Starting Secondary(High) School

Local children are returning to school this week after the long summer holiday break. As I told you in an earlier post,   in 1944 we were living in Clayfield, Brisbane, and  I finished my primary schooling when I passed the State Scholarship public examination at the end of 1944 at Eagle Junction School.
At the beginning of 1945 I started at Clayfield College in the Sub-Junior Form.

However, before I tell you about my time there I will update the information I have about our time in Amiens . I now have copies of documents from the State archives...thanks to my brother Alan and his son Steven. These include one of the purchase of the Government lease by my mother in 1943 and confirmation that it is indeed the very property as I thought. I also have a copy showing  when she sold it  later in 1948 and to whom. As we left the property in April 1943 and Giulio Crema took up residence in 1946 according to his daughter, we do not know who, if anyone, lived in the house during that gap in time. We think she probably took over a share-farming arrangement which the previous owner had had with a neighbouring property .  I dont remember any mention of the farm after 1943 but one has to remember that  in those days financial matters etc were not discussed " in front of the children."
Perhaps we will one  day learn more  but at the moment I am happy that I have confirmed that it was "our" property I had visited and to have met and talked with the present owners.

In early 1945 we were  living at Clayfield, I started at Clayfield College, Lois continued at Eagle Junction school and Alan was at the Brisbane Grammar School.



 We lived opposite the back entrance to the Clayfield college  ( now the main front entrance) so it was an easy matter to simply walk across the road. This school went right from Kindergarten to Matriculation so there was a mix of Scholarship girls and "Clayfield" girls in my class.  Fortunately we newcomers were quickly absorbed into the group. It was not a large school so there were only about 20 in my Form  which was the only Sub-Junior form.
Secondary schooling in Queensland at that time was for 4 years ...Sub-Junior, Junior, Sub-Senior and Senior. At some schools many students left after the Junior public examination but at my school I think only one student left, the rest of us continuing until the end of the Senior year. It was an "Academic" school with no commercial or domestic subjects taught and as I have indicated an all-girls school.
I was still attending ballet classes in the city and now started Speech & Drama at the school. I continued the Speech & Drama after I finished schooling and eventually gained my ATCL (Assoc of the Trinity College London) teachers Diploma and the Australian equivalent from the AMEB.  I enjoyed being in the school plays.

The war in Europe finished in April 1945 and in the Pacific in August 1945 but rationing was in full force for several more years. Many goods were  either restricted to certain priorities or simply unavailable. I remember being lined up with others on the school veranda to be measured by the Head Mistress. If you were over a certain height you qualified for extra clothing coupons. I was eligible but there wasn't much to use them on!

 I remember having to have a white dress for School Speech Night. I didn't have one and we couldn't find fabric anywhere in Brisbane to make one. Eventually my auntie Agnes (Tarbit) found some in a small shop in Ipswich and sent it to me. I remember making the dress. All  our clothes were homemade,including our uniforms. I knitted my own school jumper for winter though I did have a bought school blazer.; I dont remember having any bought clothing until I was a working girl and even then most of my clothing I made myself.

As well as the shortage of fabric there was difficulty in buying buttons etc. Elastic was a particular problem and many a schoolgirl had buttons on the side of her homemade "bloomers". The buttons were of whatever type and colour a mother could find in her treasured pre-war stash.Often the elastic was of poor quality and prone to snap so I think we all had a safety pin in our bags ...just in case it snapped at an inconvenient time!

In mid-1945 we moved from Clayfield to Petrie which is just north of Brisbane. I dont know why we moved though I think Mum had not been very well. I had on a number of occasions had to stay home from school and was eventually called to the Principal's office to discuss the absences. I had to explain that my mother ran a guest house and my help was need if she was unwell. I was asked if there were no family aunt or other member to help. There must have been some staff so I cant think now why I had to be home to help.
It was lovely at Petrie to have our home to ourselves again. The main drawback was that we were now a  long way from our school friends. Lois now started at Clayfield College and as she was there right through to matriculation she became one of the "Clayfield" girls.

We had to travel by train from Petrie to Eagle Junction station and then walk to school from there. Most week day mornings one could have seen  Dad , in full suit etc, and we three schoolkids in full uniform ( Hat etc) racing down the road and through a paddock with 2 barb-wire fences to negotiate to get to the station in time!
Rules regarding school uniform were very strict but on very hot summer days we were allowed to roll down our black stockings. As I had a rush in the afternoons to catch the train home I was often spending the last few minutes of class trying to pull up those stockings without being in trouble with the teacher.

I dont have any school photos from 1945 but these were taken in 1946...

This is the house at Petrie...from the front

from the back

front garden...

I dont have any memories of making any friends in Petrie. Lois and I started learning the piano from a local woman. For me these ceased when we later moved . Lois then continued with lessons at school. Clayfield College  had and still has an excellent record in Art, Music, and Speech.

My memories of the four years from the beginning of 1945 to the beginning of 1949 are very disjointed so I must ask you to forgive an octogenarian if from now on this record  seems to jump around a bit!

Amiens revisited

As I mentioned in August 2011 I was hoping to take a trip up to Amiens for a look-around. In November I contacted the school and made an appointment to have a look over the school. At the same time I made a booking to stay at a B&B farmstay in Amiens and noted that its position seemed close to where I remembered our house and orchard being.

I had a lovely time at the school. the Principal gave us an hour of her time and showed us over the whole complex. It has certainly grown since my time though as you can see in the photos the oiginal building is still there though with some alteration.

Hilary goes back to school November,2011

After inspecting the campus we were taken into someof the classrooms, where we were introduced and the children had the opportunity to ask me questions about school in 1942. This was a great experience and one I enjoyed and appreciated.

When I asked the Principal if she could tell me where some of the buildings I remembered  might be  including the old railway station she rang a local man and arranged for us to call on him. He was a very pleasant and helpful young man and took us in his truck for a ride along the track where the railway lines used to be. The line was closed in 1974, and the rail lines removed as was the station building. He also pointed out where the bakery, saddlery and other buildings I remembered had once been. So sad to find no trace of most of them.

remains of railway bridge on Nuncio's property 

remains of railway sheds



old bakery

Teachers residence ( now the Principal's residence) This much the same as in 1942.

Bush nurses building, now a private residence 2011

Rural (Bush) nurses building in earlier times

After our tour of the area we headed off and had lunch at a winery before going  to the farmstay. When I saw the general position I felt it was all very familiar and became very hopeful that I had found the position of our orchard. After unpacking , I was browsing through a folder the owners had left in the cottage and found a written reference which stated that Mrs Tarbit and her children had stayed on the property in 1942-43. This was very encouraging and quite exciting. There was also mention of a family who came later and the name of someone who could perhaps give more information I have since contacted her and she confirmed that an earlier house had been in front of the present one. This house  was the one she had lived in and her brother has confirmed would have been the  one in which we lived . It was burnt down around 1970. My nephew has since found confirmation in the State Archives that my mother took over the lease in 1943 and relinquished it in 1948. This suggests that it was still Government land ( they were originally part of the post-WW1 soldier settlement) and not freehold.  Alan and Steven are still researching the area in the Archives.

Shadowbox farmstay 2011

Cottage b&b at Shadowbox farmstay

cottage ...and rocks on which I believe Lois and I used to play.

Behind those trees is a very large granite outcrop I wasn't about to walk through that long grass without boots but I am sure this was one of our play areas .

The owners of the property are a very friendly and pleasant couple . They provided us with dinner in their homestead and we found we had a number of things in common so it was an evening of interesting conversation. When I have more information concerning our time on the property I will again visit them.