Cam Walker played a vital role in a close-knit community. By Marion Walker
A LINK with Bass Coast history has been broken with the death of Cam Walker, the fourth generation of a family that settled in Glen Alvie in 1883. In fact, Cam’s great-grandmother actually named Glen Alvie, though the family moved to Almurta in 1909.
More than 360 people attended Cam’s funeral at Bass on April 17 to show their respect and love for a man who had played a vital role in this close-knit community for many decades.
John Campbell (Cam) Walker was born on April 18 1945 at Wonthaggi Hospital. He was the son of David and Rebecca Walker of Almurta and grew up on the family farm, “Montrose”.
He and his three older sisters rode their horses to the Kernot State School. The school had only one room and one teacher for about 30 kids. Cam did all the things kids did in those days: built billy carts, went ferreting for rabbits, fished for eels, raced the other kids on his horse.
A LINK with Bass Coast history has been broken with the death of Cam Walker, the fourth generation of a family that settled in Glen Alvie in 1883. In fact, Cam’s great-grandmother actually named Glen Alvie, though the family moved to Almurta in 1909.
More than 360 people attended Cam’s funeral at Bass on April 17 to show their respect and love for a man who had played a vital role in this close-knit community for many decades.
John Campbell (Cam) Walker was born on April 18 1945 at Wonthaggi Hospital. He was the son of David and Rebecca Walker of Almurta and grew up on the family farm, “Montrose”.
He and his three older sisters rode their horses to the Kernot State School. The school had only one room and one teacher for about 30 kids. Cam did all the things kids did in those days: built billy carts, went ferreting for rabbits, fished for eels, raced the other kids on his horse.
He always loved the farm and when he finished school he came home to help work it with his parents and sisters. They milked cows, had sheep and pigs and bred horses. Cam joined the Kernot Glen Alvie fire brigade and the Glen Alvie Young Farmers club.
He worked for a time with Thiess Brothers while the Candowie reservoir was being built and learned to drive big machinery, weld and many other things he found useful back on the farm.
With a large piece of the home farm having been acquired for the reservoir, Cam’s parents purchased and moved to another farm at Leongatha South. They then ran both farms. While living at Leongatha South, Cam joined the Pound Creek Fire Brigade, Leongatha Apex and Leongatha Agricultural Society.
In 1968 while on a Young Farmers beach picnic at Mornington he met his future wife, Marion Trewin from Red Hill. They married a year later and moved to the family farm at Almurta.
They had four children, Kellie, Nicki, Rachael [dec] and Anna, and became very involved in all the community groups, including the Kernot State School and the Fire Brigade. Cam went to some of the big fires, including Ash Wednesday.
He was on the original committee that oversaw the closure of all the little local schools and the formation of the Bass Valley School. He, along with many other volunteers, spent hundreds of hours building the sports oval, a gymnasium and swimming pool. Cam was also on the Almurta Hall and tennis club committees.
Cam was a founding member of the Bass Valley Landcare Group and helped at many working bees, planting out trees and encouraging others to do the same. He and Marion propagated and planted out thousands of trees on their farm.
He was also involved in the formation of Newhaven College and spent many hours there with his machinery and helping to raise funds.
Cam loved four wheel driving so the family enjoyed lots of camping holidays up the mountains and to Ayers Rock when it was just a dirt road in and you could camp at the base. Later Cam and Marion did many outback holidays sleeping in the back of the 4WD. Going around Australia was a great experience. They bought a caravan and kept travelling to all parts of the country. They also had several overseas trips.
Cam loved spending time with his grandchildren, Jarred, Trent, Xavier, Olivia and Isabelle, helping and watching them grow. He was a terrible tease and the kids adored him. These were some of the happiest times of his life.
In 2008 he developed cardiomyopathy and over the following years battled this and a couple of cancers. By 2016 he was finding the farm too hard so reluctantly sold up and moved to a house in Inverloch. He was very happy there. He joined the men’s shed, and travelled back to Kernot each fortnight for the men’s lunch. Cam and Marion caravanned to Queensland each winter.
Cam was a very sociable person who enjoyed nothing more than being out and about and having a chat. He would talk to anyone about anything. He loved his family and his many friends.
He worked for a time with Thiess Brothers while the Candowie reservoir was being built and learned to drive big machinery, weld and many other things he found useful back on the farm.
With a large piece of the home farm having been acquired for the reservoir, Cam’s parents purchased and moved to another farm at Leongatha South. They then ran both farms. While living at Leongatha South, Cam joined the Pound Creek Fire Brigade, Leongatha Apex and Leongatha Agricultural Society.
In 1968 while on a Young Farmers beach picnic at Mornington he met his future wife, Marion Trewin from Red Hill. They married a year later and moved to the family farm at Almurta.
They had four children, Kellie, Nicki, Rachael [dec] and Anna, and became very involved in all the community groups, including the Kernot State School and the Fire Brigade. Cam went to some of the big fires, including Ash Wednesday.
He was on the original committee that oversaw the closure of all the little local schools and the formation of the Bass Valley School. He, along with many other volunteers, spent hundreds of hours building the sports oval, a gymnasium and swimming pool. Cam was also on the Almurta Hall and tennis club committees.
Cam was a founding member of the Bass Valley Landcare Group and helped at many working bees, planting out trees and encouraging others to do the same. He and Marion propagated and planted out thousands of trees on their farm.
He was also involved in the formation of Newhaven College and spent many hours there with his machinery and helping to raise funds.
Cam loved four wheel driving so the family enjoyed lots of camping holidays up the mountains and to Ayers Rock when it was just a dirt road in and you could camp at the base. Later Cam and Marion did many outback holidays sleeping in the back of the 4WD. Going around Australia was a great experience. They bought a caravan and kept travelling to all parts of the country. They also had several overseas trips.
Cam loved spending time with his grandchildren, Jarred, Trent, Xavier, Olivia and Isabelle, helping and watching them grow. He was a terrible tease and the kids adored him. These were some of the happiest times of his life.
In 2008 he developed cardiomyopathy and over the following years battled this and a couple of cancers. By 2016 he was finding the farm too hard so reluctantly sold up and moved to a house in Inverloch. He was very happy there. He joined the men’s shed, and travelled back to Kernot each fortnight for the men’s lunch. Cam and Marion caravanned to Queensland each winter.
Cam was a very sociable person who enjoyed nothing more than being out and about and having a chat. He would talk to anyone about anything. He loved his family and his many friends.