In August 2024 I was contacted via the Benalla Family Research Group, by the Genealogical Society of Victoria to participate in a verbal survey that they were conducting for people who grew up in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
I was interested in the concept, so I agreed to a Zoom interview in September. There was a preliminary interview conducted, to go over the actual process for the recorded interview. I received a preliminary outline of the process and became aware that most of the questions were formatted towards somebody who had attended University. Such questions as, “Were you involved in demonstrations?”
The interview time was set and the conversation centred around my early recollections of the suburb of Lalor. The interviewer had not heard of the history of the suburb, and during the interview I explained how the development of the suburb failed in the initial development due mismanagement. I later provided some documentary evidence of the process that saw the project originally commence and then cease.
She was very interested in the information that I had assembled for my family history during Covid in 2022. She was particularly interested in the work that my Mother and my Auntie did for the forces during the war. Both ladies were living with my paternal Grandfather in Flemington at the time. My Auntie worked at the munitions factory in Maribyrnong, and my mother worked at a facility in North Melbourne that made aircraft identification models and wall charts for the Airforce. Both were able to get to work via a short walk to the tram line and then in different directions to their workplace.
An interesting story evolved around the Maribyrnong facility. In later years I was working in the Commonwealth Bank in Moonee Ponds. The bank did the payroll for the factory and it was my job, along with another staff member, to take the payroll to the factory and distribute it to the staff as they come to the cafeteria for lunch.
Another area that she was particularly interested in was the work that I did with our local youth club and the work that we did with children with disabilities at the Kinglake West facility. The facility was a POW camp during the war. It was later repurposed to accommodate children with disabilities for weekend activities to give their parents a break. A group from our youth club would go to the camp for a weekend to assist the staff and provide supervision for some of the activities. These included mini Olympics, which catered for all levels of disability such as darts, quoits, balloon volleyball, boot tossing etc.
Whilst the children had disabilities they all had a mischievous streak, which kept us amused. One of the children was twelve years old, but had not grown physically from the age of one. He was very small but could have an intelligent conversation with you. For a prank, the other children would put him in a suitcase and place it at the end of the table in the dining room. When one of the newer staff would approach the table, one of the children would kick the case, and it would suddenly start talking. They got away with this prank on a number of occasions.
The overall experience of recalling my early years was a very rewarding one, as the questions brought back many memories that had not been spoken about for many years, or had just passed into history.
Barry O’Connor
October 2024.
I was interested in the concept, so I agreed to a Zoom interview in September. There was a preliminary interview conducted, to go over the actual process for the recorded interview. I received a preliminary outline of the process and became aware that most of the questions were formatted towards somebody who had attended University. Such questions as, “Were you involved in demonstrations?”
The interview time was set and the conversation centred around my early recollections of the suburb of Lalor. The interviewer had not heard of the history of the suburb, and during the interview I explained how the development of the suburb failed in the initial development due mismanagement. I later provided some documentary evidence of the process that saw the project originally commence and then cease.
She was very interested in the information that I had assembled for my family history during Covid in 2022. She was particularly interested in the work that my Mother and my Auntie did for the forces during the war. Both ladies were living with my paternal Grandfather in Flemington at the time. My Auntie worked at the munitions factory in Maribyrnong, and my mother worked at a facility in North Melbourne that made aircraft identification models and wall charts for the Airforce. Both were able to get to work via a short walk to the tram line and then in different directions to their workplace.
An interesting story evolved around the Maribyrnong facility. In later years I was working in the Commonwealth Bank in Moonee Ponds. The bank did the payroll for the factory and it was my job, along with another staff member, to take the payroll to the factory and distribute it to the staff as they come to the cafeteria for lunch.
Another area that she was particularly interested in was the work that I did with our local youth club and the work that we did with children with disabilities at the Kinglake West facility. The facility was a POW camp during the war. It was later repurposed to accommodate children with disabilities for weekend activities to give their parents a break. A group from our youth club would go to the camp for a weekend to assist the staff and provide supervision for some of the activities. These included mini Olympics, which catered for all levels of disability such as darts, quoits, balloon volleyball, boot tossing etc.
Whilst the children had disabilities they all had a mischievous streak, which kept us amused. One of the children was twelve years old, but had not grown physically from the age of one. He was very small but could have an intelligent conversation with you. For a prank, the other children would put him in a suitcase and place it at the end of the table in the dining room. When one of the newer staff would approach the table, one of the children would kick the case, and it would suddenly start talking. They got away with this prank on a number of occasions.
The overall experience of recalling my early years was a very rewarding one, as the questions brought back many memories that had not been spoken about for many years, or had just passed into history.
Barry O’Connor
October 2024.
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