In the days when life was simpler, friends and neighbours were an important part of life.
Many of our neighbours became friends, sharing conversations over the fence, keeping an eye on the children when they were outside playing, providing drinks and biscuits for everyone during this time of play. When a new neighbour moved in it was the children who made friends first, bringing them home, and gradually the parents would make contact. Families learnt to rely on each other, swapping excess fruit and vegetables with each other, passing down hand me down clothes, sharing the good times and the bad. The backdoor was never locked enabling neighbours to accept deliveries of groceries, meat, etc. that in those days were delivered to the home.
When school age, the children used to walk to school together, some going to St. Pauls others attending the State School. There were really no problems where religion was concerned, as our parents told us that when we were out not to discuss politics or religion. On Sundays, Sunday School and church were attended on a regular basis, each denomination going their separate ways. Usually, the rest of the day was spent at home with Mum and Dad, as it was considered a day of rest.
In those days friendships that were made by our parents when they were growing up were also important to family life. Some families spent more time with these long-time friends than with their own families. Our parents attended each other’s weddings over the years, visited new Mums in hospital when the children were born, and these children grew up together, going on holidays, outings to the city, zoos, the beach etc., Some friends regularly met for dinner, visiting each other’s homes on Sunday nights. These nights were looked forward to with fondness and fun. While the men went outside for a smoke after dinner, the females cleaned up the dishes in readiness for the regular sing song around the piano, a lovely supper and then it was home we go, wrapped in blankets in the back of the car (no heaters those days).
When Television arrived, it was of course very expensive to purchase. There were usually one or two families in the street who had a TV and it was common for neighbours to spend time together watching shows every so often. It was warmer than sitting outside shop windows, sitting on deck chairs with a Thermos of hot drink watching the TV.
As we grew up our neighbourhood changed. The children moved into Secondary Schools and did not see each other as often as study and new friendships gradually took over each of our lives. We attended each other’s weddings and gradually moved away to new suburbs, starting our new families.
Our parents and their friends have aged and passed. Contact with their families has not carried forward in many cases. The childhood friends who grew up and gradually moved away to new suburbs, starting their own families, are now grandparents. But we do have many happy memories and appreciate living and growing up when we did. .
Heather Wallace
April 2023
Many of our neighbours became friends, sharing conversations over the fence, keeping an eye on the children when they were outside playing, providing drinks and biscuits for everyone during this time of play. When a new neighbour moved in it was the children who made friends first, bringing them home, and gradually the parents would make contact. Families learnt to rely on each other, swapping excess fruit and vegetables with each other, passing down hand me down clothes, sharing the good times and the bad. The backdoor was never locked enabling neighbours to accept deliveries of groceries, meat, etc. that in those days were delivered to the home.
When school age, the children used to walk to school together, some going to St. Pauls others attending the State School. There were really no problems where religion was concerned, as our parents told us that when we were out not to discuss politics or religion. On Sundays, Sunday School and church were attended on a regular basis, each denomination going their separate ways. Usually, the rest of the day was spent at home with Mum and Dad, as it was considered a day of rest.
In those days friendships that were made by our parents when they were growing up were also important to family life. Some families spent more time with these long-time friends than with their own families. Our parents attended each other’s weddings over the years, visited new Mums in hospital when the children were born, and these children grew up together, going on holidays, outings to the city, zoos, the beach etc., Some friends regularly met for dinner, visiting each other’s homes on Sunday nights. These nights were looked forward to with fondness and fun. While the men went outside for a smoke after dinner, the females cleaned up the dishes in readiness for the regular sing song around the piano, a lovely supper and then it was home we go, wrapped in blankets in the back of the car (no heaters those days).
When Television arrived, it was of course very expensive to purchase. There were usually one or two families in the street who had a TV and it was common for neighbours to spend time together watching shows every so often. It was warmer than sitting outside shop windows, sitting on deck chairs with a Thermos of hot drink watching the TV.
As we grew up our neighbourhood changed. The children moved into Secondary Schools and did not see each other as often as study and new friendships gradually took over each of our lives. We attended each other’s weddings and gradually moved away to new suburbs, starting our new families.
Our parents and their friends have aged and passed. Contact with their families has not carried forward in many cases. The childhood friends who grew up and gradually moved away to new suburbs, starting their own families, are now grandparents. But we do have many happy memories and appreciate living and growing up when we did. .
Heather Wallace
April 2023