Forty Years a Territorian
p. 95 · Read in the full issue
A Brett Hilder Profile
4rs. Nance Lowe, wife of Richard ve, Lae’s regional electrical en ter, first went to New Guinea in 3. She was then three years old.
ER father, Charles Dunsmore • Beck, was with the Loloki »per mine at the time. In 1927, family moved to Kokopo, where arlie became the manager of the Kokopo Hotel. Later, he was h the Hohora Oil Company and w Guinea Gold, at Wau. He died 1941.
'Jance started school in 1928 at svnsville, staying there with her ndmother. But her school years re interrupted by visits to her ents in New Guinea, and by their its to Australia. >he finished with school in 1936, I lived in New Guinea until her rriage at Wau in 1940, to Richard uglas Lowe, of BGD. Their first ne was at the lower Baiune hydro pic power station.
In December, 1941, Nance was evacuated to Australia with 22 other women and 11 children by air from Bulwa. She flew in a single-engine Junkers, which was forced down at Kokoda, then by light aircraft to Port Moresby and from there to Cairns by air. Richard got out later, being in the RAE, and they both worked in Sydney for the duration.
In 1946 they returned to Lae, and lived by the Butibum River. Rich joined the Administration in the same year. They have two sons, Rodney, born in 1948, and Reid, born 1957.
Nance has been working for some time at the Lae Herbarium. She is a very keen golfer, and was the Territory champion in 1960, but her husband and sons come first in her life.
She has a very happy and vivacious nature, which makes her ready smile an extra attraction to the natural beauties of Lae.— BRETT MILDER.