Howard Stanley Edwards

  General Notes:

Howard Edwards was born in Shepparton on 3rd. March 1910. He attended school at Toolamba, Lismore and then finally at Maffra High, where his father, William Henry Edwards, was principal. He joined the Bank of, Victoria, Australia at nearby Heyfield in 1927 as a junior. The bank was taken over by the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney seventeen days later. (Later in the 1970's this bank was to merge with another to form the National Bank of Australia) With his family living in Maffra, he boarded in Heyfield and would ride a bicycle back each weekend. This was the first time he lived away from home. It was here that he learned to play cards, an activity strictly forbidden in his parent's staunch Methodist family home. Also in Heyfield, he became involved in district cricket often travelling as far as Sale for matches.
Four years later he was put on relief work, first working at the branch at Chelsea in Melbourne, then at Oakleigh. He was transferred to the country at the branches of Beechworth and then Swan Hill. (Beechworth in Christmas 1932.) He then was put back on the relieving staff in Melbourne for the eight months prior to his marriage to Verna Jarvis of Beechworth in April of 1940.
Late in 1939 (Boxing day) he was working in Piangil.
He purchased a house at 12 Somerset Rd. Hartwell, a suburb of Melbourne as he was appointed to the 203 Elizabeth St city branch of the bank. Nearly sixteen years later, in late 1955, he was appointed as manager of the Cheltenham branch and the family moved to the bank premises. Whilst there in mid 1957, a truck came through the front wall of the house - doing severe structural damage to the building. This forced the family to board from prior to Christmas that year through to April the next in Beaumaris whilst the bank and residence were extensively remodelled.
After five years at Cheltenham, he was transferred to the Fitzroy branch and elected not to reside on the premises but to purchase a house at 31 Severn St, North Balwyn. From 1966 through to about 1969, he was a relieving manager prior to being appointed as a Sub-inspector with Branch Audits at the Head Office until his retirement from the bank on 28th February 1973.
Always during his banking years, he had a coat pocket full of rubber bands and paper clips, and in his later auditing years green ballpoint pens were common around the home - being the colour used for all bank-auditing purposes. After some 46 years in banking, retirement didn't last long as he did the accounts for a number of small firms for a few months before accepting the position of Budget Officer of Moreland Hall Private Hospital, (conducted by the Methodist Church for alcoholics and drug dependents). After seven and a half years there, reductions in Federal Government funding caused a reduction in staff numbers and thus he finally retired from employment at age 71 in 1981.
In the later part of his banking career, he also joined the Board of Management of the Prahan Methodist Mission acting as honorary treasurer.
During the nineteen eighties he acted as voluntary treasurer for the North Balwyn Senior Citizens for three years.
His home in North Balwyn is situated on a large corner allotment, the house-garden and nature strips occupying a lot of his time keeping them in good order.
With Saturday afternoons following the "Dons" on a 'trannie' radio as he gardened.
Cars - Armstrong Siddeley?pale grey Chevolet, black FJ Holden, two tone grey 1959 Holden, the 'pink' holden - a Mushroom and pink panelled 1962 Holden, Aunt Hilda's 1965? Holden, 504 Peugeot x 2
Two sons, a and eight grand children.[Phoenix family tree.ged]

Howard married Verna Ingrey Jarvis, daughter of Frank Jarvis and Lillie Gentle Harvey, on 6 Apr 1940 in Prince Of Wales Park Methodist Church, Northcote, Victoria Australia. (Verna Ingrey Jarvis was born on 5 May 1917 in Beechworth, Victoria Australia.)