B2B with a Twist Publication - Work • Stay • Play October Edition Work Stay Play Autumn 2018 Edition | Page 20

we left at 18 we had some money to back
us up (this wasn’t the case). It was hard,
very hard, but it made me tough. The
time in the orphanages made me strong,
determined, very stubborn and extremely
wary of men.
Evelyn Gardner
2 1/2 hours after I was born I was taken
from my mother and put in an orphanage.
I was made a ward of the state simply
because I was born as a result of a sexual
assault. That was in South Gippsland
Victoria, in 1938.
Over the next 18 years was regularly
shuffled from one orphanage to another.
One of the first orphanages decided that
I had down syndrome, was mentally
disabled and blind. Ttherefore I couldn’t
stay there so I was moved to one for
handicapped children. They soon realised
their mistake and so I was moved once
again.
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During my time at the orphanages, from
the age of three, I was subjected to
physical, mental, emotional and sexual
abuse from those that were supposed
to look after me. I also witnessed other
children in the orphanages receiving the
same abuse. Life was hard, but I did n’t
really know any different. We were seen,
but never heard. No-one listened to our
cries for help.
At 7 years old a visiting doctor said he could
fix my eyesight and so after 2 operations
and lots of minor treatment four years later
I could finally see at the age of 11. When I
turned 16 I was transferred to a hostel and
had to work. All our money was handed
to the orphanage, some was to be taken
for board and the rest saved so that when
At 18 years of age left Victoria, with the
5 shillings they gave me (not the savings
I should have accumulated) and headed
to Cooranbong NSW. I went to college
and studied dressmaking, tailoring,
bookkeeping and music. To pay for my
fees I did the laundry for the students in
the collage and worked at Sanitarium. I
was going to prove to myself and to the
doubters that I would be a value to society
and I was not going to end up a nobody as
I had been told all my life. When I finished
college I worked full-time at Sanitarium as
a trainer.
It was while I was at college that I met
my husband, Wal. He proved to be an
extremely patient man. It was five years
before I felt comfortable with him even
holding my hand. During the five years
I watched him closely, saw how he
interacted with his family and friends.
Realised he was a patient and caring man
and eventually the guard came down and
I fell in love.
Wal and I got married in 1962 and moved
to his family’s farm in the Hunter Valley.
Times were hard on the farm and couldn’t
support two families, so Wal and I moved
back to Cooranbong, and started working
at Sanitarium again. By this stage we had
3 children, we would alternate shifts so
one of us was always at home with them.
Some 10 years later when the children
were teenagers Wal and I started our own
earthmoving and fencing business. We
landed some big contracts and did work
for a few developers. One developer
ended up poaching us and I worked for
them for over 40 years as a supervisor,
overseeing the block clearing, landscaping
and fencing contractors. Given the need
to prove myself to the doubters and
to further my value in society I went to
university whilst I was working and studied
bush regeneration and landscaping. All
the while I seemed to be a magnet for
underprivileged and socially marginalised
children.
Given what I went through as a child,
those less fortunate seemed to gravitate
towards me and as a result I gave my time
to many kids in need. Mentoring, building
their trust (no mean feat), making them
realise they were worthy of love, it proved
enough for them to turn their lives around.
In 2016, I was contacted by a company
called Open Place which helps “The
Forgotten Children” – Wards of the State.
They put in the hard yards and found my
family and organised for me to connect
with 5 brothers and sisters that are still
alive, many nieces and nephews and
great nieces and nephews. We still keep
in contact and have become close.
Today, at 79 Wal and I have been married
for 56 years, have a son and twin
daughters, 7 grandchildren and 4 great
grandchildren. I am still doing my charity
work, helping out the homeless and
disadvantaged. I am known as Mum to
100’s of kids and adults. I’ve helped setup
and run soup kitchens for the last 10 years,
organised clothing and support for those
in need. None of this could have been
done without the donations from local
businesses.
Do I see myself as extraordinary? No.
What I have done is create a start for
people that have been forgotten.