Back in the early 1950’s the first indication that Christmas was coming was that the Brewery workers either threatened to go on strike or did.  To some people, it was almost as bad as the sun not coming up.

One year they did go on strike but returned to work in time to get their holidays.  They were able to supply beer to the pubs in barrels, but bottles were as short as hens’ teeth.  You couldn’t cart the pub around in your Gladstone bag!

Our problem was nowhere as sad or serious as that well known song, but Christmas would not feel the same without a bottle or two.

One of the boys said he might have a solution to our problem.  He said that he heard of an Australian invention that hadn’t gained the publicity of others like the Black Box or the Rotary Clothesline.  It was called the PIG.

There was not much talent required in making the PIG, the problem was getting the vital part – a gallon jar from the Lolly Shop.  The owner became our favourite person.  The other problem was that he would not give it to us until it was empty.  It contained the flavouring for malted milks, milk shakes and other drinks.  To help the cause we had many malted milks that week!

The other components were readily available, including a cork stopper which we drilled a hole through to fit a valve from a bike tube.  We would take it along to the pub and the publican would fill it just before we were to drink it.

Now we had the PIG sorted out, we didn’t want warm or flat beer.  We had two more things to do – to go to the local butter factory with an old cream can big enough to put the gallon jar in.  Here we got the coolant.  Some of the drinkers worked at the factory, so knew their way around.  We didn’t wear our good suits, as we had to clamber around rusty pipes filled with brine water to get what we were after.

Having got the brine water, which stayed cold for some time, we got the gallon jar from the lolly shop filled at the local pub, putting it the cream can filled with cold brine water.
 
Not wanting flat beer, we attached a bike pump to the valve and gave it a few good pumps.

Some people would think that it was not worth the effort, but they never tasted it.
​
 
Max Tilbury
February 2025

Tom Barnaby
​February 2027

In January 2025 I was approached by Jim Renkin, the former Group Officer for the Benalla & Districts Fire Brigades Group. His request was for me to join the committee that had been formed to capture the history of the Group. The Group is the largest in the CFA comprising 19 brigades with 833 members.

I agreed, however I was not aware of what my task would actually be, and what my research would uncover. I was tasked with writing the book, and as usual ‘bring your own wages, and a cut lunch’.

The first task was to incorporate a book that had been written previously by Harold Mundy, which covered the period from 1940 to 1990. I was fortunate that the committee Secretary had been able to locate a digital copy of the original book. All that was required was to convert it from the original smaller format, into the proposed A4 format.

All was going along well with the inclusion of the original content and the changes in the page layout, until a problem was uncovered with the digital conversion obtained from the National Library, which had converted the words ‘burn’ and ‘burning’, to ‘bum’ and ‘bumming’. A quick check of the original 85-page content, managed to correct all of these issues.

Then work commenced on the current history from 1991 to December 2025. The main content was from the actual Group meeting minutes, and the many media reports that covered the major incidents from an ‘arm’s length’ perspective.

Whilst I thought that the writing of this book would not impact on me, it did. As I wrote about incidents that I attended with fellow volunteers, it brought back memories of the sometime horrendous situations that I faced alongside these volunteers, many of whom are now no longer with us.

On the positive side there were stories of very unusual incidents, such as the Longford natural gas plant explosion, which resulted in the main gas supply for Victoria being cut. CFA volunteers were sent around the Benalla township to call, house by house, to ensure that the gas meter was turned off. This allowed the remaining gas within the system to service the local hospital. Many residents who became aware that the volunteers were on their way, would jump into the shower quickly before the meter was turned off.

Another very unusual incident was the return of the MIR Russian space station to earth. Nobody appeared to know exactly where it would come back to earth, but New Zealand and southern Australia were in the suspected impact area. All emergency service groups in Victoria were alerted and basic safety formats and responsibilities were established. Fortunately, the space station landed in the Pacific Ocean, east of New Zealand.

The book finished with 413 pages and comprised the two histories, honour board details for volunteers who had served in an official capacity with the Group, Incident response data and a three-page history on each of the 19 brigades. I was able to locate some of the very early history on some of the member brigades which was not previously recorded. All this information will be passed onto each of the brigades, along with instructions on how to access Trove.

In addition to bringing back memories for me, some of them horrendous, my research for the book uncovered some serious issues that have impacted adversely on our volunteers. You will have to read the book, to discover the facts behind some of the misleading statements currently being made by our Victorian politicians.
​
 
Barry O’Connor,
February 2026.      

Some university was — or possibly still is — running an online advert asking whether you’ve heard of the Magnificent Possum. It’s sole purpose appears to be inducing mild cognitive derailment.
 
The advert triggered a cacophony of overlapping stories from a gaggle of latte-drinking artists. It was a little early for their usual imbibement — though, with artists, it’s sometimes hard to tell. There were tales of the angry possum, the loving possum, the possum in the wall cavity, the possum whisperer, and finally a proposal to combine all of these into an illustrated children’s book.
 
Some mothers do have ’em. Artists, that is.
 
My contribution to the affray was The Possum Whisperer.
 
I grew up on a farm near Bungonia Gorge — where Ned Kelly was filmed, with Mick Jagger playing the outlaw. A little old-school building, miles from anywhere. One lunchtime we heard this truly wretching rumble in the roof. Dad leapt to his feet shouting expletives, grabbing his rifle and made for the door. My brother and I hastily followed. The bane of Dad’s life was possums and wombats. Mum came after him calling, “Tom, don’t you dare.”
 
Clinging to a small tree at the back of the house was a young possum. The tree was barely strong enough to support it and, being daylight, the poor thing seemed just as bewildered as we were.
 
Everyone froze.
 
Mum abruptly stepped between Dad and the tree.
 
“Winnie, be sensible,” Dad said. “That thing’ll tear your skin to shreds.”
 
She ignored him. Slowly, gently, she moves towards the tree, talking softly to the possum. It clung desperately, watching her warily. At one point Mum diverted her gaze elsewhere and extended her bare arm, still murmuring in calm, reassuring tones. Dad motioned for us to stay quiet and not move.
 
Mum’s arm brushed the tree. She stopped talking and simply stood there, staring into the distance. I barely dared breathe.The possum, apparently deciding this was the least alarming option available, climbed onto her arm. Mum began talking again, looked at the little fella, and calmly gathered him up, carrying him off to safety.

Mum had that knack — sheep, cattle, dogs, you name it. She passed some of it down to me, though nothing like her abilities. I once talked down a guard dog in Poland, but suspect my Australian accent just confused it.
 
By the bye — the advert actually said Magic Possibility. I clearly need my hearing checked.


​Merv Beamish

Many years ago I was in Kununurra in Western Australia, when it was decided to take a scenic flight out over the Bungle Bungle Range and also fly over the Argyle Diamond Mine, which was at that time still operating.

We had flown over the vast mine site and were making a loop back towards Kununurra, when I notice some very straight fault lines, in what is normally very ‘rounded’ landscape. From our altitude it appeared the some of these faults reached the horizon, and were that straight, it looked like somebody had created them with laser beam for guidance.

I attempted to capture these straight fault lines, however by the time the camera took the image we had moved on.

I have never really been sure if what I saw was real. Was it a line on the aircraft window, or was I just imagining this phenomenon?

I was recently watching a beautifully filmed television special on the Kimberley Region, when I spotted these straight fault lines again. Well, I was not imagining anything, these lines were real!!
​
The search began through the many hundreds of images on the internet. Bingo!! The fault lines were located and very real, and located near the Piccaninny Creek area in the Purnululu National Park.     

Barry O'Connor
July 2022

I was watching a recent news report on the Avalon Air Show when I saw the images of an aerobatic aircraft crash. The routine was almost identical to one I had witnessed at the Lilydale airport some years ago. The aircraft flew in from the left, did a couple of manoeuvres and then a loop, almost identical to the routine flown in Lilydale. 

I had no personal images of that day, so I did a Google search and located the Australian Transport Safety Bureau report on the incident;

On the morning of 14 February 1982 the pilot attended the air show briefing but as the same manoeuvres were to be flown as on the previous day no individual briefing was held. The weather conditions on the day were not ideal for display flying, with a temperature of 36 degrees Celsius and a northerly wind of about 10 knots with gusts up to 20 knots.

The turbulence was reported to have been moderate from the effect of thermals and trees on the airfield boundary. The pilot taxied VH-TBC to the holding point about ten minutes before his planned take-off time. After taking off, the display sequence was flown normally up until the final steep turn manoeuvres. The aircraft approached the airfield from the southwest at a height of approximately 200 feet above ground level and commenced a left turn at an angle of 60 degrees. The turn was continued through 360 degrees and then the aircraft was rolled into a turn to the right at a similar angle of bank. The aircraft appeared to climb slightly in the initial part of the turn to the right and after turning through 90 degrees the angle of bank increased to 100 degrees and the nose of the aircraft began to drop below the horizon. The aircraft then recovered to a wings level attitude, the nose of the aircraft was raised above the horizon, but the aircraft impacted the ground heavily on all three wheels. The wheels and right main plane broke off and as the aircraft slid forward the engine was torn from its mountings and lodged underneath the fuselage. The aircraft slid for a distance of 90 metres and turned through 180 degrees before coming to rest. Subsequent investigation did not disclose any fault with the aircraft that would have contributed to this accident.

The aircraft was a SOCATA (French Aerospace) Model. TB-10.  Registration VH-TBC.

​Whilst the pilot of the Avalon incident did survive with considerable debilitating injuries, the pilot of the Lilydale aircraft, Mr Eberbach, was killed instantly. He was the sole occupant of the five seater aircraft. Whilst he had experience flying demonstrations at air shows, he was actually employed as an aircraft salesman.

There is a background story to me being at the air show, but that is for next month.

​
Barry O’Connor.
May 2025.

Over the past few weeks, I have experienced a few “Triggers” which I felt I could write about.

Firstly, I’m a coin collector, not in a big way and nothing too serious.

Since we have had such a warm and dry summer I haven’t spent as much time in the garden as I usually would.   I have instead spent a lot of time doing “Indoor Activities” i.e. cleaning out cupboards, draws and boxes that I have not looked inside of for years.

My first “Trigger” was when I came across a small plastic box with a clear lid on it. I knew straight away what it was. After all I had seen it many times over the last 71 years.

It was an English Five Shilling commemorative coin, known as a “Crown”. I have saved it, have looked at it and have been very proud of it over the years. It is without a doubt the oldest thing I own. Even older than my Teeth, which I used to have.
​
The reason this “Crown” is so special to me is because it was given to me by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In 1953.  I was 1 year-old at the time. Apparently, it seems, every child born around that time was given one of these Crowns.   I was no one special, but I can tell you, my 1953 Five Shillings Queen Elizabeth II Crown Coronation Commemorative Coin is very special to me.

My second ‘Trigger’?  Whilst I was going through all my Junk, I cleaned out a few old and not played, for a very long time, LP records. I cleaned up an old Turntable and, lo and behold, I was a teenager again. I began looking for the first LP I had ever purchased. Yes, here it is. I was working in the city; I had saved enough money to go out and buy my first record. It was 1968.
​
Naturally, there were a lot of LP records of all the Pop Music Bands in the sixties. I didn’t take too long to find the one I wanted. A Green coloured cover, a picture of the band on the front of it and a few songs that I liked plus a few others. I paid the man $5.50; it was mine! I was so happy.  The train just seemed to be going so much slower that day whilst I was on my way home. The LP or the Album, as they call them these days, was “More of The Monkees” by the Monkees. Obviously.  This was their second LP - their first LP, simply called “The Monkees”, came into my collection later. Yes, it still works and still sounds the same.  Yes, it does have a few scratches, but that makes it sound more authentic, and it is 58 years old.

​My third ‘Trigger’?  I thought, well if I’m going to be sitting around all day listening to music, I might as well check out the video cupboards too.

I like to keep everything in order, numerically, alphabetically, by age, whatever.

Videos? Well, I will talk about the first video I recorded.

After going with a mate to Stan Cash Electrical in Braybrook, I bought my first Video recorder. It was a P A L system, Betacord. It was 1985, a Saturday afternoon. A gentleman asked if he could help us. I said we were looking for a video recorder. He asked what sort of TV I had. My stupid mate said, jokingly “Oh, he sold the TV so that he could buy the Video player”. The poor, serious, salesman spent the next 10 minutes explaining to us that we would need a TV to work the Video. He then proceeded to try and sell me a TV also. Poor thing.
​
Anyway, I bought the recorder, got it home, set it up, then practised recording something. The first thing to come on TV was a Torvill and Dean Ice Skating show. My wife and I loved them dancing to Bolero! So, yes, we kept it, and we still watch it. 

​Tom Barnaby
February 2025

Preface - If you had an ‘expert subject’, a perhaps quirky interest in which you developed specialist knowledge over time, what would it be?   After writing this story, I’ve decided mine would probably be ‘The music of the Chilean group Illapu’, or at a stretch ‘The music of Chilean folk musicians exiled following the bloody military overthrow of the democratically elected Alllende government by Augusto Pinochet in 1973’. ​

​Postscript - Writing this story, I found myself in the shed, searching through a box of dusty LP’s.  I found I’d kept a number of vinyl records, including ‘La Nueva Cancion Chilena, which included songs by Victor Jara; two records by Inti Illimani, and one by Illapu.  I thought …Who on earth could possibly be interested in hearing a story about the music of Illapu and other Chilean exiled musicians following the 1973 coup?   It’s a pretty quirky subject!  Then I remembered ‘Hard Quiz’!  So… in answer to the question …’Which former member of Illapu passed away in 2005?.... ‘Eric Maluenda’ … Thank you for playing … ‘Hard’!

Bev Lee
November 2023

​End Note 1   The following video was made as a record of Illapu's trip to Melbourne in 1987 and features interviews introducing the background to songs performed at the Melbourne Concert Hall. If you are short of time, fast forward to around 48 mins...and when you see the audience at the end.... I was there! 

​​End Note 2 - While researching this story, I discovered that Illapu will be performing at the WOMAD festival in Adelaide in March 2024…. I wonder if they will also be performing in Melbourne?  The following video is included on the WOMAD page dedicated to Illapu...

​This all began in late October, when I started wondering about better ways of soaking up the amazing energy my local four-year old grandson expends every day, at a time when I'd been largely incapable of expending much at all.
 
Anyhow, I decided that what he needed was a trampoline.  I went online searching for new and old ones without much success; the options ranged from free ones in every state except Victoria to some costing a couple of thousand dollars.
 
Then I talked to my youngest son who has a trampoline for his two young boys in Melbourne and he said the key to obtaining a reasonably modern trampoline, was acquiring the services of a trampoline whisperer.
 
Apparently, a trampoline whisperer has well-honed skills, particularly for installing angled fibreglass roads that hold trampolines up and give them some of their spring. They can be dangerous if mishandled I was told.
 
I was also told that, if buying a used trampoline in Melbourne, the trampoline whisperer's dismantling and reassembling skills are often written into the price, as was the case with my Melbourne grandson's bouncer.
 
Coincidentally, my delving into trampoline culture, lined up with my new iPhone and the realisation that I was not taking enough exercise. The new phone registers how much exercise I take in a day, in the form of a partially or completed colored circle, within an app.
 
The idea is to complete the colored circle on the phone, providing an indication that I have made a bit of an effort to keep fit. Surprisingly I find it quite compelling.
 
My new effort at exercising more, is largely limited to walking three or four kilometres a day and this usually around the lake or Benalla's streets.
 
Anyway, one longish walk took me along streets I had not walked before and lo and behold as they say, I stumbled over a small, fully assembled trampoline on a nature strip, with a free sign on it.
 
So later in the day I picked it up with my trailer and a few days later delivered the trampoline to my daughter's small farm near Benalla.
 
Grandson Freddy was delighted and immediately started using it. But then, seeing I was straightening some uprights and tightening now apparent loose screws, he grabbed a screwdriver from my toolbox and helped.
 
So quite successful for me, him and his less stressed mother.
 
 
David Palmer
November 2023

​Birds generally have three toes, and, using a combination of different holes on the webbing between different toes we can keep track of our various breeding pairs.   It’s a little bit like branding a horse or a dog or cow.

I tried very hard to explain the tool to the guards.

The information did not sink in, and the guards hand cuffed me. 

I was at a loss as to what to say next.  One guard left the room and sometime later came back with someone I can only guess was his supervisor, who examined the object and told the guard to take off my hand cuffs.  I rubbed my wrists, then asked for a pen and paper which was given to me. 

I drew a picture of two chooks’ feet and tried very hard to explain again what I meant.  I punched holes in the paper. 

The supervisor’s face lit up and with a great grin he said, “Now I know what you mean!”.  He said he had never seen anything like it and had learnt a great deal that day about chickens.

They did not apologize.  I packed my bag and was escorted to the main hall.  The look on my wife’s face said it all!

We travelled home in a serious mood.  Then the funny side struck us.  All we could do was laugh at the situation as we realised that not many people know what a toe punch is.

Lou Sigmund
​November 2023

Following some renovations, I had changed the designation of some rooms and of course, re-arranged the whole house again. I guess you could say that renovating or decorating triggers a need for change.  I have been in this house too long, 8 years, it’s a record for me.  Anyway, being unable to move house I had decided that the old bedroom at the front of the house would become my combined office and sewing/quilting room. The walls are floor to ceiling bookshelves which meant I could get my books out of boxes and place them on shelf like a mini library. Just looking through my books as I placed them carefully in category triggered an assortment of memories. 

Some books on historical towns and places in the UK brought back memories of my childhood. Then some books by James Herriot about his life as a vet reminded me of my days as a vet nurse, an early career. The Dick Francis books about crime around the racing industry, reminded me of my school holiday job in a racing stable and my purchase of a not so smart racehorse.

With some books it was not so much the author or the topic, but how I came to have that book. I have an edition of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell given to me as a Christmas gift by my best friend and school buddy Alison just prior to our immigration to Australia.

Even older is a rather worn edition of a book by Thomas Hughes entitled, The Scouring of the White Horse first published in 1859.  It’s one of a series written specifically for the education of children and was given to me by my Auntie, who felt I needed a proper education.  We spent many hours together as I watched her paint and create amazing works of art.

The final book which triggers memories is one which I do not recall receiving. It was presented to me at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. I, along with many other children in the UK, travelled to London to watch this historic event and we all received a small bible which had our names hand-written into an official royal label. The logistics behind this was never explained, my family certainly did not know the royal family. However it came about, it is amongst my most treasured possessions. These three books come with me everywhere as they create warm and happy feelings of a wonderful childhood. I was blessed with very loving family.

Everything in life can be a trigger, from watching a TV show to attending a local fete. From reading a book to visiting a local landmark. I have had a very nomadic and varied life with a lot of experiences and, given that most of my possessions are of sentimental value rather than of high monetary value, they trigger memories of my life. Let’s hope I am spared the dreaded 'old timers, because I would hate to lose these connection to my past. 


Heather Hartland
November, 2023 

The trigger happened as I was driving home from Melbourne earlier in the year.

As I drove over the Bonnie Doon Bridge, I noticed that Lake Eildon was FULL as was the Goulburn River as it flowed to the Murray River.  This triggered a memory of growing up in the Central North Island of New Zealand on a hilly dairy and sheep mixed farm.

Near us was the mighty Waikato River which starts in Lake Taupo and flows to the Tasman Sea. In my early years the government was building dams on the river to create large bodies of water which would create a safe and secure hydroelectric power for New Zealand. In the end they built, I think, seven dams.

The upside of all this was the opportunity to swim, go water skiing and also trout fishing. As a young person I engaged in all pursuits as my father had a ski boat and a tinnie with a 4.5 HP Seagull outboard motor.

Of course, running into all the lakes were many healthy rivers. As a 12-year-old I used to ride my single speed push bike 5 miles to the river with my fishing rod, then walk 10 miles up and down the river, eventually catching a couple of rainbow trout to take home for the family meals.
​
Once I achieved my driver’s licence, I could drive our Series 1 Land Rover, with the tinnie on the back, down to the Hydro Lakes (we had three within 20 miles of the farm).  With a couple of mates, we would trawl for trout all day and always came home with trout.

So, the trigger ignited all the memories of lakes and rivers close to home that I could experience at my whim.

Further to this, another activity.  As a senior Boy Scout I used my river experience to achieve my survival badge. We had to create a bivouac and catch our own food (eels and trout) for a weekend. It was a lot of fun, especially watching the eels attacking our bait on the lines in the water.  We caught three large eels and we eventually threw one on the fire and ate the flesh. Badge achieved!!

The next experience of rivers came in the early days of my RNZAF wings course when we were sent on a weekend survival course in the high country of the South Island in New Zealand. After hiking for 6 hours, we set up natural bivouacs and then set about thinking about FOOD. We were issued 1 x 24-hour ration pack for 4 people for the 2 days. That meant that we had to seriously search for food (animal or plant).

Luckily, we were beside two small lakes which had a small stream running between them. (Paradise for me!!) I immediately went looking along the stream for trout that were in the spawning mode in rivers and streams. I used my experience and slowly felt along the edge of the stream coming into contact with a trout on the edge. This I tickled and scooped out of the water, repeating this until we had a feed.

That night we built a large campfire and cooked the trout.  Some of the guys started to light flares for light, causing a lot of eels to come searching for the light. We caught a few, throwing them on the fire. This created an offensive smell, permeating our survival clothes which stank and had to be thrown out when we returned to camp.

So, my trigger moment created a lot of connected memories to lakes, rivers, fishing and survival.

Happy days!!
 
James Davey
November 2023

​When looking at the heading for today’s “As time goes by….”, I was a bit unsure that I had any ‘Triggers’ in my life - then I heard someone whistle.
 
It reminded me of my Dad, and yes, I do think about him when I hear a whistle.    Dad was a quiet fellow, but he used to whistle when he arrived home from work when wheeling his bicycle down beside the house;  he whistled when he was working in the shed and also when he was nervous – that was a different kind of whistle, usually a made up tune – or it may have been a tune I did not know.
 
He used to whistle “Home sweet home” when he arrived home, and “Whistle while you work” when pottering around the house and in the shed.   I did not know how much I missed him and his whistling, till I travelled to England in 2016, was thrilled to hear my second brother, Les and his son Adam, also whistling like Dad used to.
 
The other thing that triggers my memory is the smell of cigar smoke.   I think of my mother’s father, Grandpa McIntosh when I smell the cigar smoke.    Grandpa and my mother were not the best of friends, and he never played a large part in my life, but I remember sitting with him on the porch whilst he smoked his cigar.    If I was in trouble or upset he used to take me out on the porch of the terraced home that he lived in, light up a cigar and I would sit on his knee and tell him my troubles and how I felt ‘hard done by’ even if I was the cause of the upset.   I remember him quietly talking to me, with the smell of cigar smoke in the background.    Then we would go to the park where he would light up another cigar watching, whilst I played on the equipment, then he would buy me an ice cream on the way home.    I always felt calm and happy by the time we got home.
 
I started to notice when I was growing up and things were difficult at times, I would smell cigar smoke and feel some sense of warmth and comfort.    Sometimes there was nobody else around or smoking a cigar if there were a group of people – there was just the smell of cigar smoke.
 
I have had other ‘Triggers’ in my life over the years, but these I remember fondly, with a sense of calm when the above ‘Triggers’ occur.
 
 
Heather Wallace,
November 2022

​​I’m so glad that, almost 50 years later, I listened to Paulie’s interview.  It has filled in some gaps, helped me better understand the impact on his family - on Paulie as Tony’s 15-year old younger brother, on his parents as they tried to shepherd their children through a traumatic time despite their own grief, and on Greg and Annie.

Thank you, Paulie, for speaking about it. 

​
​Beverley Lee
November 28 2022

​

*Our Tony – by Annie Stewart   https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/08/29/2670632.htm

'Bobby's Girl' was a one hit wonder.


​Graeme

For me, walking into the FCJ Convent during the month of November for a U3A commitment, triggered memories of my childhood school days, when I was taught by the Sisters of Mercy.  The sisters, or nuns as they were universally called, generally were very caring people who greatly influenced our lives.  I must admit that they gave me a solid grounding for a fulfilling life.  There was, however, the occasional nun who did not abide by the motto of being a Sister of Mercy, and one comes readily to mind.
 
Sister Brendan was a robust woman with a ‘farm girl’ background.  She took a dislike to my older brother Basil, who was forthright and occasionally disruptive.  She was always ready to “have a go” at him.
 
The perfect opportunity arose one cold, wet Ballarat day in the school shelter shed where the whole school, all 25 of us, were gathered and doing ‘horse’ exercises (remember the wooden horse and the springboard?)
 
I was only a slip of a kid and Basil, being two years older than me, was somewhat bigger.  Due to my small build and my agility, I was quite versatile with ‘horse’ exercises.  Let’s just say that Basil did not shine at these gymnastics.
 
Sister Brendan, with an ulterior motive, set us up to compete against each other.
 
As was expected, Basil stumbled and tripped, and made a ‘goose’ of himself.  I was in good form, and to Sister Brendan’s glee, outshone and humiliated him.
 
Then it happened!!!  As I was turning to make what would be my last jump, Sister Brendan moved a little closer to the horse.  Too close, as it turned out.  I proceeded with my vault, and with legs outstretched, leapt from the springboard, and my two feet struck her dead centre in the mouth. 
 
Just imagine the hilarity of the boys!
 
As I take time to recall, I can still visualise the imprint of my two dirty sand shoes on her startled face. 
 
Sister Brendan had intended to humiliate Basil and had succeeded.  But in turn, she herself was humbled. 
 
Poetic Justice!  Serves her right!
‘
 
Melbourne Cup Day always triggers further memories for me.  In 1962 I was living in Melbourne and three of my Wodonga friends came down for Cup Day.
 
We had a great day, though not financially rewarding.
 
My friends were staying at the Federal Hotel in the city.  This hotel had a great rapport with country people.
 
After leaving Flemington Racecourse we adjourned to the hotel for our evening meal and the after-dinner entertainment.  Two of my friends each won themselves ‘a heart’ and I loaned them my car to take the girls (both nurses) home to the nurses’ quarters.
Mick (the other friend) and I adjourned to their room to await their return.
 
When they did return, I set out for home, but didn’t make it.  I collided with and electric light pole.  (The SEC later sent me a bill for one hundred pounds!)
 
I suffered a depressed fracture of the skull, a punctured lung, a fractured sternum, 12 broken ribs and brain damage.  I was in a pretty bad way.   (I experienced later sensations which I called ‘brain slides’).  I was placed on Dilantin medication “for the rest of your life”.  However, after 25 years I was off it. 
 
Having told that, I am now pleased to say that, after 60 years, I am hale and hearty.
 
 
Ray O’Shannessy
November 2022
 ​

​The trigger was contained in an email from Bev. She thought that I could be interested in books written about Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War.

The title of the article was: 'Ticking like a bomb. Two new books show what Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War left in its wake.'

The second book was written by an acquaintance of mine, who organized a number of tours of Vietnam after hostilities ceased. It is now on my Christmas wish list. 

The first book are reflections, written by the daughter of a returned conscript, who died at the age of 52, and whom she would ‘never know fully’ as a result of his experiences in Vietnam. When Bronwyn, the writer, was four, her father returned from Vietnam. She notes that she didn’t think much of this stranger, and a stranger he largely remained.

​One sentence was my trigger: - On searching through his belongings, Bronwyn, finds ‘an embroidered green silk coat that she, the youngest, and her two older sisters think is a kimono, though the father had sent it from Vietnam’.

I knew immediately what it was. An ‘au dai’….. the traditional Vietnamese dress that enchanted me when I visited Saigon in 1970, now named Ho Chi Min city.

The war was raging and I was part of an international peace mission at a time when there was some thought that the war could be resolved peacefully. 

While there, I also purchased an ‘ao dai’ wanting to impress my girlfriend and future wife. Although I think I was also motivated by more basic urges. I am sure entertaining to the locals, was the sight of the Vietnamese tailor and I, seeking out a suitably statured young woman in the street, of similar height to my Elizabeth, to be our model.
​
​
​Jump forward to mid 2021

My then partner and I were doing a tour of Victoria, long before I had even considered moving to Benalla . We were primarily in Victoria to search out her family history story lines in Ballarat.

During a lull in Covid restrictions, we decided to do the ‘tourist thing’. Great Ocean Road, Sorento, Mornington Peninsular and of course, the penguins on Phillip Island.

​But there was something different.

On their Webpage, the Vietnam Vets state:

‘The museum seeks to remember, interpret and understand the experience of Australia’s longest war and the enduring impact of the war on society. A museum created and run by volunteers.’

Over an hour and a half I observed, read, and experienced what was presented. I felt the exhibition tried to find a balance. It incorporated some arguments against the war and even surprisingly took a neutral approach to historical opposition to the war. I was emotionally moved.

Still, I wanted to argue my position and sat down with a couple of Vietnam Vet volunteers and drank coffee.

Instead of talking I listened.

Yes the volunteers were proud of their service and keen to talk about the history of the museum.

But after 50 years there was still pain. No vain glory but a sense of solidarity with those who served and those who died.

I talked of my brother, his experiences, most never shared with me, and expressed my gratitude to the Vietnam Veterans’ Association, who enticed my brother out of the abyss.

The men talked about the history of their struggle with their own mental health and the failure of the RSL to embrace them.

I sat, with tears in my eyes, with a very present and healing sense of connection.


Graham Jensen
​November 2022

​My life seems to have many triggers, or perhaps I have too many memories, in any case I seem to be constantly reminded of things I have seen or experienced in my life time.

Most recently, watching episodes of a TV show called “Escape to the Country”, two shows featured people moving to Wales in the UK. Wales is known as the land of song and rolling green hills. I still have memories of the beautiful sound of the choirs as they sang in Welsh and English. I recall sitting enthralled listening to my grandfather telling me stories from his homeland, the smell of his pipe and the smells associated with his tailor’s shop.
​
Featured in the show was our ancestral home, Merthyr Tydvil which has a mixed history. On the positive side - Howard Winstone MBE, who became a world champion featherweight boxer and a statue to him now sits in the village. Gustavius (Gus) Payne an acclaimed artist who painted from the heart. On the negative side of course, the 1831 uprising was sparked when bailiffs attempted to seize goods from the home of Lewsyn yr Heliwr (Lewis the Huntsman). Iron workers struck against redundancies, rising prices and bailiffs. They were dark times.

Not far from Merthyr Tydvil was another place mentioned in the show, Aberfan. It’s another small Welsh village with a tragic past. On Mynydd Merthyr, directly above Aberfan were several tips with millions of cubic meters of mining debris and waste from local coal mines. On 21st October 1966, after days of torrential rain, there was subsidence and the tip moved down the hill at a rapid rate, swallowing a farm, several houses and a school. The death toll was high.

Another TV show was about trains and the various locations those trains went to around the world. It took me back to Pont-Y-Cafnau which has the world’s oldest surviving iron railway bridge. It also showed steam railways in Wales and mentioned the little-known handmade boat called a Coracle.  This triggered memories from childhood again in that I recall men carrying these weird little craft to the river. 

​It seems just watching a movie or TV show where Wales is featured triggers multiple memories of a happy childhood.

I seem to have drifted off topic again and wandered into a history lesson!!!!

​“This is Sharon Wilson speaking. We’re about an hour away from Benalla. Would you be home if we called?”

Sharon Wilson! That won’t be her name now. Michael had been part of a Writers’ Festival in Mildura recently and Sharon had come along, so that was how she knew my phone number.

Sharon was 1 ½ years old when we left Merbein. She’s now 54. I know that because she was born two days before our son, Stephen.

Don had made the trip up from Horsham in December to check out the school and accommodation. The real estate firm had nothing and the trip up was effectively sandy desert and Mallee scrub. What were we thinking of when we put it at the top of our list?

The footie coach was putting the finishing touches to a house near the school and was willing to rent it. We moved in with 3 year-old Bronwyn, on January 17th 1966. Then we found the house next door had just come up for sale. We had no money. The price was £1800. We borrowed  £800 from the bank and a long-term loan of £1000 from Don’s dad and moved in on 26th. February. Kevin obligingly found someone else to rent his house and we packed up everything we’d unpacked a month previously and passed it over the fence or along the back lane.

This house was a ‘miner’s cottage’. Two bedrooms, a tiny kitchen on the back, a bath with a wood heater and a toilet with a can, way down the back. Every afternoon after school, often in 104° heat, saw Don valiantly digging a large hole to house a septic tank and, unbelievably, in less than 3 weeks we had a new septic tank and the back porch covered in with a new toilet coming off it. How about that for tradesmen!

Six weeks after we moved in, our first son, Michael, was born. Incidentally, our second and third sons were also born in our four years at Merbein with Tim just three weeks old when we moved.

The school went up to year 11 with Year 12 students going into Mildura. The parents were basically ‘blockies’ or growers of citrus. Seconds oranges were sold at the packing sheds for $1/bucket. (Yes, decimal currency had come in in the midst of our house negotiations.)

Our best friends were the Wilsons. They were ‘blockies’ and we learned much about dried fruit growing from them. You picked the grapes into a ‘dip tin’, like a large rectangular colander. The sultana and currant grapes were tipped out onto the drying racks- four or five long layers of wire netting with a roof over the top. The raisins had to be dipped into a syrup before they went on the rack. After the required drying time – maybe two or three weeks – the racks had a mat spread out below the bottom layer and the rack was shaken by a machine. The dried fruit dropped through onto the mat and was ready to send off to be packaged.

Wilsons had three daughters and a son who were wonderful friends to our children. Then Dot and I found out we were both pregnant with babies due at the same time. Sharon was born on the 17th. March 1968 and Stephen on the 19th. They were baptised on the same day and shared their first birthday celebrations.

So many more memories – Don’s dad putting on an extra little room on the side of the house, almost daily swims in the river during the summer, going over the road to the principal’s house to watch the moon landing because we didn’t have a TV.

Don looked back on his years at Merbein as the happiest in his teaching career.
​
And yes, we did catch up briefly with the Wilsons a few times in the years just after we left if they were coming east for holidays but, basically, it was 52 years since I’d had the pleasure of again sharing lunch with Sharon neeʹ Wilson.


Carmyl Winkler

 All Saints Estate, Wahgunyah

We went to lunch at All Saints Estate recently.  The restaurant is called The Terrace and in the past was in a permanent marquis type structure.  But they are undergoing some major renovations and so the restaurant has moved to their events hall.  This is a large hall, lined with wine barrels that are still in use.

Why was this a trigger?  Well, 22 years ago our daughter was married at All Saints Estate in their rose garden, with the reception in this very hall.  While the marriage did not last, it was interesting to look around and try to remember it as it was set up for the occasion.  I could not work out whether it looked bigger or smaller.  It was hard to picture how we had set up the venue.  Memories from the past are not always as clear as we expect.  And the layout as a restaurant and tasting room were a far cry from a wedding reception arrangement, overshadowing what it would have looked like many years ago.

Northeast Victoria

But there is even more. 

Our daughter had met her husband in Wodonga; his family came from Yackandandah; they bought their first home in Chiltern. 

The weekend after our lunch in Wahgunyah we had a visit from my sister-in-law, escaping Melbourne for the first time.  She had some business to conduct in the area, as well as wanting to spend some time with us.  The areas she wanted to visit from a business perspective were Wodonga and Chiltern.  Then she wanted to visit Beechworth, with signs to Yackandandah along the route from Chiltern to Beechworth.  A long day in the car with her but seeing places and place names from twenty years ago.

So in the space of five days I visited and saw much from our daughter’s past.

Ballet

Is this one a trigger?  I am not sure.  But maybe.  Perhaps though it is just history repeating itself.

I have just been speaking with our granddaughter who had some news.  She has been accepted into an elite dance program at her local ballet school.  This effectively involves full-time ballet/dance.  Schooling is by negotiation with her local secondary school, or distance schooling.  A lot of discipline required to keep up the studies while spending much of every day at the dance school.

Why is this a trigger – or history repeating itself?  Our daughter, her mother, also attended an elite dance program from around the same age.  The advantage our daughter had was the school she attended had a program in place for the young people involved in elite dance training.  In years 8-9 two of their elective subjects were dance, and in year 10, three subjects were dance.  Their sport was dance rather than school-based sport activities.  They spent four afternoons a week at dance classes, so only spent one full day a week at school.  Add to this all-day Saturday every week, and often Sunday as well if there was a visiting dance teacher.

I am yet to find out more of the details of what is involved for our young granddaughter.  It does seem after trying lots of different activities she has at last found an activity she is passionate about. 

Joy Shirley
​November 2021

​Triggers rule our lives. Remember that. At least they do mine.

For me only some triggers are welcome. Sometimes we cannot remember a name. A simple thing. An everyday thing. A common thing. It can be very frustrating. And annoying. And at times depressing. It can only portend of bad things for the future. The trick is to tie it to a trigger. Tie it to an object that comes into contact with what you are seeking and it can suddenly become clear.

Some triggers are repetitive and well meaning. Our lives are definitely more enjoyable when we are reminded of benign memories.

Whenever I see a middle aged man holding a baby I am reminded of my uncle holding my brother and telling me that there was a special way of holding a baby if you want him to stop crying. Hold him just like this and he will stop crying he said. He demonstrated how to hold him by holding with his left hand and gesturing with his right. I was 4 years old. My brother stopped crying. My uncle laughed self satisfactorily. He did not have any children himself. I was never allowed to hold my brother by himself.

I enjoy it when a trigger sets off a series of happy thoughts.

Sometimes a trigger can remind me of a job I once had where I enjoyed every minute of it. I was happy doing this job from 9 to 5.10 every day with a full hour for lunch. The work was interesting and varied. It was never tedious or dull. There was always a problem to be solved. Every problem was enjoyable and sometimes required a certain amount of thought. Sometimes I was involved in quite important things I thought could end up historical. None did. All my work colleges except one were helpful and friendly. My day was a total joy from beginning to end. I was certainly never bored. I was always happy to go to work every day. I woke up each day with an expectation I would be doing good things. I was aware of the concept of the pursuit of happiness.

I am reminded of this job when I see a person in charge of their desk. When a person sits at their desk and says via their body language that they are in control of the desk and with it the job I am always thankfully reminded of my earlier life. I was in charge of my desk also. I controlled whatever situation that came up. I knew that I was the best person for this job. There was no one else who could do it as well as me. I sat happily in the chair at the desk.

But unfortunately I have more bad triggers than good ones. I have a lifetime of triggers. Hardly any are benign.

I have done a lots of things I regret and they all have triggers that remind me from time to time. I am always filled with a sense of deep remorse when a bad memory is triggered. After the trigger is set off for some time I am filled with an overwhelming sense of shame. This is sometimes hard to erase. I am sometimes filled with such regret that I cannot function for some minutes.

I like to believe this is common for all humans.

Triggers rule our lives.

But I am not so sure if this is for all Australians.

Neville Gibb
November 2021

If I hadn’t played golf on that Sunday afternoon in August 1994, Reg Smith, my golf partner on the day, may not have asked me one of the most important questions of my life, “How would you like to join our Lion’s Club”.   I already knew all the club members, in fact I had been at boarding school with at least two of them and had long admired what they were doing within our community.  In replying in the affirmative to his question, I was introduced to Lions Clubs International.  Little did I realize what a journey that answer would take me on.
 
My induction evening, to say the least, had a somewhat disastrous beginning.  Vin Hanrahan, another local, and I arrived at the Lake Bolac pub where the local Lions club had their dinner meetings, only to find an empty dining room.  The publican was “in the dark”, so to speak, on where the members were.   A few minutes later, Jim Hinton, a Lion from Skipton arrived.  Jim, the Regional Chairman, was visiting that night to induct both Vin and yours truly into Lions.  
 
Salvation arrived in the shape of David McKay.  David true to form, was somewhat tardy with his arrival times at Lions meetings and this night wasn’t very different than any in the past. Why he decided to call into the pub that night and not drive on to the meeting place for that evening, we will never know, but he did.  He also knew that the dinner that night was at the Maroona pub. 
 
The four of us set off on the road for Maroona, only to arrive thirty minutes late.   Oh well!   All was sorted out and after many apologies from the secretary, the evening went off with much celebration, for the club had reached double membership numbers, a whole ten of us.
 
I had only been at the club for a couple of months, when we had the annual DG’s visit.  I was to find out what a DG was in the guise of Lion Colin Kennett, the District Governor in the 1994/95 year.  I remember Colin congratulating the club on increasing its membership by twenty percent, a huge increase percentage wise. While only two members in actual numbers, it was nevertheless quite an upward movement in membership. In the ten years I spent in the Lake Bolac Club we increased our numbers to a lofty seventeen, just three shy of our Charter number in 1975.   Not bad really, when you consider that the town’s population had declined to only one hundred and twenty-five adults.  Just under fourteen percent of the adult population were Lions. I don’t think many clubs could boast of being above that figure!!!!
 
All Lions in the club had a position and my first was, Social Director.  I had to organize dinner meetings, invite the guest speakers, as well as organize any other social events that came the club’s way.
 
One of the fun events we participated in was the “Cream Can”.  This involved visitations to other clubs in Zones eight, nine and ten. The general theme was that whichever club had the Can, would make a visitation to one of the other clubs within the three Zones, leaving the Can with that club.   They would also “pinch” a piece of that club’s memorabilia, usually the Gong, to be ransomed.  This meant a visitation to the thieving club’s next dinner meeting with a sum of money to buy back the object that had mysteriously walked!!  This was all in jest and was taken as “par for the course”. Getting back to the Can, for each week that a club had the Can in their possession, they had to insert money through the slot in its lid.  If I remember correctly, it was five dollars, but I can’t be too sure about the amount.
 
In our Lions Zone, we had six Clubs - Ararat, Lake Bolac and District, Mortlake, Skipton and Stawell. We held annual inter zone games nights for many years, with the winning club having the honour of holding the “Lion” [a stuffed Lion], for the next twelve months.
 
The games were made up of such demanding pursuits as, darts, putting golf balls, hooky, bobs and anything else that could wile away the evening.  Points were awarded on club size and the winner took home the “Lion”.
 
Each club took it in turns to supply the evening meal, which usually consisted of a BBQ and accompanying food - nothing out of the ordinary for a Lions club.   However, I do remember that once my club, “Bolac”, decided to put on a “you beaut” meal catered for by “Fabulous Feasts”, a company that supplied spit roast meals.  This caused a little consternation from the other clubs, for it had raised the bar somewhat and had set the standard for any future events.  
 
This situation was short lived, however, for before the next year’s competition was held, the Lion was incinerated.
 
With Willaura being the winning team, the “Lion” was given to Lion Nico, “The Laughing Dutchman”, for safe keeping.  Unfortunately, Nico’s house was burnt to the ground, with the “Lion” incinerated inside. 
 
Rather sadly, it was ordained that this would be the end of the inter zone games night.  Such a pity, because it was such a great event to bring all the Lions and their Lions Ladies in the surrounding clubs together.
 
Before I close, I must make mention of our Lions Ladies, who supplied all those lovely lunches and dinners we enjoyed over such a long period of time. Without their input there would have been a lot of hungry Lions prowling around the area.  Not a good thought, as it’s often said that you don’t get between a hungry lion and his meal!!!
 
 
David Lowing
November 2021