BEACH, Kathleen (nee Melville) (1916-2004)
Kath was born in 1916 to Joseph and Catherine Melville and grew up in the care of the Salvation Army at the East Camberwell Girls Home. In 1940 she married Gordon Beach, a Kinglake farmer. They bought a dairy farm in Dixons Creek in 1945 and, with a growing family of 3 daughters and a son, they farmed there until 1967. The family then moved to a home in Yarraview Road, Yarra Glen. Noted for her many community activities, Kath was honoured with the Victorian Senior Citizen of the Year Award in 2000. Throughout her life she actively engaged in the work of the Salvation Army and the Red Cross, the Dixons Creek School Council and Mothers Club. She was also a member of the Yarra Glen Senior Citizens, the CWA, the Eye and Ear Hospital Auxiliary, the Yarra Glen & Districts Living & Learning Centre, and the Yarra Glen Bowling Club.
Sources: Mountain Views Mail, 6 April 2004, p.10.
