The working girl

It is quite some time since I have been down memory lane...too busy living in the here and now.
We have been on a wonderful cruise through the Panama Canal since I last posted here. Visited countries I would not have dreamt of visiting as a young girl...in fact probably had no idea they existed!

Hilary & Bill cruising through the Panama Canal
 

My previous posts  took these memoirs to the time I  finished my secondary schooling. Either late in 1948 or early in 1949, we moved from Wavell Heights to Bald Hills.

"Dumaresq", Bald Hills, Brisbane

 I thought at the time that I had had enough of study and to my parents' disappointment decided not to go on to University. I applied for and was accepted for a position as a trainee librarian at the South Brisbane Municipal Library. This was the only free lending library in Brisbane ( probably the state of Queensland) at that time. I was one of six school-leavers who started there early in 1949 . As it turned out, I was back to study as we had to attend lectures for the Preliminary Library Certificate of the Australian Library Board. This was the only formal library qualification available in those days. Now it is a University degree.Two mornings each week we went over to the State Library Of Queensland where we had to memorise the intricacies of the Dewey decimal System. We also had to memorise the details of a number of reference books. I cant be sure now but I think this involved about 50 books . We had to know all their publication details, date, edition ,publisher and authors or editors; number of volumes ;whether they had photos ,maps etc , a bibliography, index, list of contents...in fact everything about those books.  I had an idex card for each book and thought |I'd never be able to remember them all before the exam.
We sat for this exam in June 1950 and fortunately we all passed.


I'm on the right in front

At the same time I was still attending private lessons which led to my Art of Speech & Drama teachers qualifications; started piano lessons again, and continued with ballet for a while.
As Bald Hills was the northernmost suburb of Brisbane we travelled to the city mostly by train.  We could also walk down the hill from our home, across the Pine River and then catch a bus which came from Redcliffe. It was not permitted to stop within the Brisbane area which is why we had to cross the bridge to board it. When I was coming home at night the driver used to slow down enough to allow me to hop off at the top of the hill close to our house.
Although rationing was soon to stop, clothing was still in short supply so many of us made our own clothes. It was exciting to see fabrics coming back into the stores. In the above photo you may be able to make out a tartan jacket I'm wearing. I remember making this and Alan helping me as I had  the fabric spread out on the loungeroom floor trying  to match up the stripes etc of the plaid.
I worked for the Brisbane Council libraries through 1948 to early 1950 and was fortunate to be involved with the expansion of the Municipal library scheme.
I was sent to the Childrens section of the Hamilton library on its opening day ; later I was transferred to the new Stones Corner Municipal library. This was good experience as there were times when I was on my own . We were given very good training in many aspects of library work most of which is done by computers these days. Cataloguing etc was done on the premises; later from a centralised point and I think often now comes with the books , non-fiction anyhow, from the publisher. My local municpal library has recently introduced self-service check-out. I couldn't help comparing that to my early library days when each book had a card and each borrower a number . We had to write the borrower's number on the book card and these cards had to be filed before the library opened next morning. The books had a slip glued in the front where we stamped the date due for return.
It was around this time that I started getting eyestrain and eventually had to wear glasses. 

In 1950 I started evening classes at the Queensland University so study was full on again. I found that I actually enjoy studying!
 In 1951 I applied for what was known as a Commonwealth scholarship. These had been introduced for returned soldiers but became available to anyone. University courses were free but the scholarship paid for books which was a great help.
Having gained the scholarship I decided to resign and attend University full-time studying for my Bachelor of Arts.
I attended Uni from 1950-1953 working at the Queensland State library during vacations.

 Several friends and myself rented a unit at the coast to celebrate the end of our first exams.

Hilary at Maroochydore in December 1951

Incidentally I made those bathers as I could not buy any to fit me.

Living so far from the city meant that my social life was a bit limited. Sometimes I could stay overnight with ex-school friends. Most of these also turned 21 in 1952 so there were a few coming-of-age parties. Only a couple of these were formal events, mostly it was just a few close friends at home for the occasion.
The university students held dances for a couple of months before the annual Commem Ball. The purpose was of course so people could find a partner for the Ball...quite nerve-racking for the girls...but we wouldn't have missed going!
To get home after these I had to be sure to leave in time to walk quite a distance to where I could catch the last Redcliffe bus for the night. Although Brisbane was still a very safe city it was still not a comfortable walk around 11pm on my own. One n ight I stood at the bus stop for such a long time that I decided I must have missed it. I had enough money with me to catch a tram down to where I knew there would be a taxi rank. I was very anxious as I was not sure if a cab driver would be willing to take me all the way to Bald Hills, especially as he would have to wait while I asked Dad to come and pay him .
I was fortunate to have approached a very understanding driver...and as I said Brisbane was still a very safe and friendly city. Cant remember if Dad was waiting up for me ...he usually did...but I know he made sure I always had extra money with me after that night.

After graduation I gained appointment full-time at the Queensland State library.