Leslie James Hayes

   Another name for Leslie was Leslie James Hayes.

  General Notes:

Played cricket from about 1945 to 1955
Had a milk round in Colac from about 1957 to 1963
Buried in Colac cemetery with daughter Pam.

Told by his brother Don on 22.1.2002 A cricket story.
It was a cricket final and Les was captain. We were all out by 5.30 and th ere was just a half hour to go. Bert Gardiner was the final bowler and L es said to him "bowl as fast and hard as you can straight at them."
There were balls flying all over the place. It was the worst over I've ev er seen in my life! It was one of Barney's (Les) worst ideas.

Leslie James Hayes

Told by his brother Don 29.5.2001

Les was not a very enthusiastic scholar in most subjects. He excelled in t he area of numbers and figures. That ability carried through into his lat er life especially when the numbers were preceded by a dollar sig
The kids of his early school days were under a disadvantage with George Gr een as the teacher. Green was a sadistic type who relied on ridicule, bull ying and use of the strap. Little wonder the pupils have no pleasant memor ies of their school days.
Les was fond of running and always ran home after school, something he did n't do on his way there. Green left when he was in about grade five and Mi ss Thomas arrived and that was certainly a godsend.
She boarded at Binns and being a Melbourne girl was pretty green to count ry ways. On one occasion she had to leave school early and Les being the o ldest was left in charge to lock up after the minister from Cororooke h ad given us Religious Instruction (that was not a smart idea). Rabbits h ad burrows under the school and Les decided we enlarge the entrances wi th a spade and hide under the school. When the minister arrived there w as not a pupil in sight so he cleared off and us kids soon did likewise.
I think it was a happy day when he turned 14 and was able to leave school.
He was always on the lookout to make a shilling and started breeding ferre ts that were kept in an old half water tank. Truly an awesome sight abo ut 40 ferrets leaping at you when they were being fed.
Like some of his uncles before him he had a particular skill as a rabbit t rapper. He would set 3 or 4 dozen traps during the afternoon and check th em for any catch about 10 that night, reset and check again next morning a fter breakfast. It certainly was a heavy game and he deserved all he got o ut of it.
During his teenage years without being an actual rebel he liked to push t he limits. He was into the new fashions like when bell bottom trousers a nd two-tone shoes came into vogue.
He tested mums patience with his desire to go to more dances than she cons idered advisable. He played the field where girlfriends were involve d. He took one lass to the Melbourne Cup of 1934. She was wearing a mid le ngth frock and it rained all day. The poor girl's frock shrunk and finish ed up above her knees.

As a footballer he didn't possess any silky skills. He had plenty of pa ce and would push the ball along the ground.
Cricket was his forte and played a large part of his and all of our famili es sporting life. Les was usually captain of Balintore and a smart o ne at that. We were usually in the finals and during the season Les wou ld bowl himself sparingly. He was a leg spinner in the mould of Shane Warn e. Come finals time his type of bowling would always come up trumps. I rem ember one day at Warrion, a Warrion player (Olney) being out, caught behin d. He refused to leave the wicket and sat down on the pitch. Les just wal ked over and invited all our team to come and sit with the batsman and ha ve a rest. His tactics paid off and the batsman cleared off. (In fact I th ink it was a bad call by the umpire and he shouldn't have been given out b ut you don't argue with the umpire). Les and I batted together so many tim es that it only required a glance to ensure safe running between wicket s. He would be the best of our mob, played Country Week and Inter-league g ames on many occasions. He valued his wicket very highly.
He and I were the best milkers, onion baggers, weeders and hoers in our fa mily.
In an era when a trip to Melbourne was regarded as a trip to outer spac e, Les went to the Mildura grape picking expeditions.
He also went to Sydney to visit Mum's sister, our Auntie Em Gray who was G us Gray's mother. (We assume this is where he met Jean Tidy to whom he lat er became engaged. This later broke up. He was young at the time). So y ou can see he had a touch of the wanderlust in his young days.
He was a smart business operator getting in on the fresh milk home delive ry game. When pasteurisation came in his license became a valuable commodi ty and he rightfully got the full benefit from it.
For a family of ten we had a great homelife and subsequent years have n ot changed anything. No petty quarrels and arguments. Trust your own fami ly life follows the same pattern.


Les- nickname'Barney'- Colin Kilpatrick gave him that - reason unknown - " Scoffer"- a 'sconeface' girlfriend, shortened by Bruce (see notes elsewher e)

Les Hayes was once engaged to a girl called Jean Tidy. She lived in Sydn ey and was a friend of Alma's. They eventually broke up. She didn't fan cy being a farmer's wife. Jean thinks she is still alive. She married twic e. Both husbands died.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Age on marriage: 30.

• Age at death (Facts Pg): 77.

• Certificates I have: Birth, marriage, death.

• Signature: Yes.

Leslie married Violet Jean Wisbey, daughter of William Wisbey and Violet May Wilkinson Wood, on 26 Apr 1947 in Christ Church, Church of England, Essendon. (Violet Jean Wisbey was born in 1916 in Colac, Victoria Australia.)