Bill Ivory

Name: Bill Ivory
Hometown: Bunbury, Western Australia, Australia
Died: 2022-10-09 (Age:100)
Judge: Record
Referee: Record
Pro Boxer: Record

In 2000 Bill was invited to a civic reception by the Mayor in honour and recognition of his services to the community. In 2008, he was nominated for the Citizen of the year. In 2009, he was further honoured with the naming of the leisure centre, a special room within the Police Boys Club, the Bill Ivory Leisure Centre. The Police and Citizens Youth Club was established in 1942.

Autobiographical Notes

My boxing career began at the age of 14, when I decided to go to the same gym that my brother attended. I had no intention whatsoever of boxing competitively, simply wanted to learn how. Small in stature, but aggressive in nature, I wanted to learn how to look after myself. I had been second smallest child in my school, but I became Head Prefect, and also Head Boy and Dux of my class. I finished school at 13 with my merit certificate, but by law I had to wait until I turned 14 years of age before I could start work. My mother was Florence Lilly Wood, born in Victoria in 1889, and my father was Henry William Ivory, born in 1891. They met at a chocolate factory and married in 1912. Dad was a labourer in the timber industry most of his working life. He also had a part time job working as a bouncer. They had 6 children. I was born on 6 April 1922. As a child, I went through the period of what they term the Great Depression, the early 1930's and things were really tough then. Dad was away, working in Queensland in the sugar cane fields. I can never remember being hungry, as somehow mum always provided a meal for us all. Bread and dripping was a normal snack food. (At the time of writing this Bill was 89 years old and remarked he was in very good health, so it obviously didn't do him any harm!) I am extremely health conscious. Another thing I remember is that Mum would buy three pence worth of bananas which would last me all week at school. Still, to this day, most days I would have a banana for my lunch. We weren't allowed to have butter AND jam on our bread, it was either one or the other! Bathing was only one day a week. Clothing was aways hand me downs, passed on through the line of my brothers. Nothing was thrown out. Mum's favourite pastime was betting on the horses. I remember she was badly crippled with her arthritis. During the war years, Mum started to suffer badly with it, mostly her legs. Eventually, she became bed ridden, and Dad had to carry her from the bed to anywhere else in the house she wished to be. She lived in this condition until she passed away in 1970 at the age of 81. Dad, who had always been a large, strong man, passed away only a few months later in 1970, aged 79 years. Some of my best years of my life were spent with my father going fishing on the Yarra River. It was beautiful country with clear running water, abundant bird life rabbits, and kangaroos. I would look forward to that all year. Our normal method of transport was on the steam train. My first real full time employment was with Mitchell's Brush Factory in Brunswick. I then moved on to Gorham's Cake Factory as a labourer, which involved pushing the cakes in bins. This was much better than swallowing sawdust all day, and the bonus was that you could eat anything you wanted any time - hot fresh shortbread biscuits, and cakes. It was while I was working at the cake factory that I began my boxing career. It was boxing that made me realise that I was probably not in the ideal environment to work in and that's when I went to work in a butcher's shop. I was mostly delivering goods to customs on the Watkin's Store push bike with a basket on the front. When I turned 18 I was keen to obtain my driver's licence as I was aware of a position with the firm to drive the pick up and delivery van. When I started at the boxing gym, I began sparring with boxers who were competing professionally at West Melbourne Stadium. This graduated to me being given permission to carry some equipment into the stadium. I also became the water boy, handing the water or sponge to the person attending to the boxers. When I was 16, my older brother Harry spoke to another man. Harry then said to me "I just put you in for a fight". I was petrified, not of my opponent, but performing before a crowd of about 3000 people. I told him I didn't want to do it, but he talked me into it. Merv Williams as the referee and former Middleweight champion of Australia. He was also the author of the boxing section of the "Sporting Globe" the only sporting newspaper in Melbourne. My victory as detailed in the section of "Best Boy of the Week". The wording was "Billy Ivory, a well built kid, put up a remarkably good showing in his first fight. He has a nice balance and uses his feet well. Punching was the best part of his work. A good straight left and a right with the shoulder behind it. This kid is well worth nursing." I was always, and still am more interested in the scientific side of boxing. My professional boxing career finished in Victoria when I joined the Army at 19 years of age. No doubt that being involved in boxing as instrumental in me being sent to the Guerilla Warfare School and subsequently the special physical training and unarmed combat group. It also set the pathways my life would take. During my term in the Army, I had several bouts and was successful in winning 2 Army championships. I was welterweight champion of 6th Brigade and also in the 16th Battalion.

The same month I joined the Army, Japan came into the war. I joined as a "conscript" at the age of 19. If you were fit and healthy, you were conscripted to spend time in one of the services.

When Japan came into the war, I changed my status from "conscript" to AIF which stood for Australian Infantry Forces, so therefore now a Volunteer, I became eligible to be sent anywhere within the war zone. I was assigned to the 15th Field Artillery as a "gunner" on 25 pounders and sent to Western Australia. We travelled from Victoria to WA by train. There were definitely not any seats. On reflection, I call we were most probably in converted cattle carriages. I became a Lance Commodore which was classed as the Senior in the tent where we camped on the way. We slept on straw filled hessian bags. We moved around, and while at a place called "Strawberry" early in 1942, I was sent to a Guerilla Warfare School in Narrogin. It was about six weeks for that training, and it was there that I met Irene Brazier at a dance. Irene was employed in the local bank, and we became good friends, enjoying each other's company at the weekly dances. Later, Irene joined the Army and was stationed at Rottnest Island as a signals operator. We married in 1945. On return to service duties, I was seconded to run physical training and unarmed combat courses on my own at South Beach Fremantle Army Base, and Harvey Army Base. There, while boxing on a bag doing my own training I had set up for myself, I was seen, and asked to include boxing into my curriculum. The Army approved funds for equipment such as bags and gloves, and a ring. Local people would attend to watch fights that we matched up.

After the Army, I took a job with a brass foundry in West Perth. It was there I was able to purchase my first home. My wife's parents were living in Bunbury and when we visited, we both liked the place as it was a nice area to live. We moved there in 1951. I had not been there for long when I was approached by Police Constable Cedric McCauley to help teach boxing. I knew his brothers from the boxing circuit in Perth. I agreed, and commenced teaching boxing at the Police Boys, which was then in the Army Drill Hall in Wittenoom Street. (Office Works is at this location now.) I coached and trained boys who went on to become state title holders. This enhanced my reputation as a coach and in 1965 I was selected as the State Coach to take a team to Adelaide. Many of my lads became champions. Police Boys moved to Bourke Street, and then to Hay Park. At the end of 1978, I announced my retirement. I also taught boxing to the South Bunbury Football team for 12 years. I wasn't to stay retired, however, as a boxer knocked on my door and asked for help to train as he had come to live in Bunbury. It turned out that while helping him train, the establishment's instructor couldn't continue working there, and so I resumed my former position and kept going from there."