Have you ever been lost?

When I was a child, I had a great fear of getting lost. I inherited this fear from my mother, who was constantly anxious about losing her way. If my father drove along a road she didn’t know, she would worry about where it might lead and whether he was certain of the direction. Melbourne was the place she dreaded most, convinced that people were always getting lost there. Her own mother had once become lost in Melbourne.  She refused to let my father drive her around the city, insisting that someone else take the wheel.
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Having grown up in the north-east beside a railway line, my mother liked and trusted trains. Railways always told you where they were going, she said, and so she had no difficulty travelling around Melbourne by train. For my mother, the trouble started only once you stepped off and left the station—then you no longer knew where you were.
My mother disliked being away from home, but she wasn’t frightened of railways.

One day I did get lost. It remains fixed in my mind. I must have been 3 or 4. It happened in Wangaratta. It was in the afternoon.

I was in Wangaratta with my parents. They were always stopping to talk to people in the street. I was with my mother. I had to wait while she talked to someone she knew.

Suddenly I was on my own. I could not see my mother. I looked around concerned. There were groups of people, but she wasn’t in any of them. I felt myself panicking. I was lost. What was I to do?

I saw someone on the other side of the road. Was that my mother? Some people were going across the road, so I went with them. This was before there were traffic lights or pedestrian crossings in Wangaratta. Halfway across the road I could see that my mother was not in the group of people waiting on the other side of the road. This only increased my feeling of panic. I really was lost.

Somehow, I made it back to the side of the road I was originally on. I saw a woman I thought was my mother and I ran to her. But when I got to her it wasn’t her.

By this time I felt utterly alone. I stopped walking.

Suddenly my mother came from behind me and appeared in front of me. I did not know where she had been. She indicated with her hand I should walk with her. She didn’t know I had been lost.

My relief was palpable.


A few years later my brother went missing.  This was much more important and much more potentially dangerous. Suddenly he was nowhere to be found. He was nowhere.

He was lost for about 5 minutes. But it seemed like hours. This time he was really lost.

We lived on a farm in the country. Our house was on the bank of an ancient river system. There were lots of waterholes close to the house.

My brother was a toddler. He wasn’t in the house. He wasn’t in the Dairy. He wasn’t in the cattle yards. He was nowhere to be found.

My mother was on the verge of being hysterical. How could he go missing so quickly?

Luckily, we had some casual workers on the farm who quickly fanned out to search the area. Maybe he had gotten into one of the waterholes. They literally ran to look. My mother was extremely worried and could not stop crying. Where is he! Where Is He!

A yell came from one of the men, by this time out of sight. “We’ve found him”, he called.

The man was about 300 metres from us. He had found my brother at the bottom of a gully. He came up from the gully holding my brother.  My brother was crying at being held by an adult he had never seen before. He was very distressed at being taken by this stranger.

The relief was palpable.

My brother had somehow got through several fences. He had skirted two water holes and had walked along a gully. He was at least 300 metres away from the house. And out of sight.

We lived on an ancient river system and had lots of waterholes within reach.
Luckily, he wasn’t drawn to water.
 
Neville Gibbs
August 2025

​We came on MS Georgic, an ex-troop carrier with one funnel blown off in the war and seemingly held together by several inches of accumulated paint. We left Tilbury Docks in September 1948.

​Deck space was limited and lined with too few canvas deck chairs. You needed to get in early to secure one. Hats and towels didn't mean a thing - someone would just remove them. Once mum and dad secured a couple and left me to hold them. A scrawny Cockney came along and demanded I get off. I was a stubborn five year old and wrapped my arms around the legs and stayed put.

​Soon mum came back and sat in her chair only to receive an abrupt lecture on teaching her kid to respect his elders, Then dad appeared, and firmly gripped the man’s .... quietly saying "excuse me” he slunk away without a word. My parents said they were very proud of me. Frankly, truth is, I was probably too scared to move.
 
Dad was a brilliant story teller and although few heard it, had a wonderful singing voice. I’ll write more about that soon.
 
And yes - he always pinched the last blue M&M.

Merv Beamish
​August 2025

I have many memories of my childhood.

The earliest memory I have is walking past some fence posts that had been recently put in. I still wore nappies. This was the outside fence of a paddock attached to the pig sty. My father kept pigs and with his brother's help he had expanded the area where pigs were kept. He was showing a visitor the new fence. I have a distinct memory of this post.

The post is still there. I recognise it easily. I don’t know how old I was, but I must have been small because the post seemed as high as a building. I could walk, so I must have been about 2 years old.

When I was 2 years old, I spent some time in the hospital. I had appendicitis. I had to have my appendix removed. I still have the scar. It’s quite large. Apparently, the surgeon had to get two hands inside my stomach. I have a distinct memory of being in the operating theatre. It was exceedingly well lit up. Very bright. This was different to what I was used to, as we did not have electricity and bright lights were new to me. This was exceedingly bright. It was also exceedingly white.

When I was 3 years old, I had my tonsils out. I have distinct and expansive memories of the hospital. It was a very large room with many children in beds. Boys and girls. Some of the children were naughty and were out of bed and walking around. They were told they were naughty. Some objected to having to get back into bed and cried. Some talked to each other as if they knew each other. Some children seemed very grown up. Some seemed to be having a good time.

My Grandmother visited me in hospital and brought a new book. She did not read it to me.  I didn’t know what it was about because I couldn't read, but I could look at the pictures. I loved my grandmother. I know now that she loved me. She came more than once and sat on a chair beside my bed.

I had a sore throat and was given lots of ice cream to eat. I didn't particularly like vanilla ice cream, but it was soothing on the throat. I slept a lot. I can remember some children calling out at night. Maybe they were having dreams, but I didn't understand this. I was just woken up wondering what was happening.

I have no memory of going home.

When I was 4 years old my brother was born. My father and I left my mother at the hospital and drove home in his car. I stood on the seat beside him. I only came up to his head even though I stood up on the seat.  I leaned on him. It was strange being in the car without my mother. He let me stand up on the seat. I enjoyed being alone with my father. I had not been told my mother was having a baby. My brother when he came home was large. He became the centre of attraction.  I know I resented this.

I have no memories of my first day at school. I know I had no misgivings about going to school.  It is said that I welcomed it.

I do have a memory of once taking all my toys to school and that I enjoyed the attention this gave me with the other children.
 
School went up to Grade 8. We were all in the same room. I was interested in some of the older children because they seemed so grown up and acted strangely. We had grown up boys and girls who spent all playtimes talking to each other as if they were indulging in secrets. They appeared grown up because they nearly were.  I watched them a lot.  
 
Lessons have not left a mark on me. I think I learned to read quite quickly. I have no memory of it being difficult. I can distinctly remember learning subtraction and division. I had already learned the times table by heart. It seemed quite logical.
…
 
 
Neville Gibb
September 2024

​On the outbreak of World War two my father enlisted in the army. My Mother, older sister Maureen and I found accommodation with a Swedish woman at Black Rock in Melbourne. Our landlady is a lonely woman who likes to walk on the cliff tops at Half Moon Bay and stand looking out to sea. My sister Maureen and her new school friends are convinced that she is a German spy. They are doing their bit for the war effort by observing her from the ti tree bushes that line the coast. “There she is again, looking for shipping!”

Some mornings Mother calls, “Beverley, come along, we are going into the City.” This is exciting. At a moment’s notice we jump on a tram. At Sandringham station we quickly negotiate the high step from the platform onto the train. I sit with my nose pressed to the window pane trying to memorize the names of the stations. At Flinders St Station we rush up the ramp; it’s easier when you hurry. It’s obvious that its war time, the crowds are all women and children.

Sometimes we emerge from the station to find Swanston St blocked off to traffic. Mother says, “Quick Beverley, there’s going to be a march.” We rush across to take our place at the barricades as platoons of khaki clad soldiers, heads held high, eyes straight ahead, arms swinging, feet pounding the road in perfect unison sweep past. We clap and feel very proud of them. Then the barriers are removed and the City resumes its usual bustle.

Draught horses champing at the bit and blowing steam through their nostrils stand impatiently at street crossings, waiting for the traffic lights to change. Amid strong smells of horse sweat and leather harness I watch huge iron shod hoofs and long white hair flowing from their fetlocks as they mark time, anticipating the change of lights and activity. These are proud powerful horses pulling heavy drays, some laden with beer barrels. Wizened little men perched on high seats on the drays, handle the reins. Lighter horse drawn carts are delivering food to restaurants. There are very few motor vehicles on city streets.

When the lights change big green trams clank their bells as they move off.  We avoid stepping in horse manure as we cross the road.

We pay the gas bill at the Gas and Fuel building in Flinders street, where the continually revolving doors are a challenge to small children. Visit the department stores of Foy and Gibson, Buckley and Nunn and the Myer Emporium. Have lunch at a nice restaurant with a tall glass of lemonade in a thick heavy glass.

The flower stalls along the footpath in Swanston St are very busy. The scent of huge bunches of violets fills the air.

On a corner of Swanston Street outside the State Savings Bank there is always a man selling toy furry monkeys attached to a stick with a string. This is where I put the brakes on and usually go home with one.

Dad comes home on final leave before leaving for the war in Europe. He brings presents and it’s great to have him home again.

He is leaving tonight and he’s going to show me the train, the “The Spirit of Progress.” He says it’s the best train in Australia. The ‘Spirit’ has been reserved tonight as a troop train. The platform at Spencer St Station is packed with families and young women embracing and kissing soldiers in uniform. Emotions run high.

Dad, wisely defusing the situation, carries me down the platform to see the engine which is getting up steam. I only have eyes for the train, until he is gone

.
Bev Morton
March 2022

My childhood is like a large jigsaw puzzle with many fragments of memories tying together to show a picture of my life.

My father came from a long line of Welsh coal miners, while Mum’s family were all dressmakers and tailors in Somerset.  Both my parents had commenced apprenticeships which were cut short due to the outbreak of WW2.  Neither resumed after it was over. Although Dad found employment money was short.  We couldn’t afford a car so used buses, pushbikes, or walked.  We were rich in the things that mattered, love, care, understanding.

Mum gave up employment to care for me, so my early memories involve her reading books to me or sitting at the table with me while I drew pictures. I also recall the little boy next door who had a tricycle, he would let me ride on the back while he peddled and steered. I remember as I grew and started looking at clothes in fashion magazines, Mum began making patterns and creating those things I had dreamed of wearing.

We had no TV or computers in those days, so we played outside in the good weather.  I was a bit of a tomboy and so gave my parents a few headaches. I often climbed trees, and fell out again, or went tearing down hills on homemade Billy carts. I recall going for a walk one day and seeing a horse in a nearby paddock. Before anyone could stop me, I was through the fence and patting the horse. Sometime later Dad took me to the farm where he worked. The owner had a large Clydesdale horse called Pinocchio. All the farm kids were piled on the horse’s back, you could get 6 in a row, of course we were all small. I recall walking across fields to school and stopping to pet all the farm animals.

My big adventure was when my parents moved to Australia. We travelled to London to get on a plane. I was excited and looking forward to exploring. I didn’t understand the tears at the airport, or why my grandparents and aunts were so distressed.

On arrival we were housed in a migrant camp for a week until our sponsors, Bunning Sawmills, made arrangements to take us to our new home. A timber mill house with backyard dunny and wood burning cooker. Boy, was that a shock to Mum.

I could go on for hours with our adventures but will cut it short for now.

Suffice to say, a lot of fun was had, lots of adventures and a very happy childhood.


Heather Hartland
​March 2022

'What ever became of Howard?

You may well ask, who is Howard.

​Well, let me begin by explaining that he was the figment of a very fertile young boy’s imagination, he was his friend, mentor and protector from all things nasty!!!

Now we have done with the preliminaries, I'd better plump up his character. Howard was present during all day time activities.  Where ever that young lad was, so was Howard.  Any decision that was to be made, Howard was consulted, usually leading to much earnest discussion. Decisions were sometimes made quickly, such as "do we go inside now, because there’s cream cakes for smoko", or rather, "should we tarry a little before going in, what a stupid thought, inside we must go", or the more often varieties of decisions, such as the call inside for a bath, or such like, must be debated and you know these sort of decisions require quite a bit of thought. Often these discussions would be rudely interrupted by the mothercraft nurse, who would come storming out of the house, with all sorts of diabolical threats, if all those outside playing were not inside immediately.   

Now the main activity conducted by Messrs David and Howard was the great road and dam construction. I suppose this must have taken place at about the time that the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme was starting, in about the early 50’s. Outside our home was a large claypan, just the sort of place that you could really get down and build all things in the dirt; bridges, roads, channels and tunnels and, if it managed to rain, there was plenty of mud and water to fill up all those magnificent structures. Of course, there always was a very dusty or muddy little boy at the end of the day, who found his way into the bath, with the usual discussion, with Howard, of what went wrong or right with the day’s construction.

Oh well, such was a life living with Howard, you never really thought about one without him, for he was always sitting, standing, running or hiding alongside of you in all your waking moments and I dare say, most probably in your dreams as well.
 
Well, that was over seventy years ago, so what became of Howard? My guess is that he just faded away, as so many friends do, there one minute, to be replaced by some other more interesting thought or person, you know that’s the way of life!!!

David Lowing
​July 2021

My childhood memories are just snippets of various events in my life. My earliest memory is of my sister and I sitting on top of our parent’s furniture on a horse drawn cart.  My father was walking alongside the horse’s head and our mother was pushing a pram with my newborn brother. We were moving house. I have no recollection of arriving at the house, but soon after arriving, I was sent to live with my Grandparents. I didn’t know my Grandparents as they lived in the west if Ireland. We lived in the east of the country and travel was costly and difficult. This was during World War II. I was three years old,
 
I lived with my grandparents until I was six, when I had to go home to start school. Still living with my grandparents at that time were two unmarried aunts, one adult uncle who would one day inherit the farm and my grandparent’s youngest child, fourteen-year-old John, I was a young child in a household of adults.
 
Was I lonely and upset at leaving my parents and siblings and living with strangers? I have no recollection of being lonely. I know I loved living there, even thought I had no playmates. I was free to wander through the fields, wherever I wanted to go. The only taboo was the very deep well not far from the front door. Everyone became paranoid if I went near it, even thought it was covered with a heavy lid. My grandparents had twelve children and lost their third and fourth children when they were toddlers. I now suspect that one of them may have drowned in that well.
 
A stream at the far end of one field was an attraction but I seldom went there. The gaggle of geese had ownership of that area and the gander didn’t take kindly to intruders, especially me. Leaving his harem, he would stretch his long neck and, with his head down, chase me. I didn’t like that gander.
 
There were two fields between the house and the road. In the field closest to the road, there were poles with either electricity or telephone wires. Neither my grandparents nor any of their neighbours had electricity or telephones, so they were probably servicing the police station further up the road. Even thought I was young, and telephones were a rarity, I must have known about them, because when I felt the need to hear from my parents, I would sit at the base of the pole. I could hear a hum and I thought it was my mother and father talking to me. It didn’t make me sad. It satisfied my need to keep in touch.
 
My youngest uncle was more like a big brother. We had many spats but when he acquired a crystal wireless, he let me listen to it. I was amazed hearing a man talking through the apparatus. My memories of that time are all happy. Helping my grandmother churn butter or going into town in the pony and trap. Playing on the huge rock in the side field was a regular pastime. It was high. I would climb up, sit on the top of it, and imagine I was in an airplane. Again, I wonder how I had a concept of airplanes. Apart from the RAF in England there would been no planes in Ireland, and we were mostly isolated from news of what was happening in Europe. I believe young children know more of what is happening around them than adults realise. I also think they are mentally flexible and can cope with difficult situations.
 
One of my aunts was getting married and the reception was in her home. Neighbours brought over tables, chairs, dishes, tablecloths, and food. It was a community effort. My aunts were always complaining of not having nylon stockings, so I decided to buy my aunt a pair as a wedding present.
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I asked my grandfather for money, and he gave me half a crown. Of course, because of the war, it was impossible to buy nylons, but my grandmother let me try. When I couldn’t get any, I insisted on leaving the coin on the table with the presents. I kept watch to make sure no one removed it.
 
In the evening all the guests went to the groom’s house for dancing. Later that night young men clad in straw (called strawboys) joined the fun. They were not invited guests but were very welcome because it was thought they would bring good luck to the newly married couple.
 
I have wonderful memories of that time. The war and rationing had no impact on me. Our meals were basic but plentiful. For dinner there was usually bacon, cabbage, and potatoes with lashings of butter and buttermilk to drink. We had porridge (called stirabout) for breakfast. Only Grandad had tea, very strong in a big blue striped mug. Granny made “praty cakes” on the griddle. There were always three sacks containing white flour, wholemeal flour, and flake meal on a bench in the kitchen outside my grandparent’s bedroom door. Grandad kept their money in a locked box under his bed. I saw a red ten-shilling note sticking out once and tried to retrieve it, without success.
 
The annual trashing was another neighbourhood event. It meant lots of hard work, laughter, comradery, and food provided by the host family. I remember an old man called Jack McCann helping at my grandparents trashing. My aunts had made current bread for afternoon tea. Jack took one look at it and said, “I won’t eat them little buggers”. I was shocked that he called currents “buggers”. That was 78 years ago.
 
Serious discussions and storytelling took place around the fire at night. I could never tell what was true and what was fantasy. I remember one morning my Uncle Pakie saying he heard the banshee the night before and he supposed one of the Merrigans (neighbours) was going to die, and yes, a Merrigan died. The banshee is supposed to be heard when members of certain families are about to die. For that reason, I was always glad that we were not related to the Merrigans. That was until a few months ago while researching my maternal ancestors I discovered my GG grandmother was a Merrigan from that family.
 
My grandparent’s house was thatched. The walls were thick and whitewashed with small windows. The windows had boxes of red geraniums and the front door (there was only a front door) was painted green. There was the half door in front of the full door.
 
My bed had a feather mattress and frequently in the morning when I awoke, the mattress and I would be on the floor, having slipped off during the night.
 
On one occasion during the three years I lived with my grandparents, my mother came to visit.  I was told she was my mother, but I wouldn’t go near her. To me she was a stranger. I thought she was very pretty. I can still remember what she was wearing. Years later I would think how devastating it must have been for her to be rejected by her little daughter.
 
When it came time for me to return home, I didn’t want to leave. I grew to love my parents and siblings, but I never liked where we lived. My heart was in Clonark, where my grandparents lived.
(1242)
 
Elizabeth Kearns
June 2021

​My first years of life were spent in the caretaker’s cottage at Scotch College in Hawthorn. My parents and grandparents lived there after the war. The cottage was surrounded by a cyclone fence that seemed so high to me then and I was quite isolated from other children. I had a bit of an identity problem. In later years I heard my grandmother echo my same concerns. This poem, that spans many years, is for two voices.

Judy Perry
June 2021

Adding the Music Appreciation notes to the U3A website recently I noticed the class had listened to Prokofiev’s  'Prokofiev - Peter and the Wolf'.  I promised myself I would listen to the link inserted into Bill's report.

Reading the title ‘Peter and the Wolf’ triggered warm memories of a school excursion, of going to the Melbourne Town Hall to listen to a concert to introduce school children to classical music.  It’s rather blurry, but I suspect it was in 1960, I was in the first year of high school (not quite yet a teen), and that we had caught the train from Caulfield Station to Flinders Street Station, walking up Swanston Street to the stately Melbourne Town Hall. 

I had never been to a classical music concert before.  I had developed a love of dancing to classical music at ballet classes, and treasure memories of mother sitting me alongside her  on the piano seat at my grandmother’s and playing for Fur Elise for me when I was little.  We loved selecting pianola rolls from the little rosewood cabinet at our grandparents’ house where we enthusiastically pumped the piano pedals, though the piano rolls were largely popular music of the 1930's.  We had an old, hand wound gramophone at home. I don’t remember classical records featuring, though some jazz records did.  We didn’t listen to the classical radio music on the ABC – right at the end of the dial, I would shudder hearing operatic music on the staticky radios of the time.  My parents could not afford music lessons for us, and at the time state schools didn’t have instrumental music classes.  I grew up in the post war years, which were financially difficult years for many ex-service families such as ours. 

I still vividly remember the conductor introducing the characters, the bird represented by the flute, the  the duck by the oboe, the cat by the clarinet, the grandfather by the bassoon, the wolf by three  French horns, Peter by the strings of the orchestra, the rifle shots by the timpani and the big base drum.  As the story developed, I began to be transported into another world.  I'm still transported there when I listen to this recording found on YouTube...

The sun had already risen above the tree line by the time my Pa returned from the milking shed. I always knew when he was home because suddenly, the house would come to life. Pa would have already kicked off his gumboots and made his way to the bathroom long before I saw him. I knew he was home though, because there was a pail of fresh milk in the kitchen, waiting for Nana to skim off the cream.

Suddenly, the large country dining table was crowded with my two young Uncles, Nana, me, my cousins and my Pa. Sometimes other men would be there, men that worked around the farm or men that had come for Pa’s advice, but mostly it was just my family, Pa, Nana, the uncles and me. On this day, conversation flew all around me as I quietly waited just in case any of the adults wanted to address me. Often they didn’t and when this happened I imagined I was truly invisible. This was not a bad feeling, I had learned early that invisible children couldn’t be beaten. Although I was safe in this house that feeling of wanting to be invisible never left me.

Sometimes though, the conversation would include me.
“Micky-Lizzy what will you do today?”, my Pa asked me.
I shrugged and shook my head.
“Well now I’m going into town today and you will come with me.”
Startled I realised that he and I were going on an adventure without Nana. I looked at her for confirmation of this unusual arrangement and she smiled and nodded. I couldn’t remember the last time Pa had driven the ‘good’ car out to town, it was Nana who did the driving. Pa drove tractors or an old ute, not the ‘good’ car.

Breakfast finished, I cleaned my teeth and put on my shoes, taking care to check that the soles of each one were clean lest I mess up Nana’s floors. I picked up my small purse and slipped it into my pocket. The coins within the purse were a source of great pride. At 7 years old I was a “saver”. My sister was not a “saver”. It seemed to me that whenever we went somewhere together she would demand I pay. This was the case when we visited the zoo, wanting to ride the miniature train I had my fare of 20c but alas Louise did not. Without hesitation, I paid her fare too, but I did wonder if it was entirely equitable.

Arriving in town, Pa had grown up business to conduct and I silently followed him into the Stock and Station Agent and then to the bank. Each time I contented myself with being invisible. When we had finished Pa looked down at me and announced that we were going into the stationery shop, where I could buy gifts for my brother and sister since they weren’t lucky enough to be on holiday like me. Pa had an amazing superpower to read my mind, I thought as I felt the purse in my pocket.  

Inside the stationery shop, there was a small selection of gifts and I carefully selected one for Louise and one for Paul. I took my time on each selection trying to find the ideal gift. On one shelf was a china Piggy Bank. It was pink, with a flower painted on the side. It reminded me of a book I had at home all about a Piggy Bank that sat on a shelf feeling invisible and useless. Eventually, the Piggy Bank discovered its true purpose when the child that owned it turned it upside down and cheerfully removed the coins he had been saving. Gazing at the Piggy Bank I wished I had more money so that I could buy it for myself.  

Instead, I cheerfully passed over my coins to the shop assistant and completed my purchase. Behind me, Pa reached over and put that pretty china Piggy Bank on the shop counter. My eyes were wide with amazement as I watched the shop assistant carefully wrap the precious pig in tissue paper and place it into a paper bag. Pa completed his purchase before reaching down and looking me in the eye.

“You're a good girl Micky Lizzy, using all your money on presents for your brother and sister. This is for you - I think you know what it is for”, he said before ruffling my hair and taking my hand in his.

As we crossed the busy road to the car, I thought to myself how lucky I was to have my Pa and how glad I was that I wasn’t invisible to him.


Michelle Aitken
June 2021

​My earliest memories are of our house in Lalor. My father and his older brother were the nominated builders on the Peter Lalor Co-operative Housing Project when this house was built. My parents lived in a small cottage in Station Street, Thomastown when they were first married in May 1944. I was born in June 1948.
 
The home in Lalor was at 18 Vasey Avenue and was completed in October 1950. It was a triple fronted brick veneer home with two bedrooms and one bathroom. The rooms were of an ample size and the most unusual feature of the house was that the laundry faced the front street. This is not clear in this image of the house taken in 1950. There was town water connected, however the electricity was not connected until 1952. I do remember the ice man coming to fill the ice chest in the early days. There was an automated telephone connected, however the only phone box was at the Railway Station and was a 600 yard, or 560 mt. walk uphill along an unmade road. The road and drainage system was not installed until 1960, at which time my parents had moved to Wollert. The ‘night cart’ was eventually replaced with a sewerage system in 1973, 26 years after the project commenced.
 
Below is a current image of the house taken in 2018.

​The layout of the buildings has not changed, however the shed has been rebuilt and is now a garage. The fenced section at the rear of the yard was the fowl and duck run with a number of fruit trees.

Who remembers being warned about the Boogeyman as a child?
​
In the 1950’s our family travelled to Ireland to live and remained there for more than three years.  While there, my parents rented part of a castle.  We inhabited the top quarter which did include a round tower.  Another family lived in the lower quarter, while the main half was inhabited by the owner and his housekeeper, Bridie.

The castle was part of a working farm on the outskirts of a village.  There was a long drive which ran between fields and curved up a hill to the castle.

One day, while we were outside playing, we saw a man appear round the curve.  He was very tall and wore a black greatcoat, cap and large boots and to our eyes was the embodiment of “The Boogeyman”.  He was known locally as Galway Jack.  To return inside we would have to get to the door before him.  The housekeeper, Bridie, had noticed him and quickly opened her kitchen window and dragged us inside.  She warned us that he did not like children and that we should avoid him.

Looking back, as an adult, I can imagine that the poor man had been teased by children and thus had no love for them, but I doubt he would have hurt us.  Being children, we did not enquire into his story.  As he only appeared in the village from time to time, I think he spent his life on the road.  Now I have many questions about him which, unfortunately, will remain unanswered.  I wonder where he slept and how he found shelter and food.  I imagine he came from Galway because of his name.

This memory returns from time to time.  I eventually rang one of my brothers last week and asked him if he remembered Galway Jack.  Before I could say anything else, he laughed and said he was dragged through the window by Bridie to escape from him.  Thus, my memory is true and not a figment of my imagination.

My one regret is that I will never know his story.
​
 
Marg Macrohan
June 2021

One of my first childhood memories is running from the police.

At Deniliquin, the Edward River is in flood! Breaking its banks the swirling flood water fills the gullies and billabongs that surround the river. The water swirls madly around the large river red gums that grow in its path. Seemingly in a delight at its escape from the river, it eddies and swirls. This creates frothy bubbles that fascinate a toddler who has also escaped with her older sister to observe the flood. It’s my first sweet taste of adventure.

There are lots of boys swimming in the flood water having a wonderful time. We stand on a bridge surrounded by flood water to watch them and peering down through the steel slats I can see the flood water flowing swiftly past. Half an upright egg shell floats by, fancy that, an egg shell boat!  My reverie is disturbed by a shout,

“The police are coming, run!”

There’s a mad scramble out of the water as a police car approaches very slowly down the track. My sister Maureen shouts “Run” and is dragging me off the bridge. We dash through water and up the path. She yells at me, “You’re a nuisance; you don’t run fast enough, you nearly got us caught!”

My parents came to Australia in the spirit of adventure to make their fortune. Instead of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow they found the dust and drought of the Riverina.

We live in the town, in Harfleur St in a house known as the old golf house. When it’s hot Mother is homesick for England and it always seems to be hot. Heat waves seem to be the ‘norm.’ The only relief we have from the heat is to spend the day at the park under the shade of the trees.  We straggle tiredly home in the evenings.

​Banks of dust laden cloud roll in on the horizon and the sky is dark red. The smell of red dust alerts us and we run to the house. Mother calls “Come in children, there’s going to be a dust storm!” We race inside and help her place towels against the cracks of doors and windows, but the atmosphere is still choking with the dust that filters through. It’s dark inside; you can see and hear nothing except red dust pounding against the window panes. When it’s all over the dust must be swept from the house.

Dad has been approached by Stock and Station agent Harry Tuck who is owed money by some of the local squatocracy. His proposal is for Dad to grow crops on their land on a share farmer basis, so they can pay their bills. Always a super optimist Dad works hard anticipating success but is thwarted by drought time and time again.

When there are spare parts being flown in for the tractors we go out to the aerodrome to wait for “the Wingull” the sweetest tiny blue plane. It’s exciting when it lands and taxies down the runway and we go out to meet it. Sometimes I’m allowed to stand on the wing!

We left Deniliquin at the beginning of World War 2 when my father joined the Army. I was three years old.

It was over sixty years before I returned. I stepped out of the car in the Main St and
instantly there was the smell of Deniliquin, and the quality of the sunshine and the
dryness of the atmosphere that I remembered so well. I felt that I was home again!

Bev Morton

One of the constant truisms of living in the country in the 50’s was that you knew everybody. This was good and bad. You could come into some unexpected criticism from your mother for being seen outside a shop with some undesirable character. Somebody she knew – usually a relative – had seen you. Everyone seemed to know everyone. The country had come through a long depression and a long war and everyone wanted peace and for things to be settled. People tended to stay in the area they were born in. Everyone had lots of relatives. And you had some relatives who were relatives by marriage. Meaning they were not blood related but had somehow married into your extended family somewhere in the past.

Such a couple were my Uncle Doogie and Aunt Janet. I could never understand just where we were related but they were childless and took an interest in me. I did not complain. Aunt Janet was a generous person who I knew treated me with affection and Uncle Doogie treated me as a mate. In fact he often called me his mate. But this was mostly when we were alone. In public he referred to me as his Cobber.

One of my earliest memories are of me sasying “Are we Cobbers”. He must have started asking me this when I was quite young.

He was the only person I knew who used this phrase. He had been in the First World War and had apparently picked up the saying in the trenches.

Uncle Doogie liked to go fishing. He had a three hook licence. But he liked to cheat a bit and would attache another line on a special stick. This had to be a piece of dead stick from a dead tree or a dead branch on a live tree. Its colour was always grey. It had be a medium sized stick. My task was to get these sticks. I would climb trees and break the dead sticks off the branches. He would pick the best one and give the second best to me to use as my rod. He would put his in a camouflaged spot in the bank with line attached and give me the second dead stick with a small line attached for me to fish with. His dead stick would always stay in the river overnight.

Once I was with him when he was telling a friend that he had just bought a new rod and was describing its virtues when a thought struck me. I interrupted and asked if I could have his old one. He looked at me and said

“Are we Cobbers”.

For some reason this took me aback. I didn't know what to say. I said yes but I didn’t get his old rod.

Aunt Janet was a member of lots of groups. She was Secretary of the Church Committee. She was in the CWA. She was in the RSL Auxiliary. She ran the Masonic Auxiliary. She kept an immaculate house. She liked having people to visit her and stay. She had lots of people from Melbourne visit her. I liked visiting her when she had people staying. I could always observe and overhear interesting things. She knew lots of important local people. She was friends with the wives of many prominent people in Wangaratta. She liked to take me to cultural things. Libraries. Concerts. Houses - where she would talk to other grownup women. I did not complain. I liked snooping in others houses. I made sure I had a good look at everything when she was talking.

She had a certain status in society. People respected her. Her good opinion was important.

My father once let a poor family use a hall that he was in charge of to have their daughters wedding reception/ breakfast. The wedding was a genuine shotgun affair where it was on record the two families involved had spent one full weekend together deciding which brother would marry the very pregnant girl. I was there because my father had to oversee the proceedings to ensure that the hall was kept intact. Amongst the guests there was a lot of smirking behind hands and a lot of nudge nudge wink wink talk. I didn't quite understand what the joke was but I could see it generated a lot of talk about the girl. Even at my young age I felt shame and sorrow for her.

Towards the end the proceedings telegrams were read out. These all contained messages of silly humour and innuendo. Then unexpectedly a telegram was read out from my Aunt Janet. It was addressed to the girl directly and it complimented her on her marriage. It wished her well for the future. My Aunt said she could only envy the girl on the journey she was embarking on. She said she was happy for her and looked forward to what achievements the girl would have in the future. My Aunt said that she would be contacting her and having her call for tea when the girl returned from her honeymoon. She did not use the word bride but mentioned the girl by name.

This somehow changed the whole atmosphere of the situation. Suddenly the girls reputation was enhanced. It was saying the girl should be taken seriously. It did not matter that it was shotgun wedding and a dodgy one at that. Silly humour was suddenly irrelevant. The girl deserved respect. My Aunt was giving it to her. She was telling the people smirking behind their hands they should have felt ashamed. Suddenly I could see they did. Everyone knew Aunt Janet.

My Uncle Doogie was in WW1. He pronounced Ypres as Wipers. It was said, however, that he enhanced his war records. He did have a reputation as a skite. After all he never shut up about his exploits in WW2 where he organised the local Home Guard. And we had all heard that he had taken part in the celebrations over the lifting of the Siege of Mafeking.

Or so we thought we knew it all.

In an electronic age where records cannot be covered up - long after someones death - complete details are available for anyone to see if you know where to look. Such are Uncle Doogies. You can even look up the records of the hospital where he was treated prior to his being invalided home. They are very specific. He was first shot in the arm near the elbow. He was patched up and sent back into the line. He was then shot in the head. He was repatriated to England where he spent some time in hospital recovering. When he recovered he was sent back to the front line where he was shot at close quarters in the leg above the knee. The wound was fairly severe and he was repatriated home to Australia just before the Armistice.

He never mentioned any of this. This was new to me.

But records being records they can include some unedifying details. Buried towards the end there is one page devoted to the treatment he received for a sexually transmitted disease. I wont say what but it is rumoured that several leading politicians have had the same affliction.

This could have contributed to my Aunt and Uncle having no children. I just don't know.

70 years after these exploits this completed my childhood memory.

Neville Gibb
​June 2021

An early memory I have is of learning to ride a bike when I was about 5 or 6.  It was pretty quiet on our farm, however new neighbours had moved in next door. They had a daughter, about 5 years older than me, who sometimes rode her bike over to our place of a weekend. How I envied her! When she suggested teaching me how to ride I jumped at the chance.          
                                              
Bev had a 26”, fixed wheel boy’s bike, not the ideal machine for a rather small 5 year-old to learn on.  Mounting the bike presented a problem. Using the fence to stabilise the bike, I could climb on, then pedal like mad to get it going.  Learning balance took time, but my friend Bev steadied the bike till I got going. She had endless patience and energy for running along beside me. There were plenty of wobbles and falls. Even with the seat at its lowest, my short legs had trouble reaching the pedals and I managed by slipping from side to side.   
                                                                                                                         
Stopping was another problem to overcome. No free wheel to ease to a stop! My feet barely reached the pedals, so they were inches off the ground.  The fence was my anchor.  I would cruise past slowly as close as I could and grab a wire. I made one bad mistake grabbing a barbed wire, but only once. I eventually got the hang of it after losing some skin and collecting a lot of bruises.                                                                                                                                                                                         
For Christmas that year I received a 24” green Malvern Star girls’ bike. Being a proper girls’ bike, it was easier to get on and off and it was a free wheeler. I cycled up and down our long driveway and out into the paddocks. I was free!       
                                                                                                                     
The school days I spent in town, staying with my grandparents, went more quickly now I could ride around Violet Town, which, in those days, was a quiet, safe place. I could visit my other grandparents or play with my friends after school. Even in the school holidays I could sometimes ride into town on gravel roads that were very quiet.  I always gathered speed to cross the bridges after hearing that “swaggies” sometimes camped under them. Probably the most frightening experience I had was coming across a large brown snake in the middle of the road. Too late to stop, I had to swerve around it, being careful not to run over it. I had heard tales of people running over snakes and suddenly finding the snake wrapped around them!   
                                                                                           
Another humorous memory is of Grandma King‘s attempt to learn to ride. One evening, when she was minding Allan and I while Mum was in the hospital with our new little brother, she decided that, as the coast was clear, she would try to achieve what her little granddaughter was doing so effortlessly.  Sadly, she found it harder than it looked!  It always amazes me that it is a skill which, once learnt, seems to stay with us forever.


Margaret Nelson
June 2021