Daughter identifies father in old photo

IN the last edition of the Cooroy Rag (14 June 2023), we published a photo from Cooroy local Rob Jeffs of people at the Cooroy Creek swimming hole behind the Scout Hall on Mary River Road in the late 1960s (pictured) and asked if anyone recognised the people pictured.

Cooroy resident Colleen Fuller contacted the paper to say her father, Raymond Britten, is one of the men in the photo.

“Dad is the man in the dark singlet at the bottom lefthand corner of the photo.”

Colleen’s parents, Raymond and Patricia Britten, are long-time Cooroy locals.

“Mum’s maiden name is Hetherington. She was a nurse at Nambour and Cooroy hospitals. Her parents, Ivy and Cres, lived in Garnet

Street and then near the current fire station.

“She and Dad were married in Yandina just after the cyclone went through in 1955.

“They lived in Nambour briefly and moved to Cooroy for Dad to start with S.E.A. [Southern Electric Authority of Queensland] (the then energy company) in 1956. He retired after 40 years and three months of service.

“They rented a house opposite IGA in Emerald Street. It still exists and is now up on block foundations where Katie Rose op shop is. Local builder, the late Jim Bryant, built their first home in Wattle Street.

“Dad was also a volunteer fireman. He chose to help the local milkman for a season when he needed a long recovery from illness, and came home for breakfast before continuing on to his work at S.E.A.

“He gave 184 blood bank donations until the age of 81, receiving a certificate from the Red Cross acknowledging that his donations had saved the lives of 552 patients.”

Raymond and Patricia still live in Cooroy. Raymond turns 91 in August.

“We’re going to print this photo to give to him,” Colleen said.