gears. “It was the bike of the century back in those days. That was a great bike. The others didn’t have gears.”
According to the Express, by mid afternoon even the unflappable Merve was starting to get a little nervous: “At 3.30 Mr. Drowley was about to drive back for their children, but before he left their camping spot at Flat Rocks, Inverloch, the children turned up. They had been on the road for 10½ hours.”
Sandra has minimal memories of the actual ride. “Perhaps having very sunburnt hands is the main one. We certainly weren't quitters and I remember that we were really determined to complete the ride and also very encouraging to each other to keep going.”
She says there was a bit of poetic licence in the newspaper story. “Julie didn't actually make the whole trip after her bike broke down. That's probably why they reported her to be the fittest at the end!”
As for that photo in the Express, it was staged several days later. Russell says they had to bike into the camping spot two or three times until the photographer was satisfied.
He recalls those holidays at Flat Rocks as wonderful family times. “There was camping all along that whole Inverloch foreshore.” Those summer holidays hold a special place in his heart because he met his wife Linda on the beach at Flat Rocks. They’ve been married now for 49 and a half years.
Taking their bikes to Inverloch wasn’t just a whim. Merve would drive the family down, with the camping gear packed in a trailer, set up camp, then he’d have to go back to Hoddles Creek for work. Dawn would be left with six children to manage. The bikes meant they could ride into town to pick up milk and supplies, and ride up to their grandparents’ farm in Drowleys Road.
As for Glenn, he actually repeated the bike ride by himself a couple of years later. “He couldn't be bothered waiting for Dad to pack up all the camping gear so he decided to start riding,” Sandra said. “The plan was for Dad to pick him up when he drove through Kilcunda.”
At Kilcunda he missed Glenn, so he kept driving, expecting to pass him down the road. A dejected Glenn watched him drive past. Being a Drowley, he got back on his bike and rode the rest of the way home.
“The experience can't have been too damaging for Russell and Glenn,” Sandra says, “as they now regularly go on long, arduous rides on their electric bikes.”
Merv and Dawn have both died but their kids are all still going strong: Russell in Wangaratta, Sandra in Moey, Glen at Heyfield, Julie in Perth, Laural in Moe, and Doug in Newborough. When they caught up for a weekend in NSW earlier this year, the epic ride from Hoddles Creek to Inverloch was one of many great family memories.
According to the Express, by mid afternoon even the unflappable Merve was starting to get a little nervous: “At 3.30 Mr. Drowley was about to drive back for their children, but before he left their camping spot at Flat Rocks, Inverloch, the children turned up. They had been on the road for 10½ hours.”
Sandra has minimal memories of the actual ride. “Perhaps having very sunburnt hands is the main one. We certainly weren't quitters and I remember that we were really determined to complete the ride and also very encouraging to each other to keep going.”
She says there was a bit of poetic licence in the newspaper story. “Julie didn't actually make the whole trip after her bike broke down. That's probably why they reported her to be the fittest at the end!”
As for that photo in the Express, it was staged several days later. Russell says they had to bike into the camping spot two or three times until the photographer was satisfied.
He recalls those holidays at Flat Rocks as wonderful family times. “There was camping all along that whole Inverloch foreshore.” Those summer holidays hold a special place in his heart because he met his wife Linda on the beach at Flat Rocks. They’ve been married now for 49 and a half years.
Taking their bikes to Inverloch wasn’t just a whim. Merve would drive the family down, with the camping gear packed in a trailer, set up camp, then he’d have to go back to Hoddles Creek for work. Dawn would be left with six children to manage. The bikes meant they could ride into town to pick up milk and supplies, and ride up to their grandparents’ farm in Drowleys Road.
As for Glenn, he actually repeated the bike ride by himself a couple of years later. “He couldn't be bothered waiting for Dad to pack up all the camping gear so he decided to start riding,” Sandra said. “The plan was for Dad to pick him up when he drove through Kilcunda.”
At Kilcunda he missed Glenn, so he kept driving, expecting to pass him down the road. A dejected Glenn watched him drive past. Being a Drowley, he got back on his bike and rode the rest of the way home.
“The experience can't have been too damaging for Russell and Glenn,” Sandra says, “as they now regularly go on long, arduous rides on their electric bikes.”
Merv and Dawn have both died but their kids are all still going strong: Russell in Wangaratta, Sandra in Moey, Glen at Heyfield, Julie in Perth, Laural in Moe, and Doug in Newborough. When they caught up for a weekend in NSW earlier this year, the epic ride from Hoddles Creek to Inverloch was one of many great family memories.