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Eva May (Wirlie) Moore

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Eva May (Wirlie) Moore
MOORE Eva.jpg
Plaque Information
Date of Birth 30 June 1909
Age at Death 92 years
Transcription In Loving Memory of Eva May(Wirlie)Moore Born30/06/1919 Died 13/10/2001 Aged 92 Years

Early Life

Eva May (Wirlie) Moore was born 30 June 1909 in Katanning. Wirlie, the eldest child of Howard and Elise Tylor, grew up in and around Boyup Brook. In 1923, just before Wirlie was 14, they moved to Kununoppin, near Merredin, where Mr Tylor was a railway ganger. After leaving school, Wirlie worked in the post office until scalding her hand badly with sealing wax.

Marriage

Eva May met Bill Moore after he was posted to the Bank of NSW Kununoppin branch, and their marriage in June 1932 - on her 23rd birthday - sealed a 60-year bond broken only with his death at 84. After a posting in Carnamah, in the northern Wheatbelt, Bill was transferred to Perth in 1938. The couple had two sons Howard and Colin and a daughter Maureen (Maureen Campbell).

Property

A move to Araluen in 1941 was prompted by safety considerations amid talk of Japanese attack on the coast, and in 1943 the couple found a place at Roleystone. This was Darjeeling, where Wirlie and Bill lived and which they ran as a guesthouse for seven years where many lodgers became their friends.

Community Life

Sharing was Eva Moore's strong suit. She shared her memories in a book Wirlie's Wanderings. Wirlie had been her universal nickname. Wirlie's interest in musical theatre led to many hours of costume making and stage directing of productions, often graced by Bill's painted scenery. A member of Gosnells Writers Circle and founder member of Armadale Historical Society, she was a keen gatherer of written reminiscence.

Death

Wirlie lived most recently in Yunderup, and being diagnosed with cancer, praised Peel Community Palliative Care for complementing the help given by her family. She is survived by her daughter Maureen Campbell, sons Howard and Colin, seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, and by her sister Loris Townsend. Wirlie Moore died in October 2001 aged 92.

Notes

A tree was planted in her memory at Darjeeling during a get-together. It stands near one for Bill, with whom she shared the rural vision of peace in a world at war.