Let me take you back 70 plus years and describe “this uncomplicated life”.
Growing up on a farm post WW2 was totally uncomplicated, in that for the first 4 years you were looked after, fed and bathed and clothed, no stress, especially as the oldest child!
When I was 4 years old, I was given the opportunity to drive our little Fergie 28 while my father was spraying the thistles and ragwort, so we had a clean pasture for the cows to eat and produce milk.
At the same age I learnt to put the cups on the cows, and we had our favourite cows such s Nugget and Beech. We went to school at 5 years in a small farming community school (Upper Atiamuri PS). There were 100 pupils initially, reduced to 60 when the local maori kids were sent to the Atiamuri school.
Life at school was uncomplicated, reading writing and Arithmetic (maths, times tables) plus lots of outdoor activities such as marbles, long ball (played on a football paddock with baseball bat and tennis ball). We played rugby against the local rural schools nearby and cricket too. Girls played netball and I think softball.
We were disciplined severely and received a strap if we had an incorrect spelling and any other “bad” behaviour. This discipline did not impact us into the future in any way, but we learned appropriate behaviour for any interaction in the society at the time.
At home similar expectations in that we had jobs to do on the farm, milking cows, calving, feeding calves, lambing, feeding orphaned lambs, especially before I was 10.
At 12 years I used to take the cream cans to the farm gate for the truck to pick up, I learned to use farm equipment on the tractor, including hay rake, mower and baler. We also picked up hay and stacked into the barn, crutched sheep, learned to shear sheep, pack wool and helped to load this to the truck (by hand!!)
In those days until I was 18 and left home there was NO internet or digital technology. We actually read books, played outside, collected birds’ eggs from our bush, went trout fishing on local rivers by myself, shooting rabbits by myself and other pests and game.
We first had TV when I was 12 years old. We were only allowed to watch one program at night, and this was “Bonanza” a popular cowboy program of the time. Wow, life was uncomplicated!
Many years later I was a salesperson in the IT industry, selling the early IBM PCs to businesses the onto early networks and then complicated wide area networks and management of complicated IT infrastructure for the Melbourne corporate and Government companies and departments.
We were early users of mobile phones (not land lines) and although this was complicating life we learned as we went! Today kids are born into a very complicated , intricate digital world and their brains must absorb all this very early, not a simple one learning experience at a time…
Give me the uncomplicated life in my retirement….. It’s all mine!!!
James Davey
February 2025
Growing up on a farm post WW2 was totally uncomplicated, in that for the first 4 years you were looked after, fed and bathed and clothed, no stress, especially as the oldest child!
When I was 4 years old, I was given the opportunity to drive our little Fergie 28 while my father was spraying the thistles and ragwort, so we had a clean pasture for the cows to eat and produce milk.
At the same age I learnt to put the cups on the cows, and we had our favourite cows such s Nugget and Beech. We went to school at 5 years in a small farming community school (Upper Atiamuri PS). There were 100 pupils initially, reduced to 60 when the local maori kids were sent to the Atiamuri school.
Life at school was uncomplicated, reading writing and Arithmetic (maths, times tables) plus lots of outdoor activities such as marbles, long ball (played on a football paddock with baseball bat and tennis ball). We played rugby against the local rural schools nearby and cricket too. Girls played netball and I think softball.
We were disciplined severely and received a strap if we had an incorrect spelling and any other “bad” behaviour. This discipline did not impact us into the future in any way, but we learned appropriate behaviour for any interaction in the society at the time.
At home similar expectations in that we had jobs to do on the farm, milking cows, calving, feeding calves, lambing, feeding orphaned lambs, especially before I was 10.
At 12 years I used to take the cream cans to the farm gate for the truck to pick up, I learned to use farm equipment on the tractor, including hay rake, mower and baler. We also picked up hay and stacked into the barn, crutched sheep, learned to shear sheep, pack wool and helped to load this to the truck (by hand!!)
In those days until I was 18 and left home there was NO internet or digital technology. We actually read books, played outside, collected birds’ eggs from our bush, went trout fishing on local rivers by myself, shooting rabbits by myself and other pests and game.
We first had TV when I was 12 years old. We were only allowed to watch one program at night, and this was “Bonanza” a popular cowboy program of the time. Wow, life was uncomplicated!
Many years later I was a salesperson in the IT industry, selling the early IBM PCs to businesses the onto early networks and then complicated wide area networks and management of complicated IT infrastructure for the Melbourne corporate and Government companies and departments.
We were early users of mobile phones (not land lines) and although this was complicating life we learned as we went! Today kids are born into a very complicated , intricate digital world and their brains must absorb all this very early, not a simple one learning experience at a time…
Give me the uncomplicated life in my retirement….. It’s all mine!!!
James Davey
February 2025
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