Kathleen Mary Muir
BSLJO, this is your great grandmother, mummy’s grandmother and Baba’s mother.
Kathleen Mary Muir
Kathleen Mary Muir was born in Dunedin, Otago on 21st May, 1911. She and her family lived in St Kilda. She was the second-born and had an older sister, Thelma and two younger brothers, Allan and Frank. Unfortunately her father died when she was only nine years old. This meant that her mother had to bring up the young family by herself. Mary (Minnie) Muir took in sewing, like turning collars and cuffs on business shirts and laundry to bring enough money in to feed the family. They used to have lard on their bread and toast because they couldn’t afford butter.
Kathleen and her brothers and sister went to St Clair School near the sea in Dunedin. She was very creative and good with her hands. Kathleen worked in a shoe store in South Dunedin. She was a very good seamstress, cook, baker and floral artist - traditional and Japanese/Ikebana. ‘Grandma baking’ has been handed down through the family! Her sister, Thelma was creative and very good with her hands too. In fact she became a seamstress and miliner and had her own business, ‘Regent Gowns’ in the Octagon, Dunedin and designed and made wedding dresses and hats. Women commonly wore hats in the early 1900s. Thelma was very good at golf and won several competitions at St Kilda golf links.
The Muir family went to St Kilda Methodist Church and sang in the choir. This is where Kathleen met Malcolm and they became boy and girlfriend.
Kathleen farewelled her boyfriend, Malcolm from Dunedin where he went to Burnham camp near Christchurch. He had volunteered to join the New Zealand Army and went to train before leaving on a troop ship for Egypt in December, 1939. During Malcolm’s years in the war, Kathleen wrote letters regularly, knitted and cooked biscuits and cakes to send to Malcolm who was based in Maadi Camp, Egypt. Malcolm was absolutely thrilled when airmail letters and parcels arrived for him. He shared the delicious baking with his mates!!
During the war years, 1939 - 1943 (when Malcolm returned) Kathleen continued to work at the shoe store. She had no father so her wages were needed to support the family. The Muir family lived in Forth St, North Dunedin and Richardson St, South Dunedin. They learnt how to play cards, especially 500 and really enjoyed playing with their mother and uncle, Harry on Friday nights. They never played on Sundays because that was forbidden by the Methodist Church. Playing cards was considered to be gambling.
Malcolm returned from Egypt on the hospital ship Wanganella in 1943. On his return Malcolm and Kathleen were married and moved from Dunedin to Owaka in South Otago.