Terry ‘Nipper’ Parsons was born in the old Batemans Bay hospital. Terry’s father was Cyril Parsons. Cyril’s father was George Parsons from Wallaga Lake and Moruya. He married Violet Thelma Governor and later Jessie Chapman. Terry’s maternal grandfather was Thomas Henry Davis and his wife was Agnes Davis [nee Duran]. Thomas owned land in the industrial area in Batemans Bay.
Terry remembers living at Hanging Rock. The family collected seafood and natural resources all around the Batemans Bay area; at Cullendulla Creek, Square Head, Corrigans Beach, Surfside Beach, Long Beach, Burrewarra Point, Guerilla Bay and Rosedale. When living in Batemans Bay, Terry attended St Josephs Catholic School.
Cyril Parsons was a benchman in the sawmills, ‘…benchmen were hard to come by, so he always had work…. he cut the timber into the finished product….’, says Terry of his father. Terry travelled around a lot as a child, following his father’s work at various sawmills, including; Mitchell’s sawmill in Batemans Bay, Ryan’s sawmill in East Lynne, and the mills in Moruya, Stony Creek, Nerrigundah and Lawlers Creek, Narooma.
After he married, Terry Parsons moved to Narooma. 20 years later Terry returned to Batemans Bay and continues to live in the Batemans Bay area today.
Excerpt from "Stories About the Eurobodalla by Aboriginal People", 2006. Story Contributed by Martin Ind from Moruya High School.