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.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
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...)
At some time in the following years alterations to the exterior were made.
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 |
 |
| 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.
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