TWENTY years at the Victorian Equestrian Centre in Upper Beaconsfield has literally been a lifetime for the Aldred family.
They moved in three days before Christmas in 1996 and, by chance, will settle on the sale of the VEC and formally depart 20 years to the exact day – on 23 December.
Ken Aldred died in April this year, and since then his four children – Mary, James, Lucy and John – have made the decision to sell the property after spending their childhoods, teenage years and for some of them their early twenties as well.
At Ken’s funeral in April, James Aldred said: “Dad was the VEC, and the VEC was Dad”.
In 1996, Ken and Margaret Aldred bought the VEC after Ken retired as a Federal MP after that year’s election. The family moved from Wheelers Hill in Melbourne’s south east.
They were there for two weeks before bushfires came through the area. The VEC had a camp full of children to look after. At the time the VEC was also a designated fire refuge because of its huge indoor arena, before the state government changed the rules about fire refuges.
Lucy and John went straight into Upper Beaconsfield Primary School and James and Mary started at Hailleybury and St Margaret’s in Berwick.
Mary later left school at 15 and worked full-time in the business as a stable hand and riding instructor.
The Pine Grove Pub became their favourite local for birthdays and happy occasions.
The family remembers Christmas was always a special time in Upper Beaconsfield.
‘Santa Stan’ would drive a specially modified and motorised ‘sleigh’ into every driveway on Christmas morning. There was and is a very strong community spirit.
Christmas at the VEC was spent riding horses, enjoying carols at Keith Ewenson Park and carting thousands of bales of hay on hot days trying to make it in before it rained.
John stayed hydrated and carting efficiently with a water camel drinking pack that had been given to him from someone who had used it in Afghanistan with the ADF. The temperature on those days in Upper Beaconsfield seemed about the same.
Ken joined the local CFA, Lions and later on became very involved in the Cardinia Tourism Association, serving as chair for a number of years.
Margaret was an essential part of the business through that period and negotiated the acquisition of the neighbouring property ‘Rolling Hills’ on Spilt Rock Road.
This expanded the VEC to include a major cross country equestrian course over a total of 100 acres.
They took on many young staff as apprentices and gave them their first job and a real start in life, including daughter Mary.
All four Aldred kids have worked in the business. James and John on farm maintenance, and Lucy as head chef on the school camps.
The VEC developed and hosted the first of the Victorian Inter-school compeitions, at one stage with nearly 700 competitors.
The competition has since spread throughout Victoria and even nationally. During the week the VEC would host school students, Box Hill TAFE and even jockey apprentices. Thousands of young people have learnt to ride at the VEC and been given a lifelong passion for horses.
Mary, James, Lucy and John all learned to drive on the property at a young age, fix fences and deliver foals. Most of all though, the VEC taught them business skills, work ethic and how to relate to people from all backgrounds at an early age.
Where ever they go in Melbourne today, the Aldreds often bump into VEC alumni now grown up but who still remember very happy childhood memories riding horses.
“Kids loved coming out from Melbourne to the VEC,” said Mary. “They got muddy, dusty and dirty, learnt not just how to ride horses but how to look after them, and what a great place Upper Beaconsfield is.
“It’s given thousands of kids an appreciation about what it means to look after and care for something, a healthy pastime and great memories that they’ve taken into adulthood”.
Ken and Margaret went their separate ways in 2002 and Ken remained at the VEC.
At Ken’s funeral in April, Lucy spoke about how much she enjoyed going for a coffee at the Emerald Bakery with her Dad. John remembered great conversations over some ripping bonfires or in their shed at the VEC.
“Dad would often come into the shed when James and I were working on motorcycles or he’d join us to light the bonfire,” John said. “As James would say he was an honorary member of our tiny motorcycle club.”
James said of his Dad: “He is quite possibly the most unintentionally hilarious person I will ever know and maintained a disarmingly positive view of life.”
The four children say it was a hard decision to sell the VEC after their father’s death, but the right one.
“It’s been our country life from childhood to adulthood, and now is the right time to pass on the VEC baton on to a new generation,” Mary said.
“Wherever we go in life from here the four of us are immensely grateful that our parents gave us the greatest childhood gift, and that was the opportunity to grow up at the VEC in Upper Beaconsfield and be surrounded by a community of truly wonderful people.”
Ken Aldred had a lifelong love of the Dandenongs, and his children say it is only fitting that they will scatter his ashes in Emerald on Christmas Eve – one of his favourite days of the year.
