A Deception Bay shopkeeper famous for supporting soldiers in World War II is credited with influencing the selection of Queensland’s floral emblem in 1959, the State’s centennial year.
The daughter of an Everton Park shopkeeper, Nellie (Ellen) Tucker married Alf Lovekin in 1921 and moved to Deception Bay during the Depression years. The Lovekins established a poultry farm, garden and nine-hole golf course on their property. In 1939, they opened a grocery shop along Windsor Place, serving locals, picnickers and fishermen with eggs, grocery items and Nellie’s homemade butter and jams. In 1942, 3000 WWII troops from three Machine Gun Battalions set up camp nearby, changing Deception Bay forever.
The army gravelled the bay’s sandy tracks and cleared bush to install water-cooled Vickers Machine Guns and fortifications along the waterfront. Lovekin’s shop was nominated to provide the army with emergency supplies and restricted provisions including kerosene, milk powder, tea, sugar and flour. In The Story of Deception Bay, Viv Tucker recalls, “Soldiers flocked to the shop. They could buy a cup of tea and a slice of rainbow cake for fivepence, but many elected for ham sandwiches.”
Each week, Nellie used 17 hams to fulfill the army’s sandwich orders, often working until midnight with only a kerosene lamp for light. A skilled listener, she also acted as a substitute mother to soldiers homesick for their families back home.
From Local Gardener to State Symbol
However, Nellie’s most enduring legacy was to influence Queensland’s history when talks began to select a floral emblem in 1957. While the Cooktown Orchid (Vappodes Phalaenopsis) was a tropical plant that flourished in gardens throughout Queensland, authorities favoured a red-flowering shrub growing along riverbanks and creeks – Grevillia banksia (Red Silky Oak).
Nellie was a proud gardener, known for growing beautiful orchids, who told customers and friends the Cooktown Orchid was her preference for the state’s floral emblem. When a local newspaper published that story in 1957, it triggered widespread discussion that reached the ear of the Minister for Agriculture and Sport.
A subsequent Courier Mail poll rated the Cooktown Orchid first choice out of 13 possibilities, including the Grevillea Banksii. WWII Veteran Bob Stevens, a mutual friend to both Nellie and the Minister, later revealed Nellie Lovekin’s comments had, unintentionally, stirred public opinion, influencing the final selection.
The Cooktown Orchid has been the state’s floral emblem since November 1959.
Feature image: Nellie Lovekin in her shop | Document Courtesy of City of Moreton Bay, ref: MBMC-0102-003
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