Five bundles of joy 60 years on

FATHER AND SON: David Parker and father Trevor look through a photo book of their family. Picture by Paul Rickard

Five members of a prominent Gisborne family — three siblings and two of their cousins — last week celebrated a two-day period when all of them were 60 years of age.

Although they could not get everyone together for a photo, the Parker family — who have owned and run Evans Funeral Services since the mid-1970s — wanted to share their feelgood story after the strange year it has been.

“The 26th and 27th of December 2020 is a very special day for the extended Parker family, as five of us were all 60 years of age and we are all still alive,” said David Parker, one of the five.

Six decades ago his parents — Avice and Trevor Parker — went from having no kids in the house to five.

Avice trained as a nurse in England and at the age of 19 came to New Zealand by ship — a six-week voyage — to help answer the Government's call for more nurses.

She was posted to Wairoa Hospital where she met Trevor, a carpenter who had three brothers, all living in Wairoa.

The pair met in circumstances that would significantly shape their funeral services future.

They were given the task of choosing mortuary tiles for the hospital while Avice was charge nurse and hit it off.

The pair married in Wairoa and their relatively stress-free life as a child-free couple included relaxing in Mahia and water-skiing on Wairoa River.

That all changed when Avice became pregnant and on December 28 1959, gave birth to a daughter, Raewyn (now Raewyn Dods).

In the room beside her and also in labour that day was sister-in law, Barbara, the wife of Trevor's brother Malcolm.

Barbara had twins — Barbara and Debra (both now living in Napier) — but tragically died of a brain haemorrhage.

Trevor and Malcolm were busy bridge-building in the Ruakituri Valley. Malcolm was unable to look after motherless twins by himself so Avice left hospital with three babies instead of one.

Back in those days there was the myth that a woman could not get pregnant while breastfeeding. Trevor proved that theory well and truly wrong and “shot two past the goalie”.

Avice got pregnant again, unknowingly with twins.

On December 26, 1960, 363 days after Raewyn was born, the Parkers welcomed David and Lynne (now Lynne Ralph) into the world.

Trevor and Avice suddenly found themselves with five children under one-year-old albeit briefly.

It made the front page of The Wairoa Star newspaper.

Money was tight and there were no disposable nappies back then.

Friends put in to buy the Parkers a dryer.

“That year I was only allowed to buy one dozen of beer for Christmas because that was all we could afford,” Trevor recalls

The family did have a car, or technically, one-fifth of a car.

“Five nurses (including Avice) each put in 25 pounds and bought a car.”

The car was named Jasper, an anagram of the first letters of the nurses' names.

“When the five girls would go down to the movies, I would take down a blanket for Jasper and put it over the engine to keep him warm,” said Trevor.

“He was hard to start in the cold.”

Seven months with five babies in the house proved too much for Avice and the adopted twins were taken on by Trevor's brother Rex and his wife June.

Trevor and Avice had a fourth child, Ian, a year or so after the twins and the family continued to live in Wairoa until 1975 when Trevor and Avice bought what is now known as Evans Funeral Services, and shifted to Gisborne.

David said this story was the reason he has so many godparents.

“There were just so many bums to wipe.”