The COOPER Family
THEO, VERDI AND REG COOPER.
165 ANNETTS PARADE MOSSY POINT.
Theo Cooper and his wife Verdi had a small holiday cottage named Ahoy at 165 Annetts Pde, until Verdi died in 1953. They were looked up to at Mossy Point, they were respected members of the “Canberrans with an attachment to Mossy Point” community, although they were from Queanbeyan.
Theo's grandfather had been Sir Leonard Cooper a solicitor of the Supreme Court London, and High Sheriff of Madras India for the British Imperial Government. Theo's mother was the youngest daughter of John Tooth who founded the Kent Brewery in Sydney.
Theo had served in both World Wars. He had a pharmacy and Verdi a haberdashery under the same roof in Queanbeyan. Theo was also a JP who held several appointments with the Commonwealth (Federal) Government in Canberra, and as well was sometimes called in to perform civil marriages at the ACT Courts and Titles Office in Canberra, where Clarrie Fisher (119 Annetts Pde) worked in the 1940s.
In 1953 Verdi's estate was auctioned, the description of her property included:
'Ahoy' - a cottage of 2 rooms, kitchen, and motor garage attached. Construction: Outer walls linings and ceilings of fibro cement sheets roof of galvanised iron painted. Approximate total area of cottage and garage 600 square feet. 1000 gallon tank on stand.
This property has a frontage to Annetts Parade, is built on the rear of the allotment and has a north easterly aspect fronting the Tomaga River. It is practically adjoining the beach and is adjoining an area of land reserved for a park and recreational area.
Reginald Smirnoff Panton (Reg) Cooper was Theo Cooper's brother, lived in a rough shack. He had been disabled during the First World War, it left him 'a bit odd' in some eyes. He grew vegetables which he sometimes watered from a spring fed well at about 100 Annetts Pde (in the depression across Annetts Pde from the road to the boat ramp). Reg was single, he was the man who dug holes and buried toilet waste for women on their own. He wrote the "Mossy Point" column for the Moruya newspaper.
During World War 2 (with Mrs Radclyffe Snr) Reg used to patrol Broulee Beach every night to guard against Japanese submarines which were sometimes heard charging their batteries in Broulee Bay (which extends from Burrewarra Pt to Broulee Is). See the entry for Submarines in the A to Z page.
He sometimes did work in exchange for an evening meal, although he had a reputation for settling in to chat and not wanting to leave until too late. He had a dog that might have been a border collie called 'Tiger' who could hardly walk, he appeared to be on his last legs. But he was still able to sire an unwanted litter of one pup from a local fox terrier. When it became redundant, Reg bought the police dinghy that was on The River.
It was common practice in the 1940s to administer a small glass of brandy to a heart attack victim. Reg was known for appearing to suffer a heart attack, if he thought that there would be a tot of brandy in it for him. He was a bit of a devil.
Reg's family finally convinced him to move to Sydney, they felt that he was too old and unsteady to safely remain at a place as isolated as Mossy Point. Sadly he was killed in Sydney in late 1950s, started stopped started stopped then went to walk across a road and was run down (he could get confused).
165 ANNETTS PARADE MOSSY POINT.
Theo Cooper and his wife Verdi had a small holiday cottage named Ahoy at 165 Annetts Pde, until Verdi died in 1953. They were looked up to at Mossy Point, they were respected members of the “Canberrans with an attachment to Mossy Point” community, although they were from Queanbeyan.
Theo's grandfather had been Sir Leonard Cooper a solicitor of the Supreme Court London, and High Sheriff of Madras India for the British Imperial Government. Theo's mother was the youngest daughter of John Tooth who founded the Kent Brewery in Sydney.
Theo had served in both World Wars. He had a pharmacy and Verdi a haberdashery under the same roof in Queanbeyan. Theo was also a JP who held several appointments with the Commonwealth (Federal) Government in Canberra, and as well was sometimes called in to perform civil marriages at the ACT Courts and Titles Office in Canberra, where Clarrie Fisher (119 Annetts Pde) worked in the 1940s.
In 1953 Verdi's estate was auctioned, the description of her property included:
'Ahoy' - a cottage of 2 rooms, kitchen, and motor garage attached. Construction: Outer walls linings and ceilings of fibro cement sheets roof of galvanised iron painted. Approximate total area of cottage and garage 600 square feet. 1000 gallon tank on stand.
This property has a frontage to Annetts Parade, is built on the rear of the allotment and has a north easterly aspect fronting the Tomaga River. It is practically adjoining the beach and is adjoining an area of land reserved for a park and recreational area.
Reginald Smirnoff Panton (Reg) Cooper was Theo Cooper's brother, lived in a rough shack. He had been disabled during the First World War, it left him 'a bit odd' in some eyes. He grew vegetables which he sometimes watered from a spring fed well at about 100 Annetts Pde (in the depression across Annetts Pde from the road to the boat ramp). Reg was single, he was the man who dug holes and buried toilet waste for women on their own. He wrote the "Mossy Point" column for the Moruya newspaper.
During World War 2 (with Mrs Radclyffe Snr) Reg used to patrol Broulee Beach every night to guard against Japanese submarines which were sometimes heard charging their batteries in Broulee Bay (which extends from Burrewarra Pt to Broulee Is). See the entry for Submarines in the A to Z page.
He sometimes did work in exchange for an evening meal, although he had a reputation for settling in to chat and not wanting to leave until too late. He had a dog that might have been a border collie called 'Tiger' who could hardly walk, he appeared to be on his last legs. But he was still able to sire an unwanted litter of one pup from a local fox terrier. When it became redundant, Reg bought the police dinghy that was on The River.
It was common practice in the 1940s to administer a small glass of brandy to a heart attack victim. Reg was known for appearing to suffer a heart attack, if he thought that there would be a tot of brandy in it for him. He was a bit of a devil.
Reg's family finally convinced him to move to Sydney, they felt that he was too old and unsteady to safely remain at a place as isolated as Mossy Point. Sadly he was killed in Sydney in late 1950s, started stopped started stopped then went to walk across a road and was run down (he could get confused).