Melbourne’s Sonia Ave cherishes her family memories in Cobram and the border community.
Ms Ave has a deep connection to the local community, with strong family ties in the area.
The Butts have had a presence in the area for more than a century.
Ms Ave’s great-grandfather George Butt started his family in the early 1900s with his wife, Florence.
The couple had nine children: George, Leo, Harry, Florence, Thomas, Rose, Herbert, Cornelius and Alice.
All the boys heeded the call in World War II and served in the military.
Following the war, the family started orchards in Cobram, Numurkah and Katunga.
The family were deeply involved in the local footy scene and Ms Ave’s great uncle Thomas had a plaque dedicated to him at the gates of the Cobram Football Ground.
“A lot of our family played for the Cobram footy club,” she said.
Football was in the family’s blood, with George Butt being drafted to play for Richmond.
Herbert Butt was also somewhat of a legend at the local watering hole.
Herbie, as he was affectionately known, sat for years on the same seat at the now closed Bottom Pub in Cobram after a hard day’s work at the orchards.
According to the family, Herbie was known for not wearing shoes.
Laid-back drinking sessions at the orchards were a Sunday tradition for the Butts, and locals would often joke it was their version of church.
Ms Ave was born in Boronia, spending her summers in Cobram.
“I spent most of my family holidays in Cobram at the family home with my great-grandfather, great aunties and uncles,” she said.
For her, the family-run orchards were a playground, and she recalls driving around in tractors with her cousins throwing oranges and peaches at each other and going to her cousin’s orchard to ride motorbikes and horses.
Other activities included yabbie hunting, swimming in canals and jumping from the old Cobram bridge, an act of youthful fun that Ms Ave admitted was illegal now and frowned upon back then.
“Our parents never knew,” she said.
For Ms Ave, like many adults who spent their youth in Cobram before moving to the big smoke, the small town by the Murray holds a special place in their hearts.
“I had wonderful childhood memories in the country that far exceeded city life,” she said.
“I still visit Cobram yearly and I consider it my second home.”