Colette Paula Lawless

  Research Notes:

Jim Truscott notes:

The Girl from #10 Taney Road by Jim Truscott in May 2016

Colette Paula Truscott (nee Lawless) was born at Coombe Hospital in Dublin on 31 July 1956. She was the 5th child of Ellen and Kevin Lawless and they lived in a two story house in the suburb of Dundrum. There was two years difference between each of her older brother Jim, each of three older sisters Maeve, Barbara and Helen and her younger brother, Kevin. Her Father had been able to get the house at St Ronans on Dumdrum Road after working as a driver in the John Wayne film The Quiet Man. Her Father had served in the military as a mechanic in WWII to recover petrol from downed aircraft. Her Grandfather had fought in the British Army in WWI but there is no record of his service as they have all been lost apart from one item of brass trench art that Colette still has. Luckily her Step Father had kept it and gave it to Colette when she requested it.

Sadly her Mother died of ovarian cancer when she was only seven years old making her quite independent from an early age. Her Father remarried to Breed Byrne thinking that this would be best for the family but shortly after that her Father died when Colette was 15 years old and her step mother remarried to John Corcoran without telling the children. When her step mother introduced her new Step Father Colette immediately left the family house and never returned. Colette left school in 1973 to work at Pennys in Ireland. She began training as a nurse at the Sunshine Home in Fox Rock and she finished her training during three years in Sidcup in Kent in the UK. All of her brothers and sisters had independently immigrated to Perth in Australia and she was the last to do so. It was not easy as the immigration quotas at the time did not need nursing sisters in WA. Eventually this barrier was overcome. Colette was earmarked for work on the East Coast but she soon gained employment at Sir Charles Gardiner hospital in Perth and she shared a house with another nursing sister at Mount Lawley.

About a year after arriving in Australia she met Jim Truscott and after several months they rented a unit in Proclamation Street in Subiaco. A year later Colette and Jim moved to live in Newcastle. They drove across the Nullabor and went rafting down the Franklin River at the height of the 'No dams' campaign with two other SAS blokes. It was Colette's SAS selection course not having spent much time at all in the bush before let alone in wet, cold and physically hard and slightly dangerous circumstances. There was no backing out. The first year in Newcastle was another testing time for Colette as she had been accepted into midwifery training in Perth but could not get a nursing position in a Newcastle Hospital. She had to work in aged care facilities and relief nursing for quite some time until a position became available and also the opportunity to become maternity sister.

After two years in Newcastle she and Jim were married at Circular Key in Sydney and they moved into an apartment in the Spot shopping centre at Randwick. There she worked at Prince of Wales Hospital and she also gained her A&E qualification at the College of Nursing at Glebe. David was born in the second year in Sydney. After two years in Sydney Colette, Jim and David moved to their own house in Warramanga in Canberra. Colette continued nursing at Woden Hospital. In the second year her first daughter Jessica was born at Calvary Hospital. While pregnant with Jessica Colette went on an Army Aline Association trekking expedition to Everest base camp while Jim was climbing the mountain. After three years in Canberra, Colette, Jim, David and Jessica moved to Williamstown in Melbourne. Her second daughter Sarah was born in the first year in St Andrews Hospital and her third daughter Lisa was born late in the second year at Williamstown Hospital.

After two years in Melbourne, Colette, Jim, David, Jessica, Sarah and Lisa moved to Karratha in the Pilbara in North West Australia. They lived in a hotel for about three months before a house became available. Her older brother Jim, was living in Port Hedland at the time. The three older children were now at school and Colette focused on their support. Colette experienced a breast cancer scare at this time which thankfully worked out okay. Jim vividly remembers picking Colette up from the bus station at Karratha after she had been down to Perth for checks. Money was tight and they could not afford the airfare. They moved houses three times in three years in Karratha due to Army housing requirements which was very disruptive and stressful

After three years in Karratha Colette and her family moved to live close to the airport in Darwin for one year. Colette experienced another challenge when Jim was away climbing in India and her brother Kevin came to Darwin to assist. She also resumed her part time nursing career at Royal Darwin Hospital. After one year in Darwin Colette and her family moved to the suburb of Torrens in Canberra for one year. David was now at Marist school in Woden and the three girls at Holy Rosary and she resumed a part time nursing career mainly at Woden Hospital. After one year in Canberra Colette and her family moved to an army house at Swanbourne beside the SAS barracks in Perth where they live for four years. Colette continued her part time nursing career at St John of God Hospital and also managed to complete her formal BA in Nursing through Edith Cowan University. When Jim left the army, they built their own house at Kylie Street in Wembley Downs where they have now lived for 15 years. Colette then visited Ireland three times. The first occasion with Jim was a nostalgic trip to Dublin and to visit here parents and grandparents graves. The second occasion with her three daughters took them on a bus trip around all of Ireland. The third occasion was spontaneous trip as her daughters were already there. Colette continued nursing at St John of God and also outside Perth at Wundowie and until eventually stopping in 2003. Colette was very happy when David married Pam Burgess in Toowoomba in 2013. Colette is enjoying being grandmother to Jack and Sophie and she turns sixty years old on 31 July 2016.

Colette married James Francis (Jim) Truscott, son of Allan Truscott and Meta Frances Hurley. (James Francis (Jim) Truscott was born on 26 May 1956 in Brisbane, Queensland Australia ³⁷¹.)