General News
30 August, 2024
The Hannan family: “Good, better, best. Never let it rest ‘til your good is better and your better best!”
In this edition of Maryborough Memories, Brian Lennen takes a look at local icon Frank Hannan.
By Brian Lennen
The world post-depression was a tough place. Frank Hannan lost his father, Richard, when he was six, dying from a miner’s complaint caused by breathing the quartz dust.
Frank and his mother moved to Richmond, but Frank was unhappy in the city and returned to Bendigo to live with his sister Vera (Laura). Sadly his mother died soon after.
His education was at Sailor’s Gully Primary School, where he won a scholarship but declined it in favour of getting a job.
So before his teenage years he started work for the sum of 17 shillings and six pence. After board and expenses, it left him with six pence.
He supplemented this with any available enterprise. His time at the Rosella sauce factory (where the tomatoes were infested with mice) made him a “homemade” sauce man for life.
Seeking more secure employment, he obtained a prized position for the Victorian Railways. After a long stint as a fireman, he qualified as a driver (an achievement he was proud of).
After 17 years he left the railways because the shifts left him with little time to spend with his family. During work as a relieving driver in Maryborough, he met the love of his life, Lorna Walkley, whom he married on June 6, 1941.
They met at the “Workers’ Dance Hall” (now the Tren duBourg Hall), an institution in the town, and continued to attend the dance after marriage, with Frank dinking Lorna on his bike.
After his exploits on the sporting field at Eaglehawk, Frank excelled in a myriad of sports in Maryborough.
He joined the Maryborough Football Club and played in a premiership. Despite possessing the talent to go to a high level, most ambitions were stifled post-depression.
Frank was an outstanding all-round cricketer, firstly as a fearsome fast bowler and in later years as a wily spinner. He was involved in the establishment of Colts Phelans Cricket Club and played representative cricket locally and for the VRI.
He played on until his late forties, with one of his biggest thrills coming when he occupied the crease while his son Graham scored his first century.
Apart from his diverse bowling skills and aggressive batting, Frank was a brilliant fielder with a throwing arm honed from slinging stones at rabbits.
Incredibly, Frank performed at the top level in a large variety of sports, including winning the Midland Spring at the Highland Gathering in 1941.
At the Highland Society he won a multitude of trophies while playing A Grade pennant. As a golfer, his time was spent at the Talbot Golf Club where his driving was brilliant but his short game was lacking.
Both Frank and Lorna were actively involved well into their later years. Frank was a familiar face on the gate at Princes Park, the trotting track, the motorbike scrambles at Alma, selling tickets at the drive-in and ushering at the Paramount Theatre, as well as umpiring both cricket and football.
Lorna and Frank were avid vegetable gardeners, supplying their family and friends with supplies all year round.
They were fantastic role models for the community, with a willingness to participate in an unassuming manner. They could be described as “nature’s gift” to society.
The Hannan offspring, Frank’s four sons, have all made a lasting contribution to Maryborough. They have fond memories of Dad’s greyhounds, especially “Master Fashion the Second”, who won several races including a win at Olympic Park and second in the Bendigo Cup. On trips he occupied pride of place in the back seat of the car.
Like their father, the brothers participated in a variety of sports. Russell and Ray are now active bowlers at Torquay. Ironically, on the cricket field Ray once figured in a grand final partnership that almost snatched victory from Colts.
Russell was a partner in a local sports store with Clive Heenan for several years after working in local government.
Graham established a reputation as one of the finest cricket players in the Central Highlands, and was rewarded with an appointment as captain of the representative 11 which played the touring Sri Lankans at Princes Park.
In local cricket he played 346 games for 5415 runs and 242 wickets, playing in seven premierships. He also distinguished himself in Horsham, where he twice scored 171.
Graham has worked tirelessly establishing and maintaining the wicket at Hedges Oval.
He was also a dashing footballer, playing in the Maryborough premiership team in 1965 and as a junior in the under 19s. He also coached Primrose to an under-age premiership.
Like his brothers Ray and Neil, he served the local education community for over 30 years.
Beverley, Graham’s wife, was a doyen of local softball, pitching for the Demons and Bears and playing country week for a decade.
Their daughters Renae and Meagan both represented Maryborough in netball.
Renae participated at state level, playing for the Hume City Falcons. In the Bendigo Football Netball League, she played in A Grade premierships and won player of the series in the Victorian Country Championship.
Ray’s son, Nick, is based in England and has achieved prominence in stem cell research, recently delivering an address to the British Parliament.