Maysie Wilkes and James Loomes
In 1914, in Melbourne, Mary (Maysie) Wilkes, the third child of Christina and Frederick, married Jim Loomes (1889 - 2/11/1944),who worked in the Lands Department. They moved to Newcastle where the first three of their children were born
- Bernard James, or 'Barn', in 1917, (who married Verlie Pickering),
- Jean (1918) (who married Alan Roper), and
- Maureen Peggy, or 'Peg', 1919, (who married Frank Sheean).
- Kathleen (who married Denis Murphy) was born in Sydney in 1926.

James Loomes was baptised in 1899 in the Anglican church in Wentworth. He met Maisie Wilkes in Wentworth, where he was working as a clerk in the customs office. James' father, George Edward Loomes, was a Police Sergeant in the Balranald-Euston-Wentworth area. George, born in Yass, married Charlotte Botten, who was born in Castlemaine (daughter of Thomas Botten and Augusta Honig). George's parents, James Loomes (from England), a grazier, and Ellen Hollingworth, married at St John's Anglican Church in Wentworth in 1880.

Around 1920 Jim and Maysie moved from Newcastle to Sydney, and the three children began their schooling at St Vincent's Primary School in Ashfield, Sydney. They spent their holidays with their grandmother Christina Wilkes at Tara in Wentworth, travelling by train from Sydney to Hay. Uncle Bern Wilkes (Maysie's brother) would meet them in the car at Hay and drive them via Balranald and Euston to Wentworth. Jean remembers the big garden and the wide open spaces at Tara. They had a penny farthing bike, they milked the cows and had fresh vegetables. A Chinese gardener, with a pig tail, frightening to the children, rented part of the property. There was all the fruit in the world - pomegranates, persimmons, oranges, apples, pears, grapes, peaches, loquats and plums - everything you could think of. "The big old kitchen at Tara always stays in my mind. It was a lovely place. The fire always going and the kettle boiling." It was wonderful after living in a city. Many years later, another Chinese gardener, Charlie Ah Kim, who had a 'more Western' appearance, took over. Every year, he put bets on every horse in the Melbourne cup, and, unsurprisingly, won each year.

Moree
In 1926, in the same year his youngest child was born, James Loomes, as part of his work in the Lands Department, was moved to Moree in Northern NSW and put in charge of the eradication of the prickly pear in the region around the Queensland border. Prickly Pear was a succulent cactus introduced into Australia from America as stockfeed. It had no natural enemies, and spread rapidly over good grazing land, much of it in Queensland. In 1926, the Cactoblastis moth was introduced to Australia to eat the plants, with the release of millions of eggs near Chinchilla in Queensland. By 1930 much of the cactus was destroyed.

In Moree Jean attended the East Moree Primary school, while Barn went to the West Moree Catholic High School. Jean remembers writing and drawing in pencil in her exercise book, especially enjoying English, history and geography, and getting a new dress to wear to the show. In 6th form Barn won a bursary and was admitted into Fort Street High school in Sydney.

Wentworth
In 1928 the family moved to Sydney where James Loomes, at the age of 39, was diagnosed with tuberculosis and had to retire on superannuation. After months of treatment he was ordered to a drier climate, and so, in that same year, the family moved to Wentworth to live at Tara. Jean, in grade 6, walked each day to the Convent in St Frances Xavier in Wentworth and went on to obtain her Merit Certificate. She usually had lunch at the Commercial Hotel, feeling very privileged by the welcome she got from Maureen and E.J. Sykes. School was enjoyable, with lots of concerts. Jean loved the schooling - she did not want to leave ­ but was not so enamoured of the nuns. Jean remembers her first confession, she thought if she was sorry you had to cry, so she pinched herself to make herself cry. The convent school went to sixth class, so Jean attended the Wentworth public school, which created a fuss by the Catholics. According to Jean, Maysie was excommunicated for this. Many years later, Father Higgins ignored this. Maysie went to Mass every Sunday, but was never allowed to go to communion. Jean liked English, Art and History. She and Betty Curry rode their bikes from Wentworth to Dareton to play inter-school basketball and then rode back again.

Bernard Bede Wilkes (Uncle Bern) had a sheep station at Oakdean, north of Balranald. William Frederick Wilkes (Uncle Bill) had a station at Darragh, also near Balranald. The Loomes' family often went on holidays to Darragh and stayed with Bill and Aunty Mollie (born Molly Madigan) and their children - Peggie, Dorothy and Billie Wilkes.

Jean - Work
After completing intermediate, Jean left school, her parents unable to pay for her to continue. She started work doing the books for the ironmonger, Mr Bill Laurenson, in Wentworth, for a year. With the recommendation of Isobel Sykes, Jean then got a job as a reporter for the Wentworth area at Sunraysia Daily. Her first task was the court report in Wentworth, a divorce case which displayed the seamier side of life to the eyes of a 16 year old. Reporting council meetings, balls, CWA and sporting events were all a part of the job. Then Sunraysia Daily bought the Western Evening News (the little local paper), and Jean did the reporting for that until the war broke out.

She shared an office with Jack Valentine, the printer at Darling Street, Wentworth. The paper then sent her, at the age of 20, to Castlemaine where she worked on the Castlemaine Mail for 12 months. Because of the war, they were short staffed: there was only the editor, Milton Lewis, and Jean and printing staff. She worked from 10.00 am to sometimes 2.00 or 3.00 am. It was there that Jean met Alan Roper, who was working for the Bank of NSW at Ballarat. Milton Lewis then got Jean a job at the Liquid Fuel Control board in Melbourne where for 12 months she answered mail from people, such as farmers and bus drivers, who wanted an increase on their special petrol allowances.

Alan Roper
Jean and Alan (although a non-catholic) were married in 1942, with Alan Scott as best man and Peg Loomes as bridesmaid, at St Mary's church in Thornbury, Melbourne. James, Jean's father, was too ill to attend (he died in 1944) and William Roper, Alan's father, gave Jean away and welcomed her into the family at the same time. The ceremony was attended by Maisie, Kath, Verlie (Bern's wife), Peggie Hobson, William and Faith Roper. Alan was on leave from training as an officer and commando in Queensland, and had to return to Sydney, then the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland two or so days after the ceremony. Jean went home to Wentworth. He visited her on leave. Robyn was born in Wentworth in 1943.

Alan went to Wewak, New Guinea, where he was shot in the arm, shattering a bone. He spent some time in hospital back in Melbourne, and then returned to the bank at Ballarat, living with Jean, for 12 months, where Kerry was born in 1945. Then they moved to Corowa in NSW. Alan resigned from the bank in 1948 and became the first manager of the Coomealla Memorial Club.

Jean recalls that Alan's mother rarely had visitors to their home - while her parents never appeared to never argue, Alan's parents were always clashing. His mother was adopted by a Jewish family, his father was a superintendent on the Railways, at Ballarat. Alan has a sister, who married but had no children and who lives in Ballarat.

Maysie moved out of Tara in the late forties, after the four children had married, due to ill-health, and stayed with her daughter Peg and Peg's husband Frank Sheean. Peg worked as a secretary to the Town Clerk in Wentworth, and joined the WAAF during the war, and worked at Victoria Barracks in Melbourne (with Milly Crosier). She married Frank Sheean in Melbourne in 1942?. Frank's parents owned a fruit block in Mildura, and he also served in the war, spending time in Egypt.

(need more details on the Sheeans)

Richard and Jane Roper were born in Wentworth (1951 and 1958 respectively). The family returned to live at Tara with Maisie Loomes until 1954, when they moved into a house provided by the bank at Dareton. Maisie, crippled with arthritis, was looked after by Jean and Peg Sheean in turns. The Ropers moved to Dareton, with Alan working in the bank. Tara was rented out to Betty and Tony Blair and later to the McKenzies, until the house was then condemned by the council and became vacant. When Barn died in 1954 the responsibility for Tara was handed over, by Fon Wilkes, to Alan and Jean Roper. Tara never recovered from the effects of the 1956 floods, and, at time of writing is falling into disrepair. Alan died in 1992 at the age of 75, from diabetes and a heart condition, and Jean moved to Mildura.