Long-standing member of the Berwick community and inaugural president and founder of the Casey Cardinia Branch of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) Ruth Crofts passed away on 4 February following courageously facing a severe illness for the last few years.
Ruth was from a pioneering family, her father’s Scottish parents William and Agnes Bell having immigrated to Port Phillip in 1839.
Ruth’s great-uncle (also William Bell) established a farm at Yarra Glen in the 1850s which he named Gulf Station. This property is now owned by the National Trust and is an important part of Victoria’s heritage.
It is not surprising, that with this family background Ruth took up an early interest in Victoria’s heritage, and later the heritage in our local area.
Ruth was born at the Greensborough Bush Nursing Hospital in March 1939 and in her early years lived on the family property Violet Bank farmed by her father at Kangaroo Ground.
Ruth’s parents Colin and Sylvia Bell subsequently sold the farm and moved to Wollert to share-farm there. Ruth enjoyed life on the farm and in particular assisting with the Clydesdales.
The local Young Farmers Club acquired a new member and at a local show Ruth won a prize with a hen after explaining its laying habits to the judges.
Bad health in the form of asthma intervened and Ruth suffered quite a setback in health for two years, requiring some hard work to “catch up” at the local one-teacher Wollert Primary School. Ruth “caught up” so much so that she won a scholarship to attend the Preston Girls’ School.
The school day commenced with a bike ride to the local general store followed by a ride in a bus down to Preston. A move by her family to another farm at Nagambie resulted in Ruth completing her secondary education at Seymour High School.
On leaving school Ruth enrolled to train as a nurse at the Mooroopna Base Hospital during which time she met her future husband Michael Crofts a tertiary educated farmer who managed a large property owned by Sir Hamilton Sleigh in Nagambie.
The property comprised 2000 acres and ran beef cattle with a Poll Hereford Stud. Ruth and Michael were married in 1959 and their children Rosalind and David were both born at the Nagambie Bush Nursing Hospital.
When the children commenced at the Tabilk Primary School Ruth joined the mothers’ Club and was appointed treasurer.
In 1966 during Michael’s long service leave, the family visited England, meeting Michael’s relatives and friends there as well as taking the opportunity to visit various parts of Great Britain and Ireland where Ruth particularly enjoyed seeing a range of historic buildings owned by the UK National Trust.
On their return to Australia, the children’s secondary education became an important consideration resulting in Michael and Ruth moving the family to Clyde North, where Michael took up a position as manager of Carcoola, a property owned by Colonel Neil, Chairman of The Age newspaper.
The position was much more than that however as the Colonel owned five other properties which Michael was also to manage – three in the local area, one at Macedon, and another at Fish Creek.
It was quite an enterprise and Ruth took up responsibility for administrative and financial activities, but also found time to be involved with Parents’ Committees at Rosalind and David’s schools – St Margaret’s Berwick and Haileybury College.
In 1977 Ruth’s interest in heritage issues resulted in her seeking a position with the National Trust (Victoria). Much to her joy, Ruth was appointed as membership officer and, assisted by a group of volunteers, the membership of the Trust in Victoria rose to more than 20,000 members.
When the Trust moved to new headquarters in Tasma Terrace East Melbourne, Ruth accepted the offer of Colonel Birch, the Trust’s chief executive officer, to take up the role as his assistant, in charge of administration, accounts and membership. In all, Ruth was employed by the Trust for 10 years.
In 1987 Ruth successfully stood for election to the Board of Directors of the Trust (Victoria), a position which she held for 24 years, serving in various roles including vice-president, executive member, chairman fundraising and membership and other committees.
When Ruth’s membership of the Board concluded the Trust appointed her as an Honorary Member, the Trust’s highest honour.
In 1979 Michael and Ruth had moved from the farm into the Berwick township purchasing two properties on which they established their family. Michael undertook some renovations and they remained there until their respective deaths.
In 2001 Ruth was encouraged to consider establishing a branch of the National Trust in her local area. She took up this cause with much vitality and recruited a group of volunteers to have a branch established.
After quite some publicity in the local press, the inaugural meeting of the Casey-Cardinia Branch was conducted in March 2002 and Ruth was appointed president, a position which she held for the next 18 years.
In the early days there was great interest in visiting local historical properties and tours were organised, and very well supported by the keen new members.
Over the years the local Trust Branch became involved in many “campaigns” in support of or against different issues and in each case Ruth Crofts provided strong leadership and articulated the Trust’s position in a clear and convincing manner.
One particular cause with which Ruth was involved was the City of Casey’s acquisition of the former Berwick Primary School site for the purposes of a park. Over a period of years, a local committee, supported by a group of very generous local citizens, worked hard to convince the Council that the school site should be retained as a park.
Ruth was a member of the committee and there was a successful conclusion when the Council acquired the land, established Pioneers Park, and approved the Trust Branch establishing an Information Centre and Gift Shop in the old school building.
The City of Casey made use of Ruth’s knowledge and experience, appointing her as a member of its Conservation Advisory Committee, Heritage Sub Committee, and Local History Reference Group.
In addition to her Honorary Membership of the National Trust (Victoria), Ruth was nominated as City of Casey Citizen of the Year in 2007.
But the greatest accolade for Ruth’s activities over the years came on Australia Day 2017 when it was announced that Ruth had been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
The medal was presented to Ruth by Linda Dessau AC Governor of Victoria at an Investiture conducted at Government House, Melbourne on 5 April 2017. Ruth noted at the time that “the contributions and support of so many people over many years made it all possible”.
Our local community has benefited considerably from the great contribution made by Ruth Crofts over more than 50 years. The local National Trust Branch will always appreciate the solid foundation which Ruth laid.
Ruth’s life was a life well lead – the community applauds that life and expresses its sympathy to Rosalind and David.
