U3A Benalla and District Inc.
  • Home
  • Benalla
    • Benalla
    • Benalla District
    • Who, What and Where? - Benalla Rural City
  • About
    • Our U3A
    • President's Page
    • Executive Committee
    • Convenors >
      • Convenors
      • Convenors A - Z 2022
    • Program Suggestions
    • Newsletter
    • Website
  • Groups
    • Groups A - Z
    • Recent Groups >
      • Armchair History
      • German - Beginners
      • Meditation
      • Russian Literature
      • Hot Topics/The News - Fact or Fiction?
    • Archived Groups >
      • A - M >
        • A Different View Of German History
        • Armchair Traveller
        • Booker Reading Group
        • Bushwalking - Mid-week Walks
        • Comparative Religion
        • Facebook for Mentors
        • Google Apps/TS Plus
        • History - An Introduction to Western Civilization
        • History - Moments in Australian History
        • Investment I (1996 -2015)
        • Legal Matters (Short Course)
        • Making the Most of the Internet
      • O - Z >
        • On Target - Learning to Shop Online
        • Opera
        • 'Over There'
        • Rail and Tourism
        • Tech Savvy Apple Devices - Intermediate
        • Tech Savvy Community Projects
        • Travel Group
        • Zoom Short Course
  • A-Col
    • A - COL
    • 'A Taste of Art'
    • Art Appreciation
    • Australian History
    • 'As Time Goes By' >
      • Home
      • Our Stories - by topic
    • 'Be Connected'
    • Birdwatching
    • Brain Games
    • Bushwalking - Easy Walks
    • Cards '500'
    • Chat n' Chew
    • Coin Collectors
    • Collectors
  • Col-G
    • COM - G
    • Community Singing
    • Creative Writing
    • Demystifying Psychology
    • Enjoying the Internet
    • Exercises for Fun
    • Exploring the Universe
    • Family Research - Advanced >
      • Home
      • Family Stories
    • Family Research - Beginners
    • Film Discussion Group
    • Garden Appreciation
    • Garden Team
    • German
  • I - R
    • I - R
    • 'In the Lap of the Gods'
    • Investment
    • Jane Austen Book Club
    • Let's Talk Books
    • Lifeball
    • Meet and Mingle
    • Music Appreciation
    • Page Turners
    • Patchwork and Craft
    • Photography
    • Play Reading
    • Politics & Current Affairs
    • Recorder Group
  • S - Z
    • S -Z
    • Singing for Fun
    • Sky's the Limit
    • Stock and Land
    • Sustainability
    • Tech Advice
    • Tech Savvy Apple - 'Pages'
    • Tech Savvy Beginners - Android
    • Tech Talks
    • Ukes4Fun
    • Wine Appreciation
    • Wise Guys Book Group
  • Join
    • Join Us
    • Membership Application/Renewal Form
    • Program Guide 2023
    • Timetable - Month Overview
    • Full Timetable with Dates
    • New Courses 2023
    • Venues and Maps
  • News
    • News - General
    • February Newsletter
    • Calendar 2022
    • Monthly Calendar
    • Website & Facebook
  • FB
  • Gallery
    • Gallery 2022
    • Gallery 2021
    • Gallery 2020
    • Gallery 2019
    • Gallery 2018
    • Gallery 2017
    • Gallery 2016 >
      • + Christmas Lunch 2016
    • Gallery 2015 >
      • Christmas Lunch 2015
    • Gallery 2014
    • Lifeball Video
  • Links
    • Resources and References
    • U3A Network Victoria
    • Seniors Online Victoria
    • U3A Albury Wodonga
    • U3A Beechworth (Indigo U3A)
    • U3A Bright
    • U3A Wangaratta
    • U3A Goulburn Valley
  • Contact

'Sheet Music'

24/8/2022

0 Comments

 
Scaling down causes a lot of tidying up and throwing out of stored items.  What do I do with stacks of sheet music?  I’ll spend a few minutes looking through it and sort it out.  Hours later I’ve recovered so many memories!  Music ran in Mum’s side of the family – her brother was a talented pianist and music teacher, with various musical degrees.  In the time of silent movies, he sometimes played the piano behind the screen.  Sadly, he died of pneumonia at the age of 38.
 
Mum was talented too—she was a self-taught organist and played the church organ regularly.  All this musical talent was supposed to flow through to me, but sadly, it didn’t.  I started piano lessons with Mrs Tatterson, the local music teacher, when I was eleven, and I sat one exam.  The exam was held in a strange room, on an unfamiliar piano and I decided, no more exams for me!
 
On our rare visits shopping in Benalla, I loved to visit Miss Mitchell’s music shop in Nunn Street, a small, dark shop with lots of sheet music.  I loved to pick out some of the popular songs of the day, which Mum would play, and we’d have a singalong around the piano at night.  The only entertainment otherwise was the radio (how would our grandchildren have coped with that?)  We sang pops, negro spirituals and lots of classics, with meaningful lyrics and catchy tunes, so different from today’s repetitious and raucous pop music.
 
I took a bundle of music to the Opp. Shop, hoping someone might get some pleasure out of finding that old music, and enjoy a sing around the piano as we did.
 
 
Margaret Nelson
August 2022
0 Comments

'Benalta'

24/8/2022

0 Comments

 

I came across an old ‘Benalta’, the Benalla High School magazine from the fifties.  I gazed at the photos of the prefects, house captains and sports teams, recognising many of them.  We looked so young—and we were! 
 
Where did all those young people go?  Did they have happy lives and fulfil their dreams? 
 
I looked at a photo of myself, a shy teenager.  Did I think then that one day I would be over eighty, still farming, feeding chooks, gardening, carting in wood, or that I would have four children and seven grandchildren?  No, our thoughts didn’t stretch that far ahead.  In fact, the year 2000 seemed too far away to even think about.
 
I looked at the others standing there in their uniforms.  Some I’d kept up contact with, others drifted away to work.  Sadly, some died young.  Many probably had achieved their dreams, in careers, sport and family life.  We caught up at reunions, but over the years the numbers dwindled with each successive meet.
 
Now our old Benalla High is in disrepair, probably beyond fixing, but in our minds, we can still see those rooms where we did science, maths or cookery, remember school sports, the House sports (and war cry), and the mischief we got up to.  There were socials in the old Memorial Hall, speech nights in the Town Hall.  The annual fete was held in the school grounds, especially the mannequin parade down the outside stairs to the quadrangle which always provided lots of laughs.
 
Thinking back, despite the times we found modern history boring, or the maths exams difficult, these were happy, care-free days.
 
Margaret Nelson
August 2022

0 Comments

'Memories Treasure Chest' - Heather Hartland

22/8/2022

0 Comments

 
Opening my memories treasure chest brings forth a wide variety of memorabilia, letters, cards, and an odd collection of tickets to shows, for trains and more. These include several from overseas holidays, as well as my first trip on the Indian Pacific from East to West Australia. This trip was quite an adventure, as the train stopped at several remote locations, delivering much needed supplies and mail and collecting outgoing items.

Also, in my ticket collection were boarding passes and tickets for two cruises. The first was on board the Fairstar sailing out of Fremantle W.A. around South Africa to the UK.  It was my first solo holiday and I was heading off to explore my family’s roots. As the ship maneuvered out of Fremantle dock, the hymn Amazing Grace was played over the loudspeakers. I was very nervous. I was placed in a 4-berth cabin on the lower decks with two Melbourne girls and a Dutch girl. We soon made friends and enjoyed everything the ship had to offer. We even tried doing a dance called the Tarantella whilst in rough seas, which didn’t go so well!  My second cruise was on a ship called the Australis, this time via the Suez Canal enroute to Australia. I had been away for three years on a mammoth working holiday and considered myself to be a seasoned traveler by this time.

Digging down deeper into my memories treasure chest, I came across some horse brasses; these affix to the harness of Clydesdales that pull the Courage Brewery dray. Sadly, only at shows and festive occasions now, but in my childhood, a common sight. There was also a horseshoe from my first pony, an ex-pacer called Daniel Boone. He was a gelding, which meant that he could not have a career at stud, so was sold off as a riding pony. He was very sweet natured with rich brown coat and sad eyes. I had hours of fun and adventure with him.  I found member passes and ID tags from W.A. Turf Club, W.A. Trotting Association and race meetings gathered in my school holiday job at the local racing stables.

By far the most fascinating items were the old black and white family photos passed down from two generations to me, as custodian of the family history. Some were quite revealing, showing my Aunt in a way I never could have imagined.  Not rude or illegal, just a bit “ “out there”. There were the photos from WW2 from both sides of the family, baby photos and heaps more. So fascinating. There was even a photo of me, a mini biker, with boyfriend, both aged 3!!!!
Picture
​Right at the bottom, but safely wrapped, is a small red bible signed by Queen Elizabeth on the occasion of her coronation. All children attending the coronation were given one of these. I wrote about this event in an earlier session.

Finally, a bundle of graduation documents from Uni and various courses of training I took. My RAAF and METPOL entry documents, photos and discharge certificates also unleashed a flood of memories.

In closing, I can say I have had a great life, lots of experiences, many many memories and almost no regrets.


Heather Hartland
July 2022
0 Comments

Treasured memories....   Carmyl Winkler

27/7/2022

0 Comments

 

#1

​I was in Grade 3 at Invermay Primary School in Launceston. The girls learned sewing once a week and our first task was to make a small bag out of pink material with blue cotton so our tiny hemming and backstitches could be checked. Initials were proudly chain-stitched on the front.

When we had finished, we moved on to make a rectangular bag with flap and our full surname included in the chain stitching. This had tapes at the side and was proudly worn around our waists each Wednesday with our sewing materials inside.

In the meantime, at playtime and lunch time, marbles were in fashion. Everyone brought along their marbles in their pockets and showed their prowess. I enjoyed the game but was no expert so didn’t enjoy when we were playing for ‘keeps’ as I had my favourite marbles I didn’t want to hand over. These included a Tom Bowler, an agate and several bottlies, one somewhat misshapen. One boy played so often that his thumb nail was partly missing from flicking his tor into the circle.

#2

Trams in Geelong only ran every half hour on Sundays. Some of us had gone to a Methodist Babies’ Home tea in at Yarra Street church and then had to get back to Belmont. Don Winkler suggested he and I walk home together. He was 17 and I was 15. We arrived back at Belmont at 7.30 and walked into the church service which began at 7 and was now half over. The minister looked at us with slightly raised eyebrows. He was my father!

Two weeks later we were both a year older, having birthdays just a few days apart. We went for walks after Sunday School and walked home after church at night.

Six months later, Don was called up for National Service. He was going to be away for three months. Perhaps I might be allowed to go to ‘the pictures’ with him before he went. I broached the subject with my parents who reluctantly agreed and off we went to Geelong on the tram. The film was Scaramouche as I remember – nothing memorable about it except I was there – with a boyfriend!

When home time came Don summoned a taxi. I couldn’t believe it. Why couldn’t we take the tram like everyone else? But this outing had been carefully planned and a taxi it had to be. I knew Don’s wages were minimal but he was determined to do the right thing. I insisted we get out a block before home in case anyone saw the taxi.

Then Don produced a box of Old Gold chocolates for me. Oh no! Old Gold chocolates! Who could afford them? Embarrassed, I smuggled them into the house and hid them at the bottom of my clothes drawer.

I think we both had a bit to learn about a new relationship – Don trying too hard to be generous, me being utterly ungrateful!

Carmyl Winkler
0 Comments

'Jan Mayen Island' - Bev Morton

24/7/2022

0 Comments

 
An expired passport and the current world political climate evoked memories of years past and an attempted landing on an Arctic Island with a NATO Base, from a small Russian ship.

”Sailing from the port of Longyearbyen on the Island of Slavbard, latitude 78 degrees 13’ north, our attempted destination is Scoresby Sund in North East Greenland. The Greenland coast is land locked by fast ice for most of the year. There is only a short window of time when it may be possible to reach N/E Greenland. This is a very heavy ice year.  Our ship is ice strengthened but it’s not an icebreaker.

The second day at sea is spent slowly poking into a curtain of thick fog. Visibility forward is reduced to no further than the bows of the ship. The radio crackles, “This is Danish navy ship Theseus. Do not proceed any further, wait for us and prepare to be boarded.” For an hour our ship is stationary, wallowing, “dead in the water.”

The Captain is watching the radar; he says quietly, “They are here.” A ghostly grey shape of a navy ship looms up behind us and then disappears again into the fog.  A bright red zodiac with four red clad crew members is speeding across the rough sea and the ship is boarded with navy precision. An officer examines the ships papers while the other crewmen check for sea worthiness. We are advised that the area we are heading into has a 9/10ths covering of sea ice 50 nautical miles from land.  After some time we are cleared to continue on into the ice.

Early on the third morning we see a thin band of light on the horizon; it’s “the ice blink”, the reflection from dense pack ice.

Anticipation runs high as we approach the pack ice. On the bridge the crew is very intent and unsmiling. No one speaks.

Our expedition leader sits silently at the bridge window. He picks up the microphone, “As you can see we are approaching the ice edge. At the moment we are taking on sea water for ballast. The ship will lay deeper in the water so that the most strengthened part of the ship can be used for sailing through the ice. We will head north so we will have head winds which will make the ship less vulnerable. The ice here has been broken by the waves and the situation looks promising but when we have travelled some nautical miles it may be different, we’ll see.”

We enter a field of broken chunks of ice on a rolling sea. The ice is banking down the wave action. The further we sail the larger these floating ice missiles become.

At this point we are twenty nautical miles from the nearest land. The idea is that we will proceed into the ice with a heading north, while the stream is setting us to the south. The result will be that we sail in the direction of the mouth of the fjord.

The broken ice eventually becomes large pancake ice, heaving in an icy sea.  The captain has his binoculars trained on the ice searching for open leads. We charge straight into the ice. There is no open water, just huge lumps of ice, white, blue and the dirty brown of moraine. The further we go the worse the situation becomes. The ship slows to .03 knots. The pack ice becomes a solid field of ice. We can no longer make any headway and are being swept south in the East Greenland ice current. Our speed is one and a half knots backwards!

The sky is leaden and the wind keens across the ice field. There are no open leads. We are not going to Greenland, but the problem is will we get out of the ice? The Captain's face is inscrutable as he paces to each side of the bridge surveying the ice. The danger is getting ice damage to the propeller. After an hour of skilful manoeuvring we retreat south along the ice edge.

In open water we meet large waves head on and the spray is flung up over the bows and drifts back over the ship.  To keep our spirits up, we are told that we are in for a special treat. We will go to Jan Mayen Island.

Five hundred kilometres to the east the towering rocky cliffs of Jan Mayen loom up out of the mist. We have been refused permission to land as there is a NATO base here and we are on a Russian Ship. We unobtrusively cruise the rugged coastline, keeping close to the shore.

Loren C was established for long range radio navigation in 1961. A Norwegian territory, the Island is uninhabited save for a small military presence.

The Mountains are wreathed in low cloud and then a window opens in the cloud and reveals sunshine on snow clad Beeranberg, the most northerly volcano in the Arctic.

An Irish Monk, St Brendan the navigator is believed to have sailed in this area in the sixth century. He reported a terrible noise and a black Island that was on fire. He thought he had discovered the entrance of Hell.

We sail around a rocky headland and there in the cove is a sleek grey gunboat!

The radio crackles ominously. The Captain takes this call in the radio room. He has been caught red-handed!

We are ordered to leave at once and are now under the control of the gunboat. We retreat carefully; the Captain at the helm.  We are guilty of breaching their three mile exclusion zone!“


Bev Morton
​July 2022  
0 Comments

'Nana Pascoe'

29/7/2020

0 Comments

 
I am looking at a sepia photo of an old woman, wearing an apron, watching three children climbing on the veranda rail.  She is our Nana Pascoe, photographed with my younger brothers and myself, at the front of her house in Lily Street.  It must have been one of the earliest houses in Violet Town, as it is built on the very corner of the block, with a step down from the veranda onto the footpath. Perhaps it had been a shop in earlier times.

I can still visualise that house and yard. To a child the garden seemed so big, with a chook run and woodshed far away on the back fence. The house was small and rather dark, with a detached bathroom and bedroom.  The kitchen opened onto a veranda which housed a Coolgardie safe, a table, Pa’s chair - where he read the paper and smoked his pipe - and a huge plant stand.

The kitchen was very homely, with a black wood stove, a huge black kettle and Mrs Potts’ irons. As children, we loved to go there after school to eat Nana’s endless supply of Gingernut biscuits and make Milo with hot water and condensed milk. Having no refrigerator, the local dairyman, Foster Mackrell, delivered milk several days a week. I remember him riding his huge horse along the side of the house, picking up the billy hanging on the gate, and delivering milk back when he returned the cows to the paddock.

Early photos show Nana as a pretty, petite girl with dark curly hair and dark eyes, but I think she had quite a hard life.  Pa was away a lot working at road building or farm labouring and she raised the children mostly alone.

When my mother was born, Nana Pascoe was over 40, considered a dangerous age to have a baby. She haemorrhaged badly and had to be taken to Wangaratta Hospital by train (no ambulances in Violet Town). To get her to the train, she was put in a cart and several men took the shafts and carefully pulled it to the station.  Times have changed since then!

Later in life Nana slipped and fell, hurting her hip badly. She bravely carried on, refusing to see a doctor, relying on her Bex tablets and making a makeshift crutch from a broom.

Toward the end of her life a burst ulcer in one eye resulting in the removal of that eye, while the remaining eye had a cataract. Her near blindness was difficult, but she did not complain. I clearly remember the day I took Ray along to meet her. To his embarrassment, she pulled him over closer to her, looked him over, and declared he would suit Margaret!

We regularly had Sunday lunch with Nana and Pa Pascoe. I really enjoyed the simple meals of cold corned meat and salad or vegies, followed by fruit and custard, or nana’s plum jam tart (we called it “stone jam”) on the back veranda in summer. Mum would sometimes send us down the street for a Family Brick” of ice-cream.
​
I realise now that Nana Pascoe suffered a lot of pain, but I never remember her complaining or being cross.  We were so lucky to have her till she was 84, setting such an example to us.
 
Margaret Nelson
July 2020
0 Comments

'Entrance Memories'

27/7/2020

0 Comments

 
​Our entrance area is now a centre for memories. 

There is a framed collage of family photos on the wall.  These were originally separate photos that sat on the entrance unit.  But it got to the point where the whole surface was covered with no room for more.  Some were even hidden behind others even though I tried to place the larger ones to the back.  So we made the collage and had it framed.  Now I can look out my study door and see these family memories on the wall.  It includes 17 years of memories with both our children and four grandchildren and reflects the changes that have occurred over these years – moves around the country, children growing up, and the changes that have occurred for them in that time.

But what to do with the empty surface?  This now serves as a place for many of my knitted dolls.  I have not knitted any dolls for a few years, but these show what I have done in the past. And there is a knitted floral arrangement from last year’s “Benalla Rugged Up” event.

On an opposite wall, another smaller collage of a family holiday in Noosa (well, it was a holiday for those of us who do not live there).  The is also an Irish music poster from a trip to Ireland.  I cannot remember whether this was a visit 10 years ago with my husband, or a business trip three years earlier.

Yes, our entrance hall is full of memories!
Picture
Joy Shirley
0 Comments

'My Mother's Tea Set'

27/7/2020

0 Comments

 
My mother had a favourite tea set.  This was Royal Albert crown china made in England.  It has a fine china cup which she preferred to many of the more modern sets that were quite thick which she did not like.  It has a very pretty pink rose pattern.  The pattern was called American Beauty.  Apparently 'American Beauty' is a deep pink rose, bred by Henri Lédéchaux in France in 1875, and was originally named 'Madame Ferdinand Jamin'.

Mum used this tea set for her cup of tea every day for many years.  They were not kept only for special occasions.  With such constant use a number were broken over the years, but she always took the effort to find replacements.  The newer ones have changed the pattern very slightly, although using the same pattern name with the same pink roses.  Or maybe it is just that they are newer. 

In looking at them today, many of the cups have faded, with the gold trim almost invisible around the edge of the older cups.  The saucers are slightly less faded and the plates still seem to have most of the gold trim.  I think that they were only pulled out when there were guests.

This set has not been used for over twenty years now, but I cannot bring myself to pass them on!
Picture

Joy Shirley
​
0 Comments

'Tennis'

17/7/2020

0 Comments

 
My sporting achievements are somewhat underwhelming. I did play football, basketball and tennis from an early age, but I can confidently say that I participated.

Going through the storage boxes I found some unused tennis balls. They were still firm, but I would suggest if hit, they would disintegrate into a cloud of dust. I did play competition tennis initially for Wollert, and in later years for Beveridge. I did not make it to the higher ranks, however we did have a great coach in the early years. Lancelot Greer was a former prisoner of war, and was in Changi with Weary Dunlop. ‘Lanie’ as he was known, was still winning district competitions and championships when he was in his fifties. I must have been somewhat of a disappointment to him, but he actively encouraged myself and the other children in the district to persist and practice, practice, practice.

It was whilst playing for Beveridge that we were competing at Yan Yean. We had been relatively successful throughout the day and were well up in the games score as we entered the mixed doubles. It was the last game of our set and as I reached to return a low ball, I felt something like a kick to the back of my right leg. I finished the set a little uncomfortable and then started to feel pain as I cooled down. I returned home with the assistance of other team members and the leg stated to swell. Nothing could be done on Sunday, so first thing Monday morning we rang our doctor in Whittlesea for an appointment.

I was indeed fortunate, as our local GP’s at the time were Dr. Bruce Reid, who became the club doctor for the Essendon Football Club and Dr. John Tickell, who left Whittlesea to take up a position with the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

A quick examination revealed that I had in fact torn my Achilles tendon rather badly. An appointment was made for an operation at the Warringal Sports Hospital in Heidelberg and the tendon was eventually restored, albeit after some weeks in a cast over summer.
​
Barry O’Connor.
July 2020.
0 Comments

'The Telephone'

17/7/2020

0 Comments

 
Sifting through the old boxes, I came across a corded touch pad telephone. This prompted a flood of memories from days past.

Whilst the touch phone is still in use today, it has been very much superseded by the cordless model.

I do not use the landline system anymore, instead utilising the mobile device network for our communication needs.

In the early days the automated telephone system was not available for every home to have a telephone, so public phone boxes were strategically placed around the suburbs. Unfortunately in early 1950, the suburb of Lalor was very new and the only public phone in our area of the suburb was at the railway station, some 560 mt. from our house. The streets were unmade and when wet, were a challenge to navigate, especially for my mother when pushing a pram with a child in it. The local families actually had a large wooden box at the railway station where people would leave their gumboots whilst away on the train. Most people left their phone calls until they were in the vicinity of the station. The automated telephone installation did eventually come in late 1952, but the eastern end of our street was one of the last areas to be connected.  We were not connected for some time, instead relying on nearby family members in an emergency.
​
My second experience with the telephone was at my Grandparents property near Woomelang in the Mallee. This line was known as the ‘party’ line, with two wires strung on insulators between mallee tree trunks. 
Picture
​There were no allocated phone numbers, just a special series of ring sequences. These ring sequences were a series of either ‘short’ or ‘long’ rings. Each person on the ‘party’ line had a different sequence. I always remember my grandmother and aunties racing to the phone, holding the hanger down and lifting the receiver to listen in on the other conversations. Nothing was private in the bush, everybody knew everybody’s business. To call outside the area you had to ring the exchange in the nearest town and have the telephonist connect you to the desired number.

I often wonder if our grandparents could see what is available in communication equipment today, what would they think?
​
Barry O’Connor.
July 2020.
0 Comments

"As Time Goes By..."

17/7/2020

0 Comments

 
My lifetime – I’m 88 years of age – includes memories and stories from the Great Depression of 1932 to the current Corona Virus pandemic of 2020.
 
In 1932, many jobless males walked the countryside looking for work, any type of work, if only to obtain a meal.  Farms were routinely visited by these desperate men.  Indian hawkers and their horse-drawn vehicles were regular visitors selling their wares.
 
In the 1930’s polio was termed infantile paralysis as there was then an epidemic to which my brother Basil (two years older than me) succumbed, but fortunately recovered from.
 
At my school in the late 1930’s we were regularly visited by men known as “swaggies” or swagmen because they normally carried a bag (swag).  They were prepared to cut wood, tend the garden, milk the cows, or do any job that may be available.  We had one regular who was affectionately called “Billy Butterfly”.
 
In September 1939 we saw the commencement of World War II.  Our school was adjacent to the main Melbourne railway line.  In the early 1940’s America joined the war and their troops came to Australia.  We saw many “Yanks” and their tanks, jeeps and other warfare on the never-ending trains that went by.
 
One of my school mates left school and the next year, at age 14 years, came back to visit in an Army uniform.  He was later deployed to Darwin where bombs were being dropped.
 
During the war years, and for a long time afterwards, we had to get used to the “ration tickets” which were required for practically every commodity, food, clothes, petrol.  This saw the introduction to gas burners attached to the rear end of cars.  It also saw the introduction of the popular, illegal practice of using kerosene to propel motor vehicles.
 
May and August of 1945 treated us to the termination of warfare in the Pacific and Europe.  There were great celebrations by way of processions in the streets of every town in the country.  My brother Pat returned from Tobruk.
 
1950 saw me entering the workforce.  There was also the beginning of the Korean War and later on, National Service.  I was too young to go to Korea and, believe it or not, too old for National Service.  I had completed my registration form for National Service and went to the Post Office to mail it.  At the entrance was a notice telling all eligible males to register and on re-reading it I became aware that I was one month too old.  With some regret I destroyed my registration form and returned to my somewhat mundane job.
 
Work continued and I transferred to St. Arnaud, then Wodonga, and Melbourne in the early 1960s.  At that time the Vietnam War was current, and my niece’s fiancé was drafted for service.
I then got married, completed my accounting qualifications, and had a successful business career.

I retired in 2000 and all was well in the world.
 
Then, in early 2020, the Corona Virus struck, and we now find ourselves in lockdown.
​
So, there you have it, “As Time Goes By”, reflections on historical events across a lifetime spanning 88 years (to date!).
 
 
Ray O’Shannessy
7 July 2020

0 Comments

'Memories of the Olympic Games, 1956'

24/6/2019

0 Comments

 
Two Olympic Games programs brought back memories of 1956. 

It was my first year away from home.  At 17 and a raw country girl, I found myself at Larnook Teachers' College in the big city.  It was the year of the Olympic Games, and Melbourne was abuzz in preparation of new stadiums and an influx of overseas visitors. 

The Melbourne Cricket Ground was updated, a new big indoor swimming complex was built along with other venues for cycling, wrestling, etc.  There was free entry to the pool and at times we watched the teams practising.

The Opening Day arrived and we were given a day off to join in the festivities.  Swanston Street was closed to traffic.  We found ourselves a spot near the Town Hall, squashed in a crowd, and from our vantage point watched the Duke of Edinburgh arive and wave from the balcony.  As the dense crowd dispersed, we wandered along the route to the MCG.  Sitting on the edge of the road, we ate our sandwiches and awaited another glimpse of the dashing young Duke on his way to open the games. 

Later in the week we had tickets to see two days of the athletics.  I remember seeing Betty Cuthbert and Shirley Strickland winning their heats.  There was great excitement in the crowd, especially amongst the Australians.

The Closing Ceremony fell on a Saturday and we managed to get standing room tickets.  It was a very simple ceremony compared with later years.  A foot ball final, then the athletes marched in.  This was followed by the handovers of flags to the next host country and the extinguishing of the flame, a rather sentimental moment.  The games were over for another four years.  It would be a long time until Melbourne would host them again. 


Margaret Nelson
June 2019
0 Comments

'A Trip on the Ghan'

24/6/2019

0 Comments

 
​A breakfast menu from the Ghan revived memories of a college trip to Alice Springs.

It was 1958 and we joined Melbourne Teachers' College on a 16 day trip, costing £63  all inclusive.  We'd been paying it off all year so there was great excitement when we finally boarded the Overland for Adelaide.  We had a day to look around, then early the next day we headed to board The Ghan, which was quite luxurious for its time.  We were four to a compartment, a bunk bed pulled down at night.  There was a dining carriage, a kitchen and a lounge with a piano, besides an observation area at the rear of the carriage.  It travelled very slowly, taking two days and nights to get to Alice Springs.  The meals, served by waiters in bow-ties, were very good.

Compared with Victoria, the country was so different.  I was amazed by the flatness and vast horizons, the red soil, stunted scrub and trees and the clear blue cloudless sky.

Boarding buses in Alice, we headed off on a circular tour west of Alice, camping in the open in sleeping bags around a camp fire.  The days were hot and the nights very cold.  The bus drivers were the cooks and provided plain, nourishing meals. 

We travelled over cattle stations, crossing dry river beds, sometimes bogging in the sand.  We then turned back to Palm Valley with its oasis like pools and cycads.  From here we visited Hermansburg Mission and Stanley Chasm.  We were lucky to arrive at midday when the sun turns the chasm wall a vivid red.  Namatjira was painting at this timeand his paintings sold for only £50  In the local gallery I was lucky enough to buy an unframed water color of Adolf Inkamals for a few pounds which has since increased considerably in value.  

I felt so lucky to have seen the outback in a relatively pristine state and to see the beauty of the country through the eyes of the aboriginal painters.  Friendships were made on that trip which have lasted a lifetime.

​
Margaret Nelson,
​June 2019
0 Comments

    'Memories Treasure Chest"

    ​The task for late July is to dip into our   Memories Treasure Chest’ 
    (1) Create/Draw upon an ‘Memories Treasure Chest’ in a shoe/other box/album/suitcase containing objects and artefacts such as maps, menus, theatre programs, an old report card, vials of perfume, a garment, treasured photographs, a souvenir, an expired passport…
    (2) Select two items from the treasure chest as creative prompts – what do they mean to you? What were you doing, why; what were you thinking at the time this object related to your life? (250 words for each object)  Feel free to attach a photo or two to the email to include with your story on the web site.   
    ​

    Categories

    All
    Barry O'Connor
    Bev Morton
    Carmyl Winkler
    Heather Hartland
    Joy Shirley
    Margaret Nelson
    Ray O'Shannessy

    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    July 2020
    June 2019

    RSS Feed

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay our respects to their elders - past, present and emerging.
Picture
News
​Newsletter
Facebook Page
​
Program Suggestions
​CO-VID Safety

U3A Benalla & District Flier 2023
​Membership Application/Renewal Form 
​
Program Guide 2023
Semester 1 Timetable with Dates 2023
Semester 1 Timetable Month Overview 2023
Developed and maintained by members, this website showcases U3A Benalla & District. 
​Photographs - U3A members; Benalla Art Gallery website; ​Weebly 'Free' images;Travel Victoria and State Library of Victoria