Barry Skehan's life, career, and family movements are chronicled here through various sources, including birth, death, and marriage certificates, family photos, press articles, personal recollections, and, in particular, ‘KILMORE Those That Came Before’ by Heather Knight—Kilmore Historical Society.

Barry, the fourth son of Amy (nee Grose) and Patrick Skehan, was born in December 1897 at what is now known as 40 Melbourne St, Kilmore, Victoria, the family home.

This house passed out of the family's hands in 1917 when his father's business interests shifted from Kilmore to Melbourne. They moved to Grandview St, Mooney Ponds, and finally to Combermere St, Essendon.

Barry received his education at Assumption College Kilmore. However, he left school early to commence his cabinetmaker apprenticeship under [Mr] Philpoth at The Kalizoic, a renowned furniture manufacturer in Melbourne at the time.

With the outbreak of WWI, following his two older brothers, he enlisted in the 1st AIF in July 1915 with ambitions of getting into the Australian Flying Corps; however, being underage, he could not gain his parents’ consent, so his application was refused.  He subsequently joined the Australian Military Forces (Militia) and served 11 years with the 58th Battalion.

When WWII began in 1939, he was again ineligible for active service due to his age (too old.) Still, he re-enlisted in the Militia Forces, ranked Corporal in the 58th Infantry Battalion C-Coy Kilmore, where he served for the duration of the war.

Little is known of Barry's early life. However, his musical prowess was widely published in the press; he also had a keen interest in football (VFL), notably the Essendon Club and had a close association with the Essendon City Band and the Essendon Irish Pipers Band and Association. His service to the association resulted in a Life Membership in recognition of his past services in 1922.  In addition, he also took cornet lessons with John Vosti.  His singing ability was frequently mentioned in the press; in the North Eastern Ensign (Benalla, Vic.) on 3/12/1920, he was stated to be “Drum Sargent and Piper Barry Skehan”.  On February 20, 1952, he sang the first live performance of the Click Goes the Shears ballad on radio station 3UZ Fifty and Over programme.

He returned to Kilmore in 1931, during the Great Depression of 1929-1938; the earliest known record of his return appears in the Kilmore Free Press, published in May 1931, in an advertisement for G. Diggle Funerals, in which Barry is the manager of the Kilmore branch, in the Kilmore Shire Council Rate Book for 1932-33, where he is recorded as being the Occupying Tennant of the house in Fitzroy Street; this would have been ‘Rose Hill’.  The first B. A. Skehan Cabinet Maker advertisement appeared in the Kilmore Free Press in February 1932.

It is presumed he took up residency at ‘Rose Hill’ in preparation for his planned marriage in June 1932, after which his wife, Cecilia, joined him at Kilmore. Their first child, Kevin, was born in August 1933; on several occasions in later years, Barry mentioned to family members that they lived at ‘Rose Hill’ in Fitzroy St. when Kevin was born. In the Kilmore Free Press, on November 11, 1935, Cecilia was advertising her homemade cake shop and described their location as "located next door to Adamson's garage”; this would have been The Motorist’s Cafe (later known as The Blue Bird Cafe.) as The Transport Inn was built much later between Adamson’s and the Blue Bird.

In November 1935, Barry separated from Diggle and started his own funeral business at the behest of many local and district residents. Advertising in the Kilmore Free Press said his office and private residence were next to Adamson's garage. In the early 2020s, Valma Allaway (nee Adamson) could remember playing in the sawdust as a child when his workshop was on the first floor of the garage.

In early 1937, with the imminent commencement of significant renovations to Adamson's Garage, namely the removal of the two top floors, they moved to Willow Cafe and adjoining premises on the corner of Lancefield Rd. (Foot St.) and Sydney St., opposite the Soldiers War Memorial (Cenotaph).

In the Free Press in April 1937, Mrs Barry Skehan advertised that she had moved her confectionary and refreshment business to premises formally occupied by Mr Hardidge (Opposite the Soldiers Memorial/Cenotaph, the Willow Cafe), and Mr Barry Skehan would conduct his undertaking business in adjoining premises.

In the Free Press in June 1939,  Cecilia advertised that her Homemade Cake business had moved to the Wattle Cafe/Tea Rooms at the Haynes Bakery in Sydney St., opposite the Red Lion Hotel. 

In the Free Press in June 1939,  Cecilia advertised that her Homemade Cake business had moved to the Wattle Cafe/Tea Rooms at the Haynes Bakery in Sydney St., opposite the Red Lion Hotel, where it remained for the duration of the war.  At some time between June and December, they moved to the Langley premises next door to the Willow Cafe.

This move was probably prompted by the small size of the workshop attached to the Willow Cafe, the proximity of the large shed on the property next door and its availability on a three-year lease; this property was described by Osborne and Hudson—who had been instructed to sell by public auction on December 9 by the trustee of the estate of the late Ann Langley—as a “Comfortable bluestone 2-story balcony residence, five rooms, kitchen and bathroom, and detached wash-house, brick and stone garage and service station. Wooden building suitable for a garage; standing on Lots 10, 11, 18 and 19 of a subdivision Allotments 2 and 3 of section 4 Town of Kilmore”; the auction notice went on to say that the property was subject to a three-year lease from December 3, 1939.

Philip arrived in early 1940 and thus has no recollection of events from then. Collectively, Kevin, Claire, and Adrian have some memories of the Wattle Cafe, but they have strong memories of living in the Langley house; the sequence in which events took place between June and December could not be determined; however, the funeral and furniture business would have been maintained within the same location, and it is apparent that the children did not live at the Wattle Cafe but spent their days with their mother while she managed the cafe, and they were most-likely already renting Langly property when the three-year lease was struck.

Pursuant to the lease terms, they moved to 1 Powlett St. (formerly the Courthouse Hotel) in December 1943, where the business remained until it passed out of the family's hands in December 1974.

In anticipation of their youngest son (Michael) ’s arrival in 1950, the residence was leased to Gordon Wigney (the newly employed company upholsterer). The family moved into the ancestral home (where Barry was born) at 40 Melbourne St., where they resided until 1958, when the factory was closed due to Barry's ill health, and the residence was again vacant. They moved back to 1 Powlett St.

Although Barry had experienced a severe heart problem for two years, his death occurred suddenly. Having retired at his usual time in the evening, he suffered a massive heart attack in his sleep and died in the early hours of October 15, 1961, with Dr H. G. Davis in attendance.

Barry A. Skehan

1932

A May Day parade in the late 1930s shows 1 Powlett St. (Courthouse Hotel) in the background, the Willow Cafe, and Barry Skehans Funerals next door (his business sign can be seen on the small shed and adjoining fence.) The wooden shed, partly hidden by shrubbery on the Langley property next door, is adjacent to the parked car.

(Photo by Mr. Dan Clancy)