more trivia

It's been a while since my last blog and it is now nearly Christmas and I wonder where the year has gone. As I said earlier ( well I think I did!) this was not meant to be a chronological record of my life but rather a mixture of record, memories  and reminiscence.

So here is today's memory!

I have just stacked the dishwasher and washed by hand the pots. How easy it all seems; hot water on tap, place powder or tablet in the dishwasher; liquid detergent in a stainless steel sink. None of those things were available when I was young.

Instead of the liquid detergent we used a soap shaker which was a small wire box with hinged lid and a long wire handle. Into the box went bits of laundry soap. With the lid closed we then swished the gadget back and forth in the hot water ( either from a kettle on the stove or later from the electric jug) hoping to raise a few bubbles.

 (google images)

Next time your visiting a museum if you see a strange wire box with handle you can say "Gee my Mum/Grandma talked about using one of  those!

Clayfield

After 6 months back at Annerley we moved to Clayfield and at the beginning of 1944 Lois and I started school at Eagle Junction State School while Alan continued at Brisbane Boys Grammar

Hilary(13yrs) & Lois (7yrs) , Clayfield ,1944

Unfortunately I have no photo of the house at Clayfield and only vague impressions of it. I remember that it was a large Queenslander type of house and think with high steps in the front and low at the back. I have no idea of the rooms and cant even remember where the family rooms were placed and what they were like. My only clear memory is of the tennis court. We spent a lot of our spare time on that .
I dont remember how many boarders we had though I think the couple who were with us at Annerley came with us and there may have been other American service couples.  I remember one elderly lady because she gave me a small elephant.  She had lived in India before the war.
I understand that this house no longer exists. It was opposite what is now the front entrance , but in our time was the back entrance, to Clayfield College ; images show what appears to be a block of units where our house was.

Rationing was in full force so I dont know how Mum managed that. We did receive some extra supplies from the servicemen.
I have only a few memories from Eagle Junction school. That was my final year of Primary school which was grade 7 and the Scholarship year. Passing the public Scholarship examination allowed one to continue to secondary (high) school. Leaving age was 14 and as many would have been 13 when the exam was held I'm not sure but think anyone not going on to secondary must have had to return to Grade 7 until their 14th birthday.
I actually remember sitting for this exam because of Geography!. As I have said this was not one of my favourite subjects and I had no skill at drawing the maps. That year was the first year that the exam paper did not require the student to draw a map! How lucky can one be!

Another memory of this school  is that it was the first time I was in a class where the boys sat on one side of the room and the girls on the other.I dont know if this was just at this school or if it was the policy for Grade 7 everywhere. Previously we had been seated according to the results of tests with the higher scores at the back and lowest at the front of the classroom. I was usually in the middle somewhere! The main reason i remember this segregation of boys and girls is that for one morning each week ..or it may have been all day I'm not sure...I had to go over to the boys' side. I dont remember if I was the only girl but I do remember the boys seated behind me used to have "fun" poking me and generally making me uncomfortable. This school did do domestic science but as I had not completed the syllabus after the transfer to Yeronga school from Amiens I was not allowed to do it for Scholarship. I had to stay with the boys! This ultimately was to my advantage as we did not only extra Geography which allowed me to catch up but also extra arithmetic. We also did some basic science but as we seemed to cover things like pouring water into buckets with holes or trying to work out how long it took to fill a bath etc I was left with absolutely no interst whatever in pursuing science in seconday school.

We were encouraged to take part in various activities as part of the "war effort." One of these was writing to servicemen overseas. I remember writing to my Uncle Bill (Wain) who was in England with the RAAF and also to my cousin Keith (Flitcroft) who was also with the RAAF stationed in England.
A few of the girls in the class organised a little "library" by bringing in books from home and then paying a penny  to borrow a book from the "library.' The collected money was given to the 'war effort." I had always received a book from Grandfather Tarbit at Christmas and birthdays and had a good collection including some of the Girls Own albums. I didn't ever get my books back. I suspect I was too shy to go and ask for them at the end of the year . The albums would now be collector's items and I wonder where they are.

We also knitted small items such as scarves and caps which were sent to servicemen overseas.

I was able to resume my ballet lessons  and do the exam that year. Strangely I do not remember missing my friends from Annerley. I dont remember any of my classmates from this year at Eagle Junction school but must have been content there.

Mother's Little Helper...and various chores

Talk about starting early!

Dad has written on the back of this print " She must have thought I was a hawker." My guess is that he took me by surprise as the hallway looks rather dark and he was possibly standing against the light. I certainly look geared for action! This was at Dutton Park.



Cleaning shoes at Dutton Park.

I dont know if that is Mum or one of the cousins who stayed with us while attending College.

Chores and helping in the house were taken for granted in my generation. There was no talk of payment ; it was part of family life. I cant actually remember receiving pocket money at any age but cant be sure of that.
After finishing school and starting work in 1949 it was my job to do the family wash each weekend. No automatic washing machine or a hot water system. The water was boiled in a copper and then bucketed into the machine.Ours was a single washer with rollers on top...I still used a similar machine when we came to Toowoomba in 1966.



Wash day at Bald Hills

Many of our tasks were similar to those of children today...washing and drying dishes, making one's own bed, cleaning your school shoes...and sometimes Dad's also, cutting one's own lunch...and sometimes Dad's also. We had some fun doing the dishes at Annerley ; Alan would wash, I would dry then pass the item to young Lois who walked along a row of chairs so she could reach the "dresser" to put the things away. Not sure whose idea that was but I expect Alan thought of it.

But others will probably be very different. For example I dont expect many children today would have to empty the chamber pots! These were a standard nightly feature before indoor flush toilets . We took turns to empty them into a bucket which was then filled with water and put outside to be used as liquid fertiliser on the garden. True!

I've already mentioned emptying the water from under the ice chest. The kitchen table was plain wood and had to be scrubbed regularly. I actually didn't mind doing that and have always found satisfaction in giving something a good scrub. Mum would never use a mop to wash a floor; she thought that was not hygienic so Alan and I both learned to wash a floor on our hands and knees. I remember Mum visiting me years later in Cloncurry after Kathy was born and being horrifed to see me using a floor mop. I told her that they had used mops in the maternity hospital so a mop would do me!

The silverware had to polished and that usually fell to me. The cutlery was all silver then . The good silverware was not done so often but included a teapot and sugar bowl.

The wood stove had to be "blacked" regularly. I dont remember having to do that but I think the stove at Petrie had a silver finish and I had to apply that on occasion.

Mum was always a great jam and marmalade maker. She would buy in bulk at the markets so we would come home from school ...and in later years from work ... and there would be a case of rosellas or something to be prepared for the next day. If you wanted to eat it you expected to have to help with the preparations.

One last memory of chores is that I always wore an apron. My earliest memory of an apron is of one I embroidered in sewing class at Yeronga.

More memories from Annerley days

Grandfather Tarbit, Ida and Auntie Agnes used to visit us. I'm not sure how often. Agnes kept in touch with various relatives in England and Scotland. I'm not sure where she borrowed these outfits from but Alan and I had to put them on and be photographed.

You will notice that our hair is very short. A stray cat had adopted the family but it had some disease and we developed sores on our heads. I remember the treatment took a long time and involved visits to the Mater Childrens outpatients. It left me with a strong dislike of cats.

We had a great childhood at Annerley; the house being on high stumps allowed us to play all sorts of games under it no matter what the weather. I recall marking out rooms in the dirt ( it was not concreted) to play "house" with the neighbour girls and our dolls.
There were several ( 5 I think) mango trees in the yard ; Dad made a platform up the biggest one and we could climb up there and let our imaginations make it what ever we wished. It was also a great spot when the mangoes were ripe. I wasn't very good at climbing but with help loved to be up there.
Under the strawberry mango tree there was a little pond which was a favourite spot in the hot weather.

I cant remember if I was recovering from chicken pox or measles when I went with the Minogues for a couple of weeks to their beach house at Maroochydore. I was over the illness but there used to be quite a long quarantine period and it was decided as it was close to holiday time I need not return to school. I expect the Minogue children had finished ( at the catholic schools) a little before the state schools.  Anyhow I had a wonderful time with them. I especially remember the white bread and jam! we didn't have white bread at our home so that seemed a "treat" to me. I remember the girls and I having 6 slices each one day and being amazed that nobody seemed to find that "naughty."
Our family holidays were usually spent at Maroochydore or Caloundra. One day we went with the Minogues to pick strawberries at a farm at nearby Bli Bli. It was a case of picking for free all you could fit in the provided pails. You could also eat as you picked! The farmer must have had a bigger crop than he could market.

Mum's sister Emmy lived at Montville which is on the range behind Maroochydore. The Harper family had a sugar cane farm and on at least one occasion we had a day with them. There were young boys about Alan's age who must have been Aunty Emmy's grandchldren. They introduced us to fishing for eels in the dam, chasing the young calves around the paddock and pulling them along by the tails...and all the other things that larrikin boys get up to on a farm! It was a great day!  I wasn't too keen when the eels were cooked for a meal  however. I preferred the sticks of sugar cane we chewed. The sugar cane trains on the narrow gauge were a common sight in the area. I'm not sure how old I was at the time.
Aunty Emmy was a lovely person and I was very sad years later when she died of cancer.

a short digression...a bit of trivia

A memory popped up this morning while I was putting on my shoes to go out. These shoes have a strap across the instep . It is fastened by velcro. I suddenly had a clear vision of Mum doing up some new shoes of mine. When I was very young my shoes  had a strap with a buttton hole which did up on a button at the side of the shoe. When the shoes were new it was hard to get the button through the slot on the strap. Mum had a button hook which went through the hole, hooked around the button and thus made it easier to be pulled through.

I expect I am wearing such shoes in this photo.

Back to the city

By 1943 the threat of invasion on Australia had diminished though the war was still being fought out in the Pacific regions. Alan had gone back to Brisbane and was attending Brisbane Grammar school so there was only Mum, Lois and I at the Amiens house. I cant remember anything about the actual return to Brisbane. I can recall that in preparation Mum and I were busy sun-drying apples . Someone, probably Uncle Ernie, had made a stand covered with chicken wire and we peeled and sliced the apples and spread them out on the wire to dry.

Mum had heard or read that accomodation was scarce in Brisbane especially for American service officers and their wives . As we had a fairly large house at Annerley she decided we could offer accomodation. I expect the decision to leave Amiens and  return to Annerley was based on several reasons but I recall her explaining the accomodation situtation ; probably preparing me for the fact that we would be sharing the house.

Records show that Lois and I returned to Yeronga State School in May 1943. Here we were in the reverse situation to our arrival at the school in Amiens. I was behind in the syllabus and had some catching up to do. I cant be sure but I have a feeling that Geography may have  been the subject I  missed  because I had been going to rural school in Stanthorpe.  Yeronga didn't do Domestic science and I have always struggled with Geography so I am guessing that  my problems with the subject started from this time.. It probably also had a lot to do with the way the syllabus was organised and the subject taught. We had to draw maps! The exercise book was similar to a botany/science book , that is with one side ruled and the opposite side blank. We ruled a grid on the blank side as a guide for drawing a map. Drawing of any kind  was not one of my better skills!  The other thing I remember about Geography was having to remember and being able to draw from memory on a map  all the rivers ( in the correct order) around the Australian coastline.
Apart from the feeling of being "behind" the others in class I was very happy to be back with all my firends.

I think I am correct in saying that an American officer and his wife ( dont know if she was American or Australian) came to board with us. There was an occasion when Mum went back to Amiens , something to do with the farm...may even have been when she sold it... and while Dad and Alan had to cope with the laundry  I was the cook. I was 12 years old! One evening the boarder came out to the kitchen and asked if everything was OK . I was cooking chops and she thought they were burning. Mum always cooked chops very thoroughly so I expect I was doing likewise!

Unfortunately my pleasure at being back home and seeing my friends was to be short-lived as by the beginning of the next school year we had left Annerley for ever.

Again I know nothing about the actual sale of the house or of the shift. I have a strong memory of an incident which is more likely to belong to this time rather than the earlier preparation for the move to Amiens. I walked into one of the bedrooms where Dad was packing boxes and found him flat out on the floor. I was very upset and went to Mum. I thought he was dead...but whether I actually said that I dont recall. She came and checked and said he was sound asleep.

More about my life at Amiens

I have always been glad that I had this opportunity to experience country life. I think my later time in Cloncurry as a young wife and mother would have been more difficult if I had not had the experience of living away from the city.

It is good that I was able to see life on working farms. I have good memories of being in the packing shed at Uncle Ernie's farm and watching apples being graded, sorted and packed ready to be sent away to market. At some stage Mum purchased the farm on which we were staying and I remember our being sent to help the farm manager chip the rows of cabbages.

the farm

I dont think these are rows of cabbages..may be potatoes.

When we first arrived the orchard was very neglected but as I said earlier the trees were full of summer fruit. Later the apples came on so we always had a good supply of fresh fruit.

I remember this photo being taken. We had not been there very long and the cart was found among the farm implements. Dad was there and he told the girls  to sit in the cart and Alan to pick up the shafts as if he was going to take us for a ride. I am fairly sure that the other two smaller girls are Gloria and Lynette Marshall, daughters of my cousin Edna who was with us for a short while.

I met Edna again some  years ago at a family reunion in Brisbane.

Hilary with Edna Marshall at reunion in 2003

Uncle Ernie had Italian prisoners of war working on his farm. They were very fond of Ernie's little girls as they missed their own families very much. Most of them had been captured in North Africa and sent to Australia and placed in POW camps. From about 1940  Italy was no longer a major participant in the war in Europe so many were released to work on farms. If my memory is correct they had their meals with the family . They used to talk to us and tell us about their families, showing us photos. They were good workers and very friendly men. I learnt a few Italian phrases from them but the only phrase I remember is a swearing phrase taught to me by one of my Italian school friends.  Mum came out to the veranda one afternoon to ask what all the giggling was about and we had to do some quick thinking as Lois and I were practising the phrase. It used to come in handy to mutter quielty ( very quietly) when I didn't want to do something. 

We didn't see so much of our Auntie Ethel , one of Mum's older sisters, and Uncle Will as they were a bit further away. Uncle Will was in charge of the Forestry at Passchendale. Mum went down to Brisbane once, taking Lois with her and Alan and I went to stay with Auntie Ethel . She was very strict  but was kind to us. I remember helping her in the kitchen and enjoying that. I was never confident around Uncle Will...for some reason I was not comfortable in his presence...perhaps he was just different in some way from my father.

When I went into Stanthorpe for Rural school I sometimes had to go to the shops first to buy ingredients for the cooking class or items  for sewing. One of the first things we had to sew was a large wrap-around apron similar to a lab coat which we had to wear during the cooking class.. I seem to think the next may have been a pair of bloomers...an exercise in flat seams! I sometimes also had to buy a few things like cotton which Mum needed. When it was time to make a dress, I bought some white cotton voile ; the teacher decided it would be good fabric on which to learn pin tucking so I had to sew pin tucks all over the front of the bodice. Mum was not very impressed with my choice of material...probably wondered when I would ever get to wear it.

I  think it was probably for Mothers Day that I bought this gift for her in Stanthorpe.

The Wandering Musician

Mum gave this back to me some years before she died and I now cherish it. I can still see my pencil "To Mum" on the back.

Meanwhile in the "real" world...

At Amiens we were happily enjoying fruit straight from the trees,vegies from Uncle Ernie's farm; riding our bikes and visiting relations; exploring the bush around the house and seeing lots of little wildflowers; going to the station on train days to watch the engine taking on water and the men loading the fruit and veges.

But in Brisbane and elsewhere in the larger towns and cities of Australia things were not so comfortable.
The northern part of Australia including Queensland was considered the most vulnerable so restrictions such as the blackout were tightly enforced.

In February 1942 the Japanese bombed Darwin, in March bombs fell on Broome in West Australia and in June that year submarines shelled Newcastle and Sydney.

Petrol rationing had started in 1940 and now in 1942  Ration books were issued for tea, sugar and clothing. Later butter and meat were also rationed.  All persons over the age of 16 were issued with identity cards which had to be carried at all times.

I remember Mum making butter while we were at Amiens but whether because of a shortage or because she always was ready to learn something new I cannot say. I do remember she often said we all had to " do our bit" while there was a war. We had no electricity so no frig and also no ice so no ice-chest. How did she keep food fresh? Maybe we had a Coolgardie type safe...will have to ask Alan if he can remember.

There was a  small local store and I think a bakery but I dont remember a butcher shop. I know we always had plenty to eat while at Amiens and I expect at that age I didn't take much notice of  how Mum went about getting supplies.

Country school

No Infants classes(Prep); half-day school only for other grades... as long as they had slit trenches and daily air-raid practice!!!
That was the story for many Brisbane schools in early 1942...no such luck for country schools. Having come from one of the larger primary Brisbane schools I found the one-teacher, 2 class-room school at Amiens quite a change.



Amiens school
 ( acknowledgement :Amiens State School 75th anniversary 1919-1994; J Harslett)

This photo was taken in 1925 but the school looks very similar to my memories of it in 1942. From classes of approx 20 pupils, I had come to a school with a total enrolment about the same. Yes, we did have to have daily air-raid practice. There were slit trenches under a double row of pine trees and when the "siren" went we had to go down ( in an orderly manner please!) into the trenches and crouch down with our head on knees and hands on heads until the "all clear siren" sounded. I dont remember being scared...probably we all found it a good lark as the war seemed far away.

This little school was bitterly cold in winter. The area around the Granite Belt can be extremely cold. There was a chip heater in the room which helped a little. Mum made me some long warm pants but she added a bib with shoulder straps thinking that would make them more comfortable for me.Unfortunately some girls told me they were like baby pants so I always hated wearing those pants even though they were warm.

Pupils from Grade 5 went into Stanthorpe once a week for rural school. I was in Grade 5 but was still only 10years so was not eligible. However the teacher made application and approval was given for me to go. The girls did Cooking and Sewing and the boys Wood and Metal work. We travelled into Stanthorpe on the back of a truck...I think with a long seat each side. Alan and I were picked up at our front gate. There were already several children on board by the time it reached us and I dreaded the moment of personal indignity as they hauled me aboard as Alan pushed from behind. This young city girl was not used to climbing into the back of a large truck .Coming home was not without its worries either . The girls had to protect their cooking from the boys!

The gate leading to our house.

At first we walked to school then at some stage we acquired bikes.  Either Alan or I gave Lois a ride to school . One day I was giving Lois a "doubler" when we had a buster. I had a billycan on the handlebars and as I was standing ( Lois being on the seat) my knee became caught under the billy . The bike came to an abrupt stop and Lois went flying off the bike landing face down. The dirt road consisted mainly of crushed granite so she didn't have a soft landing. She scraped all the skin on her nose ; possibly there were other scrapes but we remember the nose because a scab formed and Mum said it made her look like a little koala bear. For many years after we referred to her "koala" nose.

I was never the athletic type and can't remember any sports activities at Yeronga School. It was a surprise when I found myself being trained to represent Amiens school at a  District  inter-school sports day in Stanthorpe. There cannot have been anyone else in my age-group available! The teacher also  did his best to teach me to high-jump but I couldn't get the knack of missing that bar. I must have reached some qualifying time in running as he had high hopes for me. He gave me a pep talk just before the race; I remember handing him my watch to look after, and shortly after  seeing all these other kids running  in front of me. Apparently I was slow off the mark and couldn't catch up.

I dont remember missing my Brisbane friends which is surprising as I had been at that one school for all my schooldays to that time. I must have made some new friends as I dont remember being unhappy . There were a few who enjoyed teasing the city kids which eventually led to the one outstanding memory from this school.

I'll have to give you the background to the occasion. Mum had always had a "project". In Brisbane she had been involved with the Mothercraft Association and was also on a committee to try to have a Kindergarten establised in Annerley. With her interest in women's affairs and children it is not surprising that she became involved with the local Italian women. There was, and still is,  a large Italian community in the area around Stanthorpe.  The men were interned during the war leaving the women to run the orchards and farms. Many became ostracised by the local families. They had not been accustomed to attending  to business matters which were regarded as men's responsibilities so Mum often helped the women fill in documents etc. We became friendly with several families and I played with the children at school. Several times when walking home from school some of the girls, bigger and older than me, tried to bully me for "fraternising" with the "enemy"

We were already a little on the "outer" because we were 3 city kids in a country environment; add to that we were ahead scholastically and so all three of us topped our classes. This so-called fraternising gave them just the excuse they were looking for to "have a go" at us.

At the top of the paddock behind the school was the school tree plantation ( schools celebrated  Arbor Day each year by planting a tree.) The young trees had to be watered by bucket. One day several kids were up there and shouted out for the rest of us to come up and see something. We rushed up and immediately a ring formed around Alan and me and they drenched us with the buckets of water. I cannot remember anything about the aftermath of that happening; did we go back into class wet? did the teacher say anything? Maybe Alan can remember. Did we tell Mum...I doubt it.

School must have continued as normal now they had had their fun as I dont remember being unhappy there. Alan did Scholarship that year and left to go to Brisbane . We left at the end of first term 1943 and returned to Yeronga state school in May.

I dont know what happened to our bikes as I dont think I had a bike again until we lived at Petrie in 1945-6.

Many years ago I accompanied Bill to an official function somewhere outside Stanthorpe and as we drove 

away afterwards we passed near Amiens.  We toyed with the idea of trying to find some familiar landmarks

but as we wanted to return to Toowoomba that evening we decided not to delay. Later this year when the weather is warmer we will go and stay a couple of days . We will start from the school and see if anything seems familiar to me. Hopefully I may also be able to make an appointment to see over the school.

I may have something to tell you in a later post.

Adapting to country life

The purple passionfruit hung on the vine just waiting to be picked. If I didn't grab it soon I could be sure someone else would but it was tantalisingly out of easy reach. There was no way I was going to step in closer because I just knew that there would be snakes lurking in all that growth. Our home at Annerley in Brisbane had been on the edge of bushland and as I often trailed after my brother and his mates as they headed down to the creek and thereabouts, I already knew to watch for snakes. However, this was the "real" bush and warnings had been delivered in a way which was not to be taken lightly! I had also heard all about death adders and they had me really worried. Needless to say it didn't take Alan long to find a way to harvest the passionfruit so I just kept close to him.

From the start it was my chore to gather kindling for the stove. Alan had to collect the heavier branches and cut them to length . We usually just headed out to the roadside as there was plenty of fallen branches there. Every skinny branch and twig was carefully looked at to make sure it didn't wriggle!

Close to the cottage was an outcrop of granite rocks. This was a favourite playing place where Lois and I could mark out pretend rooms and play "house". It was the ideal place for snakes to warm themselves. While we never became blase about the chance of snakes and  always kept a lookout we learnt not to let our fear  interfere with our activities.

When later I had a bike,someone told me that if you ran over a snake it could wind itself around the spokes in the bike wheel. Did a lot for my confidence!

The only time I can actually remember encountering a snake close-up was when I returned home from school one afternoon and there was  a snake lying just in front of the small house gate. I remember standing there for ages waiting for the thing to move so that I could get to the house. I suppose a local kid would have thrown a stick or something but I wasn't that game. I have seen a few snakes even here in my Toowoomba garden but have never lost that shudder on coming across one.

As far as I can recall we didn't ever have one come into the house at Amiens.

 I dont have a clear mental image of the layout of the cottage. This may seem surprising as I was there for about 18 months and from 10 1/2 to almost 12 years old. We moved so frequently in the following years that I think each move must have wiped out the previous one. There was no bathroom and we had our bath in a large round galvanised tub in front of the stove. Because the water had to be heated on the stove, there was a strict pecking order for a bath with a top-up of hot water in between each person. I expect Alan was unlucky last and had the job of emptying the big tub. I think there was a shelf by the kitchen wall and two basins underneath it. One was a white enamel to use for our daily wash and the other was the tin dish for washing the dishes. I think there was a tap over the shelf . I assume it was connected to a tank. There was a well in the backyard some distance from the house though I dont think we used that water for drinking or bathing. I have no memory of how Mum did laundry but expect there was a copper outside somewhere.

There were no other houses for miles. Mum used to cycle over to visit  other women in the district or to Uncle Ernie and Auntie Mary. If she wasn't home by a certain time it was my task to start the fire in the stove and peel the vegetables. One afternoon I had trouble getting the fire to"catch", so , as I had seen Mum do on occasions, I poured in some kerosene. Unfortunately I didn't have her experience and the whole thing flared up strongly. I singed the front of my fringe and all my eyebrows and burnt the backs of my hands as I put them over my face. Mum must have bandaged them later because the next morning I had to go to the Rural Nurse and was very scared wondering if the bandages would have stuck. I had to go each morning for a while to have them inspected and the dressings changed. It didn't get me out of school!

The house must have been rather crowded in the early months while Edna and her 2 girls were with us. I dont think they stayed very long as they dont figure in many memories. I do know that Edna milked the cow. How did we acquire a cow! Probably Uncle Ernie arranged that. He used to come over each week in the early stages to do the heavy things like disposing of rubbish and emptying and burying  the contents of the  outside toilet...a job which Alan eventually  had to take over.

There was no electricity so light was from lamps;  no TV of course and papers only came in once a week on the train. I expect Mum had a portable "wireless"  and kept track of news of the "real" world. It is only as an adult that I can imagine how her life had changed and how she must have missed her home and life in Brisbane. Still we were safe and Dad was not overseas as so many men were. For us life was a bit of an adventure and there was a new school with new friends to meet.

Introduction to country life

The atmosphere on the railway platform was not "right."  Usually when we were going anywhere by train it was to the beach for our annual holiday. The station would be busy and noisy with happy voices and children would be dashing around hoping to find some of their friends also waiting to board the train.
On this particular morning all seemed very quiet; we were sternly told not to wander away. There didn't seem as many people as usual waiting to board; the adults were all very serious and talking among themselves quietly. Grandfather Tarbit, Ida and Agnes as well as other relatives were there to see us off  and Auntie Agnes kept squeezing me with big hugs. I think I was only interested in my "new" watch! Mrs Henricksen, a family friend, had given me a watch she no longer used and I thought , at 10 years, that I was very "grown-up"  wearing it.

No buckets and spades this trip...I knew that we were off to a place called Amiens somewhere in the country near Stanthorpe. We would stop briefly at a place called Toowoomba on the way and  an Aunt and two young girl cousins whom we had not previously met would be on the platform to say Hello.
 It was to be a long day and I had books and things to keep me occupied...and quiet!

Our home at Annerley was near a reservoir and therefore in an area designated as "high risk" for possible air raids now that the war with Japan was coming closer. Dad had been spending many nights in the city staying in a flat made available for his use as part of Communications within the Defence Force.  I can only assume that he must have had constant worries about out safety while he was absent. Many schools and families had decided to evacuate and go to country areas away from the city. Just when the decision was made for  us to go I do not know. Did I know when at the school "break up"at the end of 1941 that I would not be returning to Yeronga school the following year? I do not know.
It was now January and we were on that train heading South West. Uncle Ernie, one of Mum's brothers, had found a deserted house for us to rent in Amiens. He lived in Bapaume on the same railway "loop" line.

The stop at Toowoomba proved disappointing. I was excited to be meeting some cousins but whether it was shyness on both sides or what I can only remember feeling that they were not interested in meeting us. I dont remember anything about the rest of that journey or how we actually arrived at the house. I think it was already dark and assume Uncle Ernie must have provided transport. My cousin Edna and her two little girls accompanied us ( I am fairly certain about that) but I am not sure if her husband also made the trip. Dad was only there to get us settled and then had to return to Brisbane. I have very vague memories of a rather chaotic first night.

The next morning though brought lots of excitement as we explored our  surroundings. There was a grapevine all around the verandah of the cottage and it was laden with ripe white grapes. The orchard had peach, plum and apricot trees full of fruit! There was a huge barn behind the house and on the side of it was  a heavily-laden passionfruit vine.  There were some sore tummies for a few days until we all settled down!

Amiens is about 15km from Stanthorpe in South Queensland. If my memory is correct, there was a "loop" line from Cottonvale ( before Stanthorpe) and a train which ran once a week from there via Paschendale, Poziers, Bapaume and on to Amiens which was the end of that line.There may have been other stations but those are the names I remember. The "stations' were really only sidings and un-manned. Someone attended the Amiens stop on train days. The line had been set up when the area was opened up for soldier settlement after World war 1 ( hence the names of the "towns.") It was not a passenger line as such as its purpose was to transport the fruit and vegetables to go to the Brisbane markets.

Although I did not know it at the time this was the start of big changes in family life as I had previously known it.

House at Amiens

Mum picking peaches in the orchard

Another digression...what's in a name?

I have been writing thankyou cards to people and can see how differently I sign my name depending on the recipient. I respond to many names , mostly without any hesitiation. I'm sure when my parents named me Hilary Joan they did not anticipate any confusion arising in the future but Alan was unwittingly ( perhaps with some help from my father) behind  the fact that that has happened.

Mum wanted me known as Hilary Joan ...the whole double-barrel but as Alan was still only a toddler I became None  and somehow my name within the family became Joan. All his life my father called me None and even wrote to me that way. Outside the family I was always Hilary.

All this came to mind when at my birthday luncheon my brother-in-law -when speaking -referred to me as Joan and I saw a few facial queries around the room. As the Darmody family had met me in a family situation they  knew me only as Joan and always call me that. Last year one of Bill's nephews asked him why I had "changed" my name so I can see it is time I explained why I am known by two names.

For all the years before marriage I responded without thought to either name though I repeat that Joan was used only within the  family and elsewhere I was always Hilary. Once I left Brisbane ,and apart from my immediate family ,I have always been known as Hilary.  As my mother grew older she wrote to me as <Dear Hilary> which later became <Hilary Dear> and gradually both Alan and Lois have come to call me Hilary so I now dont think of myself as Joan. Though I still respond to it easily in a Darmody situation, it does not come easily to me to write it or sign myself that way, so if you receive a letter etc from me it may be signed Hilary, Hilary Joan, HJoan or HilaryJ...
I'm sorry if it is confusing to others but I know who I am! and Bill has become quite accustomed to calling me by either name depending on to whom  he is speaking!
In a nutshell, if you are a Darmody relation you are welcome to call me Joan but to everyone else I am Hilary.

School days revisited

Most of my childhood memories are from my time living at Annerley and attending Yeronga State School. I cant be sure which are from the time before we went to Amiens from early 1942  and which are after our return in mid-1943 so I'll just mention them as they come to mind.

I mentioned slates in an early post. Recently I visited Jondaryan Woolshed complex near Toowoomba . This is an open-air Museum around the original woolshed and depicts many aspects of early rural life. Included among the buildings is a small one-room school. Although this related to times earlier than my schooldays there were some familiar features, including the slates and desks.

I remember sitting at desks such as these...with slots for the slates and ink wells for the older children. I also remember a blackboard on an easel . The chart on the wall brings back memories of chanting " a like an apple, a says..."
Each long desk had a long bench  as a seat.

At some stage we moved up to double desks such as this...

I'm not sure if the ones I used were exactly like this as I seem to remember having a hinged seat which lifted back as I stood...and woebetide anyone who let their seat fall down making a loud noise!

I cant remember ever sitting at a single desk . I may have done so in senior school though even there I think the desks were arranged in pairs i.e.side by side.

Again as mentioned earlier, school did not have an ablutions block, washroom or such as is normal today. I well remember using a trough like this near the outside toilet block and a similar though longer one under the school building.

It makes me feel quite "ancient" when I see things in a "museum" which I remember using! In another building at the complex is an early dental chair which most certainly is familiar  and brings to mind an occasion when I "missed" a dental appointment.

The dentist we attended was between the school and home and I was supposed to attend my appointment there one day on the way home from school. Somehow I "forgot" and went home in a different direction. Naturally Mum was not deceived and promptly rang and made another appointment to which she would personally take me. I had to have an extraction and the nurse came into the surgery and said "Your mother wants to know do you want her to come to be  with you." Little Miss said "No! I'm not a baby!"

This is the only occasion in my life I can remember having a parent with me at the dentist.

It was quite common for children to be independent as few families had cars to take children anywhere.

One school holiday, one of the other State schools held a holiday program and I asked if I could go. The answer was as long as I could get there and back on my own. I think I had to take two trams; I remember enjoying tennis lessons. I wish I could remember where my interest in tennis had come from, whether I had my own or a school racquet. There were other activities but I enjoyed the tennis most.

When I was having private lessons in prepartions for the dancing exams, I was allowed to leave school a few minutes early on the particular afternoon. I would walk to the tram and then take it into the city. I did not know the name of the street where I had to get off but knew it was just past the main Post Office and there were green railing outside the building at the tram stop. One afternoon I must have been daydreaming as I realised that nothing was looking familiar. I could do nothing but stay on the tram which I assumed would go to the terminus and then return. I would have had only enough money for my fare to town and back so I must have been a bit upset when the conductor came looking for fares on the return...or maybe he queried why I was still on the tram...I cant remember that part but I do remember some woman giving me sixpence for my fare. The fare was only a penny which the conductor then didn't take so I ended up with the sixpence. I managed to recognise my stop in the city and the amazing part was that I was still in time for my lesson!!! That is a secret which only Alan knows but has probably forgotten. He used to be sent to meet me at the tram stop as it would be starting to get dark by the time I arrived back. We spent the sixpence on hot chips at a shop near the tram stop and that's another secret we had to share!

I remember the day after it was announced that Australia was at war...though I had no concept of the full import . I heard Mum talking to Mrs Minogue between the two houses. Neither was a person to chat over the fence so I realised that something very important had happened. When Dad and a friend started digging our air-raid shelter where the vegetable garden used to be it was obvious that something worrying was happening.

In early 1942 we caught the train to go to live in Amiens...the next chapter in my life story.

Holidays

I have been sitting reading by a sunny window in the sunroom. It is a beautiful day outside though still very cold in other parts of the house. I will be happy when this winter is finished as it is much colder than we have had for about five years...when I was 5 years younger! The slightly warmer sunny day has turned my thoughts towards our annual holiday at the beach.
Beach holidays have always been part of my life and I was fortunate to have parents who were able to give me those holidays and share with me their enjoyment of the surf and beach.
My mother grew up in  Southport and lived there until 1930 and our early family holidays seem to have been spent in that area now known as the Gold Coast. I remember one time in a guest house at Burleigh Heads in later years but mainly those later holidays were at Maroochydore or Caloundra and those northern beaches are still my favourites.

Beach belle 30's style!

Lois joins the family holiday; this was taken at the famous "rock" pool at Kings Beach Caloundra. There is now a "proper" swimming pool there but I think we had the better experience of swimming in this more natural pool which filled with the tide.

Probably around the Headland at Caloundra

On the Maroochy river

The girl in the middle is our Annerley neighbour and the one who much later taught my daughters at High school in Toowoomba

Beach Belle 50's style

Oh yes, I am looking forward to that sun, surf and sand again!

Looking back - looking forward

It has been a few weeks since my last post. Instead of looking back to earlier memories, I have been creating new ones. I had a wonderful week with all my family here to celebrate my 80th birthday. Family, you did me proud and I hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did. I appreciated the way you all played your part and made it such a great experience.

Hilary at the luncheon to celebrate her 80th birthday

  The week following the luncheon was rather full-on and that unfortunately was followed by a week with a bad head cold from which I am only now starting to  recover.

It is other people's perception of one that makes you realise that you must be now "officially" old! Odd little remarks or actions e.g. I was recently returning  my shopping trolley to the bay when a younger woman walking hers back stopped and offered to take mine. I remembered when I used to do this for older people!

Before I get back to the recording of my childhood years I am now going to add a few historical facts to give more of the background to the times in which I grew up.
As mentioned earlier , my brother Alan was born in 1929 and I in 1931.

In 1929Australia's first airmail stamp was issued.
In 1929 in Melbourne Hoyts converted 20 suburban theatres from "silent" to "talkies."
In August 1929 audiences enjoyed the first Australian-made talking picture - a newsreel made by Fox Movietone.
That must seem incredible to the younger family members who have so much technology literally in their hands today.

In 1930 Brisbane City Hall was opened; the first wireless telephone service with England began; and the First Empire (now Commonwealth) Games were held (in Canada where Australia won 3 gold medals.)
At the same time, unemployment was extreme and there was much poverty; public soup kitchens were set up in many areas; many families lost their homes and squatters took over empty houses; others lived in make-shift humpies in public places such as Sydney's domain as they couldn't afford rent.

In 1931 QANTAS carried airmail from Brisbane to Darwin as part of an experimental service to the UK.
In 1931 the two ends of the Sydney Harbour Bridge joined in the midddle ; the bridge was opened in 1932.
In Oct 1931 the Chinese People's Republic was declared
Escalators appeared in some of the larger department stores; the first electric shaver went on sale; the British House of Commons agreed to the playing of sport on Sundays; and in preparation for the Olympics of 1932, the Olympic committee agreed to women athletes participation in track and field events; the first showing was held of a Donald Duck cartoon.

In 1932 the Australian Broadcasting Co.Ltd. was formed( later the Govt ABC)
In 1932 the jingle for Aeroplane Jelly was very popular.

In 1934 Bert Hinkler set off from London to fly to Australia but crashed in Italy and was killed; the first traffic lights were installed in Sydney; the Australian Womens Weekly was launched; there were the now famous bodyline cricket protests;

By 1934, ominous signs were appearing of the threat of war in Europe and Japan was making inroads into China and parts of Asia.
An anti-war congress was held in Melbourne
In August 1935, there was a large anti-war demonstration in Melbourne.
also in 1935, the cane toad was introduced to Queensland to control the beetle damaging sugar cane crops.

In 1936 George V died. In Dec. Edward VIII abdicated and Prince Albert became King George VI in 1937

In 1937 the first regular airmail services between Australia and America began.
This year also saw a polio epidemic in Australia and New Zealand; particularly in Victoria. Police were stationed at the NSW-Vic border ; any  children under 16 years  needed a health certificate stating " no contact with the virus for 21 days " before they could cross the border.
In 1937 the golden Gate Bridge in San Franciso was opened;

In 1938 Air passenger links with England were becoming more regular.
With the increasing threat of war, Canberra announced the creation of a new Defence dept; many refugees from Europe were arriving in Australia; troops were being trained and tenders called for army uniforms; censorship came into force for communications between Australia and overseas.
In Sept 1939 Australia, following England, declared war on Germany.

As mentioned in an earlier post, this was the year we moved to Annerley.
For me as a child life went on as normal and reading articles from the time it is interesting to see that despite all the anxiety etc all the usual Aussie sporting fixtures still took place!
A small item I came across during my research tells that The Ready Mix company of Sydney was "the first company in the world to truck pre-made concrete to construction sites"  around this time ,so building and construction was still happening.

In 1940 A call-up ( to the forces) was issued for all single men up to the age of 33 years.
In 1941 single men to the age of 45 and married men to the age of 35 were called up. At first only married men without children were called up but as the war went on this was extended to a wider section of the population
Following the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbour and in Malaya and Singapore, Australia declared war on Japan.

This is a brief background to the times I have covered in earlier posts.
I will continue with more personal reminiscences next time.

Another digression

It is several weeks since I chatted to you. Rather than looking back, I have been enjoying the here and now. On June 11th Bill & I celebrated our 56th wedding anniversary and the following day I became an octogenarian. As the saying goes " Where did the time go?!"
Rather than sit down and wonder about that on our anniversary we enjoyed a full day flight from Toowoomba to Lake Eyre and back. We left home at 6.30am, took off  at 7.20am and returned to Toowoomba airport at 7.10pm, home about 7.45pm so it was a long day. We had a great time and enjoyed it all.
The birthday on the sunday was quiet ; Anne and family took us to lunch but we are saving the main celebration until you are all here in July.
I dont remember any of us having birthday parties when I was a child and can only remember one occasion when I went to one. I had to walk up to the tram stop on Ipswich road and wait for the girl's father to collect me by car; he was to pick up several girls; I was in a panic in case I was late and can remember that awful feeling that I may have been left behind. Fortunately he did arrive.I cannot remember anything about the party...just that anxious wait!


I have a vague feeling that it may have been that day that I saw some of my classmates in their uniform of the Junior Red Cross. ..perhaps they had been to that before they came to the party. I pestered Mum to let me join ( I thought they looked "cool" ) but  no go; I had ballet on Saturday mornings and the meetings were Saturday afternoons and  not in walking distance from our place so there was no chance I could join.

Alan was in the Cubs ( dont think he ever went up to Scouts) but I dont think I knew anyone in the Brownies so that wasn't an issue for me. We had some interesting evenings as a family when the Cubs had something special. Guy Fawkes night was usually spent at the Cubs around their bonfire and I can recall other occasions when there was a concert or badges award night. I do know there was always a supper and it was a special treat ; the walk there and back in the dark was also exciting. Having said that I think we sometimes had a lift with someone in their car.

Like all children I looked forward to the birthday present...when I see what youngsters receive these days I am amazed. We thought it was great to receive a book or maybe a doll. Auntie Agnes and Grandfather always had a small gift for me and these were treasured.

This year my birthday fell in the weekend of the Queen's birthday public holiday. I haven't worked out how often that would happen but do recall it happening once when I was in primary school. I must have been talking about it during recess as I remember some of the girls acting a bit jealous!

Anyhow here I am now officially an old lady! Some mornings I feel it too! However I am blessed with good health and you'll probably have me around for some years yet!

Unfortunately I didn't have a photo taken on my birthday but this one was taken the previous day on our flight to Lake Eyre.

rainy school days

I was driving past the local school last week and the traffic was terrible as mothers were dropping off their children. It was raining and I thought how different from my early days of going to school in the rain. I expect there are some children who do walk to school still but as there were few cars when I was in primary school it was the usual thing to walk.  We had just over 2km to walk from Annerley to Yeronga state school. I noticed the local children last week with their colourful raincoats. I dont remember when I first had one but it certainly wasn't at primary school. What was popular was a "cloak" made by tucking in the top corners of a hessian bag to form a hood with the rest of the bag covering the shoulders and upper body depending on one's size. Hessian bags were easily obtained and the cloaks were surprisingly good at keeping out the rain. Bags were also commonly used as outdoor mats around the house. Sometimes women would fancy them up with  fabric binding etc.

I was walking home one  day after rain and took off my shoes to paddle in the gutter; when Mum asked why I was carrying my shoes I was quite upset when she told me that I was not to do that again. I remember saying ( as all youngsters do) "but Alan and the others were doing it". Apparently that was OK but "young ladies" do not paddle in the gutter. I can still remember what a great feeling it was to have that paddle!

One day I stopped to talk with some men who were working in a PMG manhole. One of them asked if I hadn't been told not to talk to strange men and I replied "But you're not strange, You work for the PMG and so does my father." Ah to be so young and innocent.

We were fortunate to have some of our school friends living in the area as most of the local children went to the state school at Junction Park or to the convent school. I loved walking home with my friends. There were a couple of routes we could take. We rarely came through the park which was a memorial to soldiers from WW1. One day I arrived home with some ribbons. When I told Mum that my friend and I had collected them from the dead bouquets in the Park...leftovers from the recent Anzac Day ; I was in real trouble!

Whichever way we came we had to cross Ipswich Road at the "top." There was a large hotel there which we knew we had to avoid especially on those occasions when the gypsy caravans were parked there. This was not uncommon.

I dont think Mum did a lot of baking but she must have done some as it was a case of first home from school  getting the mixing bowl to "lick" clean. I used to get myself under the kitchen table behind the chairs and Mum's legs so big brother couldn't take it from me!

There was one girl I used to play with whose family had a piano. Her mother must have been somewhere else for the moment as when my friend finished her practice she  said I could play now. I sat up and gave a grand concert! Was having the time of my life when the mother suddenly appeared beside me and asked so nicely "Who do you learn from?" Oh...caught out!  I owned up but was very embarrassed and closed the lid quickly.

All for now.

Annerley house

I dont know when the alterations to the exterior of the Annerley house were made. I cant even remember the actual work being done.
I do have memories regarding the interior . The long boards of the veranda were sanded ;  these had to be waxed and polished by hand. Alan soon discovered that it was more fun to tie the bundles of  polishing cloths under our feet and "skate" along the veranda rather than having to get down on hands and knees. Lois always wanted to join in anything that looked like fun so one day Alan put her on a cushion and while he pulled her by the legs I pushed from her back. This was great fun for a while but unfortunately the boards must not have been as well sanded as they should have been and Lois collected a large splinter in her bottom. Mum could not get it all out so Alan and I had to take her up to Lady Cilento's surgery which was at the front of their home on Ipswich Road.

One afternoon I rushed home from school very excited ...because a new sink was installed that day!!! I wonder if that would excite a young child today?! It was the very latest in sinks...stainless steel! It replaced the old enamel one. Many homes did not even have a sink and washing up was done in a bowl on the kitchen table. We had to do this at Amiens but that is for later in this story.

I am fairly certain that the original stove was a wood(burning) one in a recess. This may have been replaced later by an electric one but I cant be sure about that. In the corner of the kitchen and near the stove recess was a single gas ring. I remember Mum warming oil in a spoon over the flame ; she then put the warm oil in my ear to try to float out an insect, probably a moth. On the rare occasions that we were given castor oil it also was warmed in this way and then added to orange juice the latter doing nothing to disguise the taste unfortunately.

In another corner of the room was the ice chest. The iceman used to deliver a slab of ice each morning to the bottom front step. Dad wrapped it in newspaper and it was then placed in a compartment at the top of the ice-chest. As the ice melted during the day, the water dripped down through a metal tubing into a bowl which was placed under the chest. This had to be emptied regularly, usually each morning I think. This was my job for a long time until a frog decided to make the bowl his home . I was a bit of a scaredy-cat and wasn't going near the bowl if the frog was there so Alan got the job.  Lois treated the frog as her pet ...pity she wasn't old enough to take over the chore for me!
She was always the "gamer" of us ; another of her delights at this time was catching  the bees around Mum's garden  poppies; she had  botttle and used to creep up on a bee, and quickly put the lid on the bottle.  Mum was always expecting she would get stung and lose interest but I dont recall that ever happening.

Alan and I used to take her for "walks" when she was little. This may have been in the pram ...I dont remember anyone having a "stroller" in those days...or it may have been in Alan's billy cart. This was the forerunner to a go-cart. It was home-made and basically a wooden box on a simple frame with wheels. There was also a front wheel ...often old pram wheels were used...and the driver used rope to steer. As our footpath had a gentle slope we used to take our hands off the "vehicle - whichever" and run along beside it as Lois screamed ; she wasn't scared just loved every minute of it. Mum told us many years later that a neighbour had said when Lois started school that she " never thought that child would live to start school." I'd be fairly sure Mum knew what ever we did  ( dont Mum's usually!)and would not have stopped anything she assumed to be safe fun. She grew up with boys older and younger than herself and only one sister close in age so knew very well what youngsters would try.
.
The bathroom was at the back end of the veranda section and at some stage the floor was covered with terrazzo...again the latest thing for bathrooms. There was no hot water system ( in fact I dont think we ever had onein our home) ; there was some sort of a heater at one end; it may have been a chip heater or even gas. I know I found it a bit scarey.

The toilet as I have mentioned was down the back yard.

There was no laundry as we know it today but under the house were concrete tubs and a copper for boiling the water. I think Mum may have bought her first washing machine while at Annerley, the old wringer type but I cant be certain about that. Clothes were pegged on long line strung across the back yard ;the lines were lifted up with clothes props. These were tree saplings which had been smoothed down. They had been cut where there was a fork  thus making the V which held up the lines. Men used to come to the door selling clothes props. This was one of the ways many men had to earn some money to support their families at that time.

We had the occasional "swaggie"  call at the back asking for work or a feed and I remember taking sandwiches down to one sitting on the bottom step. We were always told to speak respectfully to and about anyone who came looking for food or a "job."
"

All children had their chores and I'll tell you more about that another day.

Moving to Annerley

Moving to Annerley was quite an event in my life. As far as I know I had not seen the house before arrving there so  everything was new and exciting. As we were to continue at Yeronga State School, Mum had arranged for Alan and me to walk with the Cilento children from school to their home on Ipswich Road. Dad met us there and walked us to the new home in Tarragindi  Road. Thus we now would be able to find our own way to and from school in future! I was only 7 years old so just as well I had an older brother to walk with me.
Most people have one house that seems to be evermore "home" to them and this is the house I always dream about. I think if I drew a floorplan of that house it would be fairly accurate as it was in those years.
This is how the house looked when we first lived there:
(I assume that by now you have learnt that you can click on a photo to enlarge it and some have a magnifying icon to bring it to full size...)


Original house

 At some time in the following years alterations to the exterior were made.


The altered front and side



I dont know if this was regarded as a modernisation or was simply to improve security as Alan and I slept on the veranda at that time. Many Brisbane houses from that era can still be seen with similar window treatment.

Anyhow I still prefer the original appearance!

Recently a friend of Alan took this photo for us and some of the original building can be seen.

I was excited to learn that there were 3 girls living next door on one side of us; we were obviously awaited by them as they were out having a good look! One poked a face at me through a gap in the fence; one was hanging out of an upstairs window having a good look; and the youngest was very friendly and gave us a great smile. I was a very shy little girl and this was all a bit overwhelming.

Now here is a coincidence for you..that youngest little girl much later taught my daughters at High School here in Toowoomba!

Anne, the youngest girl was a bit younger than me, Dorothy the middle one was ,I think ,the same age as Alan and Patsy  the eldest and a few years older than Alan. The young girls were at the local Convent school and I think Patsy was by then at All Hallows Seconday School.

The younger girls and I  became good friends . Their Grandmother lived with them but was an invalid ; the few times I actually went inside their home it was a "must" that one visited Grandmother in her bedroom which was a bit daunting for a young child. Their father had some involvement with a Cycling Club and I remember one occasion when he was officiating and the girls and I were allowed to accompany him in their car as he followed the cyclists.

We rarely went to the pictures (movies) so I relied on these girls to tell me about the films that were popular at that time such as The Wizard of Oz and the Shirley Temple films. I'm not sure if I ever actually saw a Shirley Temple movie as a child but I knew what they were about.

Living on the other side of us were a couple of elderly women...at least I though at that time that they were "old." Their home was a large place that looked like a mansion to me with very large grounds and lots of trees. I can only think of one time that I entered those grounds and went to the back( tradesman's) door but for what reason I dont know. Lois and I used to stand on a railing across the lower part of our wooden side fence and peer over for a look in the grounds. There would be a quick dash out of sight if we saw the groundsman looking our way.



Our own yard was..to my memory... quite large. At the back there was a hedge about 3/4 from the back fence with a gap for passageway to the rear section of the yard. One one side behind the hedge was a large vegetable garden and on the other side the outdoor ( and only) dunny. Do you younger folk know that term? It was the common word for the outdoor toilet.  There was little sewerage in Brisbane suburbs and I knew nobody with an indoor flush "toilet." 

I'll mention here the "toilet block" at the school. This was a buiding some distance from the main school buidlings; one for boys and other for girls. There were about 6 toilets in the block with  a sort of corridor where one queued up. Each cubicle had a half door i.e. a swing door open at top and bottom but for privacy in the middle. Naturally I'm describing the girls' block as I dont know what the boys one was like. At lunchtime, one placed one's lunch ( usually in a brown paper bag) on the ground outside. A teacher was always on duty to keep an eye on everybody but sometimes the older girls somehow managed to swap the lunches around and cause problems for us. The only taps I can remember were under the school buildings. There were long troughs with taps over them . These were for both our drinking water and our ablutions.

I've been interrupted so will come back another day to continue.