Moreton Shores local sows seeds of nostalgia

Bolton Clarke Moreton Shores resident, Charles Geljon, has a special connection with the land the Redlands Retirement Village is built upon.

In 1957, his Mother Julia and Father Joe purchased the very same land, which was then a farm. Charles recalls that he helped his parents, and the neighbouring farm owners – receiving £5 per week for 57 hours of work.

“My family had immigrated from Holland when I was about 10 and at first, we lived in Victoria. None of us spoke English,” he said.

“My father wanted to work for himself, so my parents moved our family to Queensland to become farmers. I was 14 at the time and the second eldest of nine kids.

“They bought the land on King Street for £4,500 and we farmed strawberries, beans, tomatoes and peas and sold them at the Brisbane Markets – now known as Rocklea Markets.”

Aside from the farm, the land was empty, with a concrete house and a shed with a water tower on top of it. The house sat where King Street now meets Tindappah Drive.

“It was tough work. I accidentally chopped my finger off while mucking around with the cogs on a water pipe one day!” Charles shared.

“My siblings and I worked hard on the farm, and we only had half a day a week to ‘play’ – the rest of our days were spent helping on the farm.”

After eight years, the family lost the farm due to high levels of sodium in the bore water. Charles, who was 20 at the time, went on to join the Army. While some of his siblings remained in Queensland, the rest of the family moved back to Victoria.

“I moved around a lot after I left the Army, but I never left Queensland. My wife and I moved to Wellington Point and then found our place at Moreton Shores several years ago,” he said.

“It was a good feeling to come back to the area from when I was young, I felt very at ease coming back here. And now, five of the siblings have come back to settle in the Redlands.

“It’s easy reminisce about where our old house was and what that time of our life was like. It was a hard time, but a good time.”

Today, Moreton Shores Retirement Village is comprised of a variety of two bedroom and two bedroom plus study homes which are ideally positioned to let residents live retirement to the fullest.