William O'Brien moved from Liverpool, England to Manchester as a young man to help his uncle run a bakery. While working there, he met a woman named Lucy and the two eventually married. In the 1960s, they decided to move with their children to Sydney, Australia for new opportunities. William had a long career in construction and was a respected foreman before retiring at age 65. His advice is to be open to love and appreciate differences in others.

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Howdy folks! It has been a busy few months and I can’t
quite believe its August!
We have had the pleasure of having intern Tiffany Chau
from Griffith University come on board and it was lovely
to meet her when I visited the sunny Gold Coast at the
start of the year. I always love meeting my interns and it
is always an honor having interns join Celebrate Living
History. I love our intern’s enthusiasm to document
stories or assist with the public relations side of Celebrate
Living History. Their enthusiasm is what drives me to
keep running Celebrate Living History and also the
ability to use my degree to help mentor these wonderful
minds.
I suppose I’ve been a bit quiet lately! It has been a bit
crazy over the past few months, I had just scored a full
time job and I’m still juggling my other jobs at the same
time.
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Bev with Tiffany our Griffith University
intern on the Gold Coast.Semester 1: 2019
Words from Bev
Wilkinson
Words from Bev the founder
of Celebrate Living History
The Man that
followed his heart.
Cooking with Dotti
Advice to younger
Generations with
Alan
Vox Pop with
Cassandra
Sponsors
Contact details
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William O’Brien was born in Liverpool England
to a family of five other boys. Growing up, his
life revolved around his family business, which
was a bakery. As far as William could
remember, his family bakery has always been
his family’s greatest pride.
The family lived above their bakery that they
owned and every morning, the boys would wake
up with the scent of freshly baked bread that
would seep through the wooden floor beneath
them. The boys had fresh bread with jam made
from the berries that their mother grew in their
yard every morning for breakfast.
William went to school for a few years but
decided to stop going because his father
needed help at the bakery. All his brothers have
moved away to different parts of Europe and he
was the only one at home to give his father a
hand.
He worked with his father for a few years until
his his uncle wanted to open up a bakery in
Manchester, so he decided to move out and
help his uncle with their bakery. It was great to
live in Manchester. Not living with his family at
the age of 16, he already felt like a man. He had
a room at the side of an old restaurant, and
even though it was small and cramped, it was
still home for him. He lived in Manchester and
never got into trouble.
The Man That Followed His Heart
By Michael Walecki
All the boys his age would stay out late and
drink beer and caused havoc in the city. Not
William. He would get up early to bake bread
for his uncle and would attract customers into
the bakehouse and get them to try their pies.
He was saving up money because he heard
that many people were going to Australia, the
tropical country on the other side of the world.
It was a rainy day that seemed just like every
other one in Manchester. At around seven in
the morning a young woman dressed in a dark
blue rain jacket walked in with her head
covered. As she took off her veil, long curly
locks of golden brown hair unravelled towards
her waist. She put down her umbrella and
lifted her pale face and locked her hazel eyes
with William’s. William couldn’t speak. She
approached him and asked him for two loaves
of bread. Normally William would chat with the
customers at the store and would like to get to
know everyone and how their day has been so
far.
But when he encountered this young woman,
he could not even find the words to say good
morning. She obviously saw that William was
cast under her spell, and began giggling,
laughing at the fact that a man didn’t have the
courage to even say hello.

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3
She paid for the loaves and left the store. William couldn’t
believe that someone had the ability to make him speechless,
and promised himself that the next time he saw that woman, he
would make up for his loss of words. The very next day the
same woman walked into the bakery with a smile, asking for
the same order of two loaves. William immediately said yes,
and apologized for yesterday’s experience. They laughed
about the experience and he offered to walk her back home.
After a few months of walking the wonderful woman home and
many other days spent together, William asked Lucy for her
hand in marriage, and got married in the fall half a year later.
In the 1960’s there were many U.K citizens that were
encouraged to move to Australia. So after some time in thought
and their whole lives in front of them, Lucy and William decided
to move. “The conversation was pretty funny, we just looked at
each other and literally said with a smirk on our faces, “Why
not?.”
The couple moved down to Sydney and William eventually
found a job working in construction. He was very satisfied
because the only job he really had was at his family bakery.” I
enjoyed the change, it made me feel more like a man working
in construction, as to a bakery,” he says. Lucy was a nurse in
the local hospital and would work the night shift and this put
some strain on the marriage because the two almost never saw
each other. But in those precious moments when the two were
at home at the same time, it was always an amazing time.
Lucy became pregnant and eventually could not work the night
shifts. William said she told me she wanted to be well rested for
our baby, it was hard on us financially, but it gave me great
peace knowing why I was putting in extra hours. Julian was
born and two years later they had a girl named Sarah.
“Having children is the greatest joy. There is nothing in this
world that makes me happier than my kids and Lucy,” he says.
The family then moved to Brisbane several years later. William
got another job in construction, and after a few years was
promoted to a foreman position. He was excellent with people
and was respected by his workers. Many praised his talents to
take on projects and be a great leader. William says “You just
need to treat others the way you want to be treated. Once
people feel respected, they don’t feel forced to help you, then
want to help you.”
Many years passed and William worked many jobs, but
eventually retired at the age of 65. He and Lucy continued to
love each other just as if they only met yesterday.
Williams advice for everyone is: “Be open to love. So many
good things come from love.”
Advice to younger
generations with
Alan Stevens who is
an international
profile and
communications
specialist.
Learn to understand
and appreciate that
everyone is different,
that we are all
unique and every last
person brings
something to the
table that they and
only they can bring.
Do that and you’ll
embrace the
differences,
appreciating what
they bring and no
longer feel
threatened by them.

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Lemon Meringue Pie
You will need:
Nearly two cups of white flour
Less than a teaspoon of salt
Cup of very cold water
2 large lemons
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
6 tablespoons of sugar
Butter
Pinch of salt
Cream
Vanilla extract
3 egg whites
Lemon Meringue Pie with Dotti
By Caitlin McMullen
Dotti is a 92 year-old woman who loves to cook sweet treats. For the past two years she has been
coming into my workplace every Saturday, making me try some of her inventions or her traditional
recipes, which have been passed on for generations.
Some of these recipes shared have been within her family for 70 years. She told me that she
hasn’t shared her recipes with anyone before, so I’m privileged not just to eat them, but to find out
how she does it. Dotti doesn’t go by exact measurements or steps; it comes naturally to her,
something that I aspire to at her age. Going strong for a 92 year-old, she loves having friends
over, insists on making me a cake every time I go over (even though she is cooking something
else for me), and has two chickens, which she hasn’t named.
On a side note from myself, I asked Dotti to do this recipe for me. My great-grandmother use to
cook lemon meringue pie every Sunday when we went over to visit her. It has hit 10 years of her
passing and I have never eaten lemon meringue pie since the last one she made for me. In many
ways Dotti reminds me of my great-grandmother, so I thought why not try Dotti’s. It tasted as good
as I remember it being 10 years ago.
Recipe:
1. Mix the flour and a tiny bit of salt.
2. Melt some butter over a stove, enough to fill
half a cup. “You don’t want to burn it or change
its colour, just enough so it becomes a liquid”
3. Put the melted butter into the bowl with the
flour etc. “You’re going to need to get your
hands dirty. As I mix this with my hands so it
becomes little crumbs I guess, the flour will turn
into little lumps.
4. It should look like this:

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14. Wait till the mixture thickens on the stove.
15. Once done, remove that from the stove and
let it cool for 5 minutes.
16. Remove the crust from the freezer and put it
in the oven on 190 degrees for 20 minutes.
17. Leave the oven on, but remove the crust so
that it can be filled with the lemon mixture.
18. Put that in the oven for about 15 minutes.
“It’s not about the time you leave it in for but how
cooked and ready the pastry looks. It takes
practice to know when it looks right, especially
for meringues”
19. To make the meringue for the top, beat the
egg whites until frothy, then add cream and
continue beating.
“The chickens have given me three eggs in the
last week. Don’t ever get chickens. They are a
waste of time. I had to go out and buy eggs this
morning!”
20. With a beater, mix in some sugar and vanilla
extract.
21. Spread the meringue over the top of the pie.
“Make sure you get everywhere there should be
no cracks or the meringue won’t work. This is
probably the step where everyone goes wrong”
22. Put it in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes.
“Keep double-checking on it. The top should be
lightly golden-brown, and the meringue should
be hard. If the pie is doing that, then take it out;
you don’t want to overcook it. Meringue burns
easy”
5. Pour some cold water into the bowl,
little by little. There should be no dry
flour left. Use your hands to pat the
dough. “Roll it up into a ball, then on a
chopping board filled with flour roll out
the ball of dough-like making cookies”
6. Roll it flat so that the dough becomes
flat.
7. With two hands, gently move the
dough from the chopping board to the
pan. Lay it over the top.
8. Pat down the dough in the pan
slowly, so it doesn’t break.
“If it does start to break, get some
butter and water to try to make the
dough moist. If the dough is breaking it
means it’s too dry”
9. The pan should look like this once all
the dough is patted down:
10. Once the crust is in the pan, freeze
that for about 30 minutes
11. Start grating the lemons and
squeezing all the juice out of them into
a bowl. Try and get some of the pulp in
the bowl as well.
12. In a saucepan, beat the eggs, the
13. Pour in the lemon mixture with six
or more tablespoons of butter.
“Make sure you are always stirring the
mixture in the saucepan. A meringue is
always worth the effort it takes. If you
can make a meringue you can make
anything”

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Continued from page 1
2
Sometimes I have a seven -day week other times a bit of a
balance. But I am so grateful for the opportunity to make
money to continue doing what I love. I have always
wanted to be a published author and was praying for a
way to make money so I can get these two books that
gained reality in my head into the big wide world. And
these jobs enable me to keep following my dreams. I’ve
always seen roadblocks and thought there must be a way
to get around that. It sounds a bit corny but I believe the
universe has my back and has made publishing these
books possible.
So I’m so happy to announce Entrepreneurs Across
Generations is now in production and should be out before
the end of the year!!! I’ve been interviewing entrepreneurs
from two very different generations the over 60s and
under 30s over the past year simply out of curiosity to see
what drives these two generations to pursue what they
love to do and make their idea work despite the barriers
they face. For me their stories make me so happy because
I feel like I have a lot in common with these entrepreneurs
that keep trying and failing but then get up again and
succeed. It is all about giving your dream a go and I have
so much in common with that! I am looking forward to
seeing what the finished book will look like and can’t wait
to share the book with everyone!
I’ve had so many people say that I should write a book
about all my casual work so ironically enough on public
transport I have been writing about all the jobs that I have
done over the years. It still amazes me that you can write
a book on your mobile phone in so many different
locations! As a casual worker I have been in so many
different industries tourism, aged and disability care,
events industry and call centers. My aim is to have this
book out by the end of 2019. I have big goals but I truly
believe if you work hard enough you can make anything
happen!
Till Next Time! Bev
Meet Cassandra Hili
who is founder of
Millennium
Communications.
What are some of the
most important lessons
you have learnt from
your first business
failure at 18?
I learnt that you need to
stay accountable for
yourself and in business
there is always something
to work on. The first
business that I ran was in
the fitness industry and
even though I sold e-books
well online, gaining
clients in a gym was
another thing. Rather
than really working for it,
I chose to give up. Now I
don’t. If something
happens- I push through.
I became resilient to
failure and I’ve learnt to
find a way to push
through any kind of
situation. If you want
something to work- you
need to work for it.

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