Janet Lynch

I was born in Ouyen to Thomas Ceveri and Gwendoline Coustley on 7 February 1941. Dad moved to Ouyen from Bendigo, his father having immigrated from Northern Italy in the 1890s. His mother, Catherina Svanosio, was also of Italian descent but was born in Bendigo. Her parents moved to Australia in the 1850s. When Tom was twelve, his mother died, and he was left in Bendigo when his father and the younger two children moved to Melbourne. He was left a horse, and he eventually found his brothers who were farm hands in the Manangatang district. Another brother farmed at Cullulleraine. For many years Tom was a farm hand and used to travel to Ouyen where he met Gwen, his future wife. My mum was bookkeeper at the Ouyen Flour Mill and was proud to be one of the first pupils at the Ouyen High School. She finished Year 10 which was a huge achievement at that time – particularly for a female.