Reg Dean Featured

This is a personal story about Reg Dean and his full life. Reg himself reflected on many stories about his young years in Reg's Boundary Bend.
It can be read by clicking here or may be found under Murray River Stories in the Main Menu.
Thomas Reginald Dean was born in Mildura on the 24 February, 1913 and he was the second eldest child of John Francis and Evelyn Emily Dean. His father established one of the first dried fruit blocks in Merbein. After 5 years of building up and improving the block, his father sold it and following a failed boat business venture, he succeeded in being appointed to a farm management job in Boundary Bend. His expertise in Horticulture had put him in good stead for the job. So, in November, 1917, the Dean family, with dad Jack and wife Eve, children Frank, Reg and Doris, travelled on the paddle steamer “PS Ruby” upstream from Mildura to Boundary Bend, costing £2/10. 
Jack and Eva later added Bill, Hazel and Evie to the family at Boundary Bend. This is where Reg Dean's close association and life with the River Murray all began. Reg also completed his schooling, managing to get his ‘Qualifying’ level of education at the age of 13.5 years in 1926.

Reg grew up with, played and schooled with a local aboriginal family, named the Pearces'. This is where he learned to hunt emus, kangaroos and other game. He also developed a dialect that was uniquely his and he used it to perfection when telling his colourful stories. This dialect was partly derived by his association with the aboriginal people from a young and accepting age. 
Pictured above: Frank, aged 4 and Reg, aged 2, just before they left Mildura for Boundary Bend.
In 1925, his father had become a licensed fisherman, so Reg and Frank started helping him and fishing soon became Reg's first love. He spent the next two years making money fishing and trapping rabbits. The rabbit plague was here and he was employed by professional rabbiters at the age of 14 and helped to round up and yard rabbits by the thousands. This helped him with food, clothes and a few shillings to save. By this time, he had saved enough money to buy his first .22 pea rifle, a Stevens Little Scout SS. It cost Reg 19 shillings 6 pence ($1.95) and over the years he had shot hundreds of rabbits. Bunny skins then did help him supplement his income. 
One of his other jobs was to run around a local farmer’s wheat crop beating a stick on a kerosene tin to frighten the cockies (cockatoos). It was a tough way to make a living. For this he was paid 2/6p ($0.25) per week. In December 1927, Reg and Frank started working drum-nets for a local farmer and businessman, Robert O’Bree (Senior] of Boundary Bend, getting a half share. This did not last long, so in early in 1928, Reg went to Mildura and helped Grandad Sherring with his fruit. He then got a grease-boy job at Dove and Chaffey’s Garage in Mildura. He remembered the new Model ’A’ Ford as being all the go then. He worked there for several months but received two bad electric shocks through no fault of his own, so he gave notice and returned to Boundary Bend about the middle of 1928.
So, back to fishing at the Bend and he worked 50 drum-nets for a fisherman named Maldon Bright. At the end of the season, he and Maldon were beaten up by some unknowns and robbed of 3 week’s takings. Also, to rub salt into the wound their Fish Agent, W. Kerkin, at the Melbourne Fish Market, went broke and they lost all their season-end money owed to them.

Disillusioned, in 1929, Reg returned to where his dad and brother Frank were camped and fishing, near where Hortico’s are today, but  he was arriving when the family was in a bit of turmoil. Doris had left earlier and was then living with Grandad and Grandma Sherring in Walnut Avenue, Mildura. Eva had left her husband, Jack and she, Bill, Hazel and Evie were living in a farm house nearby. 
By 1930 Jack Dean had reached 65 years of age and was now receiving his aged pension. He had bought an allotment when they were opened up in Robinvale but he was never to see his little dream. Soon after the purchase, he became very ill. He was taken to Swan Hill hospital where they could not do much more for him and he was sent home by train. He sadly died on 18th September, 1930 and was buried in the Bannerton Cemetery. 

With very little left in Boundary Bend, in November, 1930, Reg and Frank paddled their way to Robinvale, in a roughly built punt that they found discarded. They modified the punt so that they could row it like a paddle steamer. They took with them their worldly possessions of a few fishing  nets, rifle, rabbit traps and the clothes they stood in. They travelled down the Murray River for 3 days and landed at their father's allotment near ‘The Cut’ on the Murray River at Robinvale.
The punt Reg and Frank paddled downstream.


Eva and the three remaining children, Bill, Hazel and Evie arrived by horse and gig. There was little to speak of in furniture. Eva's father, Sam Sherring, with help from Reg and Frank, had built a two roomed galvanised iron house on Jack Dean's No.1 block in Robinvale. The house was 24 x 12 feet and had a brick chimney. It was built in the lower paddock on the 3 acre settlement block. So, the family had a piece of land of their very own and a house to live in when they arrived. This had to house Eva, Frank, Reg, Bill, Hazel and Evie. The house was small but was a great help to them starting off their new life without their father.

Then, in 1931 the flood waters came. The house stood in 3 feet of water and it was swirling in and out of the windows and doors. 

Frank and Reg piggybacked Hazel and Evie who were aged 10 and 6, up to higher ground. After the flood, they shifted the house further up the block to near where the 'Sherringhill' home is today.
Now it was a new life in Robinvale for the fishing duo of Reg and Frank and at times rabbits to supplement their income, when the Murray fish prices were very low at the Melbourne Fish Markets. Then they had to purchase ice at Manangatang, to send the fish by rail, something that they had never done before.This is where Reg and his brother, Frank commenced their professional fisherman career that lasted for 45 years. They had a monopoly on the stretch of river called the nine-mile bend and set nets to cultivate Perch, Cod and Yellowbelly native fish, predominantly for the Melbourne market.
Reg Dean caught  many Murray Cod as a professional fisherman. A 93 lb Murray Cod, such as the one pictured, was the largest he caught in his licensed drum-net.
Bob Oliver and a young Reg Dean with a 75 lb Murray Cod cleaned.
With life a little easier and a steady income, in 1932, Reg got into football. He played played 10 seasons with Robinvale and were Premiers a few times. Also, during the early 1930’s, he took on bike racing in the summer months. He had several wins and a notable time was when he challenged the Victorian Half Mile Champion, Jack Dowling of Swan Hill. He was about to tighten up the pedal straps, when a VACU Officer called him off the track. He had been disqualified earlier but had not been notified. One of his triumphs was when he rode and won against the notoriety of Sir Hubert Opperman. Even though he showed the potential as a young cycler, the lack of funds limited his desire to go on, so he gave it away.
Reg met Evelyn Oliver and they were married on 29 July, 1939. The Honeymoon was back at home to work, after a Wedding Breakfast of burnt sausages. The original allotment was 3 acres and they later purchased the next door lot and Reg and Evelyn together now had plenty of land for when they took up market gardening on their 6 acre property. Along the way, the family was growing with Norma, John, Deanna, Gail and Rodney. 
Reg continued fishing, as his main job, for sale in the Melbourne Fish Market. Reg fished commercially and held a Licence for 62 years until his retirement at 75 years.

Throughout all those years Evelyn and Reg, with help from the children, still carried on the fishing business, helped at times by their market garden and later Reg's gunsmith talents. 

Consignment of Murray Cod, to go from the
Mildura Station to Melbourne Fish Market.
Their original home (above) was a tin hut with 2 bedrooms and dirt floors which they lived in for 10 years.

This was later replaced by a concrete brick home (below) in 1948. Every brick was made and laid by Reg and Evelyn.
THOMAS REGINALD (REG) DEAN
THE MAN OF THE MURRAY
Reg was proud of his fishing and would often mention his few most notable fish catches. They were -
  • In 1936, there was 6 cod in the one net, all between 6 lb (2.72 kg) and 7 lb (3.17 kg).
  • In the one drum-net, 102 lbs (46.26 kg) of cod. Including a 41 lb (18.59 kg), a 32 lb (14.51 kg) and a 29 lb (13.15 kg)
  • In the one drum-net, 46 golden perch.
  • In 3 drum-nets, 145 golden perch.
  • On 3 occasions a 15' (4.572 m) boat could not take two adults on board. In the boat was 11 cwt (558.82 kg) of perch and cod. These were caught by lures in half a day.
  • The biggest Murray Cod was 93 lb (42.18 kg) live weight, 83 lb (37.64 kg) cleaned.
  • The next biggest was 92 lb (41.73 kg) live weight, 82 lb (37.19 kg) cleaned.
In 1948 Reg joined the Mildura Rifle Club and shot with that club for 4 years. By 1952, he helped form the Robinvale Rifle Club. It was a strong club for many years. It produced several State team members and a Queen’s Winner in 1963 at Liverpool, N.S.W. None other than Reg himself.

By now, he had turned the .303 rifle into a target rifle. He was swamped with work on this rifle from all over Australia. At times he had to hold rifle work down because he was bound to show his living was from fishing. Consequently, a lot of rifle work was carried on under lights. Not only target rifles, but all types of firearms turned up.

He extended his skills into developing rifle stocks from quality timbers, accessed from all parts of Australia, to suit the customer’s needs. His stock making in particular was much sought after. His business repaired a full range of firearms from shotguns to revolvers. Mechanical parts for firearms weren't easily available or accessible to a small country township. To overcome this, Reg worked to create the required parts, within his workshop, using only the basic tools, available at the time.
It is estimated that several thousand weapons went through Reg's hands. He always classed the work as a hobby and charged very little but it did help.

He loved his rifle shooting and always tried to lift range rifle shooting to its highest level.Reg of course was an excellent Marksman. His proudest moment in this sport was when he won the National Rifle Association Queen’s Shoot against 1001 competitors in Sydney in 1963.
Reg in his Gunsmith workshop where he extended his skills into developing rifle stocks from quality timbers.
Reg pointed out the firepower and accuracy of his invention, 'the rubber-nosed rifle', on the board above, showing the first 10 placings of which 9 were using his rubber-nosed rifles.
It is interesting to note that the inaugural winner of the Queen’s Shoot in 1879, was Sgt Sherring. Reg’s mother was formally Evelyn Emily Sherring. The possibility of being related through the English heritage is a possibility.
One of the few hiccups in Reg’s life was when he was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1983. In his usual strong manner he overcame this problem and continued with his life, as it was. He had to slow down but was still fishing in 1992. He had held his Professional Fishing Licence for 62 years. 
Reg had a unique love and understanding in the ways of nature and the bush of which he unselfishly shared with his family and the wider community. He lived for and loved, the great Murray River, which was his lifeline. Reg passed away in 2000 at the age of 87 and will always be remembered for his upfront honesty, his smile and his generosity.