Come hell or high water, Ken’s at home

By Peter Sweeney
When a policeman knocked on the door of a Kooweerup home during the floods in February, he couldn’t believe what he was told.
“No, I’m staying put,” stroke-ridden Ken Mills replied to the virtual demand for him to leave his home.
“It didn’t get in here in ’34 … and it won’t get in here now,” Mr Mills said to the policeman’s invitation to move to higher ground to avoid rising water levels.
Mr Mills was two years away from being born in 1934, but he knew exactly what happened. His parents, Vern and Rosabel, told him everything.
“This place was used by many people in ’34. The town was flooded, but this place wasn’t. People used to come here to eat and sleep,” Mr Mills said of the home which next year will celebrate its 100th birthday.
“When my mum died (in her 99th year), a lady wrote a lovely letter saying how grateful she was to my parents for letting her and other people stay here.
“There was water all around the rest of the property. I know my dad milked cows in the water … but the house was fine. We must be on a higher ground here.
“So even though the drains around us were clogging up with rubbish in February’s flood, I knew we would be fine.
“It was nice of the policeman to ask; I think he got a shock when I said I wasn’t budging.”
Ken Mills, who turned 75 in April, has lived on the same property all his life – being the third generation of his family to farm it.
Joyce Coleman, a Caldermeade girl, joined him there after they married at the Lang Lang Presbyterian Church on 7 February, 1959. The couple – who met at a dance at Lang Lang – have three children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
“He’s seven years old … and a good fisherman,” Joyce said.
The property Ken Mills was born on (actually, he was born in the old Kooweerup hospital) was originally a 70-acre dairy farm. Now it’s half the size – and about to get smaller – and is no longer a dairy farm.
“We’re about to lose five acres to VicRoads for the Kooweerup bypass,” Joyce said.
“It will leave us with a funny-shaped place … it will be like an island. They (VicRoads) were here recently and are coming back soon to test the soil.”
As much as the farm boy he is, Ken Mills had “plenty of other jobs” when his dad was milking cattle.
“I had to, because the property wasn’t big enough for us to both work it,” Mr Mills said.
“I was a carpenter by trade, doing my apprenticeship with Stuart Cochrane and later working with Charlie Rossetti at Pakenham.
“Then I went driving buses for, oh, it must have been 20 years.
“At one stage I was taking up to 68 kids to school, including my three (Christine, Ross and Jan). I wasn’t supposed to pick them up, because you were supposed to live at least three kilometres from the school. I had them up the front with me.
“Then I went working in the abattoirs. I was with them for 15 years. Had a stroke when I worked for them and my left side isn’t good and I’m pretty slow.”
The Mills had finished milking when Ken had his stroke, and at the time were rearing steers.
“We had cows and calves here,” Mr Mills said.
“These days I don’t do much, the stroke has slowed me down a lot.”
However, a life-member of the Kooweerup Football Club, Mr Mills is still able to make it to the footy.
“I go along and see the kids, my grandsons play. I love the football and used to be the property manager, the boot man, the ‘any job there was to do’ person at Kooweerup,” he said.
“I love Kooweerup, I was born in the old hospital.
“Five boys were born there in the same week – and there’s three of us left. Ray McMillan is the eldest, then there’s Lindsay Green and I’m the baby.
“We’re still mates and catch up on birthdays. When we had our 60th, we shared it together at a party at the then recently renovated Kooweerup Hotel.
“I love Kooweerup – and I especially love this place. Lived here all my life, and I can’t see myself moving now.
“I reckon they will carry me out of here. They had a practice run when I had the stroke. The next time might be for real.”