Family Card - Person Sheet
Family Card - Person Sheet
NameDudley Mason (Dud) NICOLLE
BirthDec 1920, Happy Valley
Death29 Sep 2012
FatherHarris Mortimer (Mort) NICOLLE (1892-1979)
MotherDaisey Myrtle MASON (1892-)
Spouses
Marriage26 Nov 1953
Notes for Dudley Mason (Dud) NICOLLE
KNOWN AS: DUD
Southern Times Messenger Why Dud is always happy
23 NOV 10 @ 01:35PM BY ALICE HIGGINS
A HAPPY Valley resident for his entire 89 years, Dud Nicolle, is a confessed “homing pigeon”.
“I’ve travelled the world, I’ve travelled all around Australia too, and I still come back to Happy Valley,” he says.
Not only is Mr Nicolle the fourth generation of his family to live in Happy Valley, he was born in the local post office, which his mother owned and operated for 63 years.
The building, which still stands on Chandlers Hill Rd, also doubled as the family home.
“There’s not many people who can say they’re born in the house their parents built,” he said.
Mr Nicolle, who lives on Seaview Dr, went to Happy Valley School from Grade 1 to Grade 7 before becoming a labourer.
He says the neighbours always looked out for one another, so much so that “we would all know what colour pocket knives we would have in our pockets”. “You knew everybody - locking your doors up ... you didn’t have to do it and if someone went away, you would look after their house.”
He says a fire that broke out to the west of the current Happy Valley Oval in 1939 was a turning point in the suburb’s history.
“The fire went for five days and five nights and it would still be burning if we didn’t get any big rains on the Saturday night,” he said. “There had never, ever been a fire like it and we had no (firefighting) equipment whatsoever.”
Six weeks after the fire, Mr Nicolle, his neighbour Sam Fairbrother and 16 other residents formed the Happy Valley Firefighting and Prevention Association, now better known as the Happy Valley CFS.
“We thought ‘we’ve got to do something about this’.
“It was agreed all of us founding members paid two shillings and six pence to buy equipment.”
Mr Nicolle says he is most proud of successfully fighting five attempts to change Happy Valley’s name, including an attempt by the postal authority in 1939 to change its name to Reynella East.
“I got a group of people together to lobby them about what a great mistake it was and they backed down.”
In October, Mr Nicolle was awarded the meritorious medal for 60 years’ service to the South Australian CFS by Emergency Services Minister Michael Wright and former CFS chief Euan Ferguson.
Southern Times Messenger Why Dud is always happy
Southern Times Messenger Why Dud is always happy
23 NOV 10 @ 01:35PM BY ALICE HIGGINS
A HAPPY Valley resident for his entire 89 years, Dud Nicolle, is a confessed “homing pigeon”.
“I’ve travelled the world, I’ve travelled all around Australia too, and I still come back to Happy Valley,” he says.
Not only is Mr Nicolle the fourth generation of his family to live in Happy Valley, he was born in the local post office, which his mother owned and operated for 63 years.
The building, which still stands on Chandlers Hill Rd, also doubled as the family home.
“There’s not many people who can say they’re born in the house their parents built,” he said.
Mr Nicolle, who lives on Seaview Dr, went to Happy Valley School from Grade 1 to Grade 7 before becoming a labourer.
He says the neighbours always looked out for one another, so much so that “we would all know what colour pocket knives we would have in our pockets”. “You knew everybody - locking your doors up ... you didn’t have to do it and if someone went away, you would look after their house.”
He says a fire that broke out to the west of the current Happy Valley Oval in 1939 was a turning point in the suburb’s history.
“The fire went for five days and five nights and it would still be burning if we didn’t get any big rains on the Saturday night,” he said. “There had never, ever been a fire like it and we had no (firefighting) equipment whatsoever.”
Six weeks after the fire, Mr Nicolle, his neighbour Sam Fairbrother and 16 other residents formed the Happy Valley Firefighting and Prevention Association, now better known as the Happy Valley CFS.
“We thought ‘we’ve got to do something about this’.
“It was agreed all of us founding members paid two shillings and six pence to buy equipment.”
Mr Nicolle says he is most proud of successfully fighting five attempts to change Happy Valley’s name, including an attempt by the postal authority in 1939 to change its name to Reynella East.
“I got a group of people together to lobby them about what a great mistake it was and they backed down.”
In October, Mr Nicolle was awarded the meritorious medal for 60 years’ service to the South Australian CFS by Emergency Services Minister Michael Wright and former CFS chief Euan Ferguson.
Southern Times Messenger Why Dud is always happy