Published: Tuesday, 3rd June, 2008 16:30
More than one of Oz...
By The Viator
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DOWN UNDER: Greenock, Australia, has a Lyndoch Hotel.
There is more than one Greenock in the world and today I can show photographs from Greenock, South Australia.
And appropriately, the pictures were taken by Greenockian David McEwing Flinn, who has lived in Australia since 1950.
David was touring the Barossa Valley — a well-known wine producing area — when he came across Greenock, which is in the heart of the vineyards.
There is a Greenock Hotel and the name is also above the post office and the tea room. Interestingly, there is also the Lyndoch Hotel, although its spelling is slightly different from the street in our Greenock.
David said Australia has several other place names connected with Scotland.
He lives in Hornby, Sydney and the next suburb is Galston, as in the Ayrshire town. Sydney also has a Dunoon Avenue and a Rothesay Street. Four hours north can be found an Aberdeen and there is a Dunoon in New South Wales. David was brought up at 10 Octavia Cottages, Greenock. The family business was David McEwing, hardware and fancy goods merchants, in 7 Arthur Street.
He attended Hillend School, Greenock High School and then the Royal Technical College in Glasgow — later Strathclyde University — to study structural engineering while gaining experience at engineering firm, Sir William Arrol.
During the Second World War, David was called up to serve in the Royal Engineers. He was in the first wave of the Normandy landings, and helped clear mines and obstacles.
David then went east to India, where he was promoted to quartermaster for Northwest India Movement Control Area.
After the war, he went back to Arrol’s until friends sponsored him to go to Sydney.
David later studied to qualify as an inspector in the boiler and pressure vessel section of the NSW Department of Industrial Relations. This was where he met his future wife, who worked in one of the offices.
David was a senior inspector with the department for 20 years until retiring.
He was a committee member of the Welding Institute was also co-author of a book titled ‘Health and Safety in Welding.’
David came out of retirement to run his own consulting company for 10 years. He has been back home several times.
In the seventies, he accrued six months paid leave which he spent in Greenock where his son and daughter enrolled in the new Hillend School. During this period, David attended the launch at Scotts’ of an O-class submarine for the Australian navy.
The Tele last carried mention of Greenock, Australia many years ago, but our archives do not indicate how it got its name. I am keen to hear from any reader who knows the answer.
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