THE SKEHAN FAMILY HISTORY
Cecilia Emma Skehan was born to Emma and William McLeod of North Fitzroy, Melbourne, in September 1907. Cecilia was blessed with a lovely singing voice and studied at The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music at the University of Melbourne. She was the acclaimed principal soloist for St Mary's Choir in East Melbourne.
Her singing ability is evidenced by the many press reports of her local and Melbourne performances.
Cecilia fell pregnant at the tender age of 15 to 17-year-old Fred Gourlay. Although it is evident that Fred made many attempts to marry Cecilia, his efforts were in vain, undoubtedly due to the social pressures of the day.
At the child's birth, she was taken by Fred's family and raised as Mary Gourlay, with her father posing as her brother and her grandparents posing as her parents. All who knew the truth assisted the conspiracy, and she grew up in a typically happy family environment.
On occasions when Mary's birth certificate was required, Fred duly attended to such matters, including when she married and when she joined the RAAF during WWII.
The conspiracy finally came unstuck quite late in her life. When Mary applied for her passport, she found no official birth record under Gourlay. By this time, Fred and her parents (grandparents) were long deceased, and any other surviving extended family either didn't know or chose to remain silent on the matter.
The search for her biological mother was centred around a bracelet inscribed "To Cecilia Mc. from F. G. 14/9/1925." It was not until 2001 that a distant relative let slip that Cecilia Mc's identity was Cecilia McLeod, which eventually led to the discovery of her birth certificate.
A certified copy of the birth certificate revealed Cecelia's identity and confirmed her connection to the Skehan family. In conversations with her newly found Skehan siblings, Mary finally understood the unnecessary dental appointments and the time she spent with the dental nurse throughout her childhood when she learnt that her mother was a dental nurse. However, it was also a great sadness for her to realise that on many occasions during her married life, she and her husband went for a typical Sunday drive, which often saw them having a picnic lunch in the park at Kilmore, not knowing that her mother lived directly opposite the park.
The date on the bracelet was Cecelia McLeod's (Skehan) 18th birthday, and F. G. was Frederick Gourlay. Having not been accepted by Cecilia, the bracelet remained with the Gourlay family; however, with the passing of Fred and his immediate family, its origin was lost to all. Its story emerges only when Cecilia's identity is revealed and Mary discovers her biological mother.
In 1932, she married Barry Skehan, with whom she bore five children. Their married life started at Kilmore, Barry's hometown, where Barry had returned to a year earlier to pursue his business interests. Cecilia, a renowned cook, opened her Cafe/Cake Shop (the Motorists' Cafe), which she successfully operated at various locations on the main street until the conclusion of WWII.
After Cecilia died in 1988, her watch, with the religious medal she had kept since childhood attached, was passed on to her daughter-in-law, June Skehan.
When the families were finally united in 2001, June presented it to Mary as a memento of her long-lost mother.
During her lifetime, she involved herself in many community organisations, which included:
Country Women's Association;
Kilmore Croquet Club;
Kilmore Bowls Club;
Musical Society;
She was a founding member of the Kilmore Senior Citizens Club, inaugural president, and life member.
Cecilia was presented with the 1981 Shire of Kilmore Citizens Award.
Forever in our hearts.
