ROLAND COOPER & MAY NOLES
by Alvyn Hopgood
Rowland Cooper
Roland Cooper’s first employment in the district was for AW and JE Pearce at Point Sturt, from December 1922 to November 9th 1938. He began as an employee at SAFU in June 1941 and was there until its closure in 1951. Roland’s main job was driving trucks to pick up milk for the Milang Butter Factory, mostly from Point Sturt, Milang, Langhorne Creek, Belvidere, Angas Plains, Sandergrove, Nurragi and Finniss.
On March 29th 1943, Roland took Ginger Bowden’s job of truck driving for the milk round in the Langhorne Creek area, to allow Ginger to take holidays. Then, on Monday February 5th 1945, Rolly went with Ginger to familarise himself with the milk pick up round, so Ginger could start his fishing holiday on the 19th. After the Milang Cheese Factory closed in February 1951, Roland stayed in the milk business, helping Ken Turvey milk Jersey cows, from June 1951 to August 1954. ETSA was Roland’s next employer until his retirement.
May Noles
May Noles (nee Murray) was born in 1881. She was a very early employee of the Milang Butter Factory. May married Bob Noles in 1909 and they lived in Rivers Street Milang. They had a son, Horrie, and daughter, Dulcie.
Dulcie married Roland Cooper, who, in June 1941, began employment with the SAFU Butter Factory at Milang, as a truck driver. He stayed in this job until the butter factory closed. May and Robert Noles are buried in the Milang Cemetery. May died aged 78 and Robert aged 86.
