MY CHILDHOOD IN THE OUTBACK (Cont’d)
It was during my childhood that I also discovered my passion for writing and drawing. Mum used to order huge rolls of butcher’s paper and I used to draw on it. Obviously Mum bought it for a reason but it certainly served as excellent drawing paper for me. To satisfy the writing passion at the time, I started to find penfriends and write to them. Our weekly mail day was on Saturday and one of the highlights of my week was to watch for the first tiny speck of dust in the far distance, indicating that they mail truck was on its way. By ‘mail truck’- it was our station utility and either my father or uncle would be driving it. They also collected the weekly groceries, newspapers for the week and anything else that had been ordered and sent up.
But it was the mail that I wanted. I used to grab the bag and open it in the station office. I absolutely loved seeing the thick envelopes addressed to the eldest daughters of our then-boundary rider. Those girls seemed to do a heck of a lot of letter writing – and all this did was to whet my appetite for the same. I really wanted to receive some thick envelopes. And that’s when my love for letter writing began – and which has continued with me to today and has also evolved into my book writing.
Socially, life has changed too, with improved communication, transport and roads. But when we were growing up, apart from the above, local towns had their annual horse racing carnivals which were a lot of fun. And another annual event which alternated between our station and two others was the New Year’s Eve party. One of the other two stations was about half way up to Broken Hill in NSW and the second, about an hour away on the other side of our nearest ‘town’ (it was mapped out as a town but never eventuated). I went along with Mum and Dad and any friends I had staying. One such party comes to mind – it was on the former station mentioned above – the one which is half way to Broken Hill. Normally, the same people attended these parties – all stations people and some traveled very long distances to attend. Well – out there, with the huge distances involved, if you weren’t prepared to travel, you didn’t have a social life. However, at this particular one, two ‘new’ people attended – and you could have knocked me over with a feather when the first person entered. It was one of my boarding house mistresses and her brothers who lived on a station further east. I know I felt slightly odd when I returned to school, knowing she was also there.
Times Have Changed
Naturally, there have been a heck of a lot of changes in the 40 odd years since I left school. Not only with legislation and many other aspects but also with the school itself. It never had a lot of land but what it did have was very pretty. The school used to have several tennis courts, but they appear to have been replaced by buildings.
At the time of my last visit, I had flown over to accompany my elderly mother to one of the annual luncheons that the Old Scholars’ Association held, this one specifically being for the over 70s. It was held in the new boarders’ dining room, all part of one of the boarding houses. I was quite stunned when I saw it all – the last time I had seen it it was just quite different. This dining room and new kitchen have been housed in extensions of the boarding house – I believe this also acts as the tuckshop now. That used to be housed at one end of the running track up near the top of the school. In those days, there was one little door in an older building and this was where the boarders used to be served afternoon tea. Not any more. Those days are long gone.
Back to that over 70s luncheon. After I’d eaten I left Mum reminiscing with some of her friends and I took the opportunity to have a good look through the boarding house as it is now (or was when I last visited – it could have changed again since then). Off I went after gaining permission from a couple of the staff members. The first door I went through opened into the old hallway of that boarding house. This I recognised. To the left was another hallway which used to lead to the old sick bay. This used to simply resemble another dormitory, with a couple of beds and a few other bits of furniture. But, like most other things, it has been upgraded considerably – and there was even a special nurses’ bay. However, for some reason, I don’t think it is used as a sick bay any more – there is another name for it but that completely escapes me, if I ever knew it in the first place. I am not sure where it is now but I am sure it is very modern and functional.
I continued down the hallway, passing two doors on the left, both of which were still dormitories. A bit further down at the ‘t’ junction – turn left and you are in the bathroom. Turn right and you are heading to the main lounge and the old dining room. You also used to be heading towards the set of long, steeps steps that took you down to the two downstairs dormitories – and down which I was pushed once and another time fell all of my own accord. These have since been boarded up, I am glad to say. They were a health hazard. And the door which used to be right in the middle of the ‘t’ junction and which used to lead to the head boarding housemistress’ bedroom, has been bricked over. Instead, you now go around the corner and there is an office, complete with a lady hard at work. Presumably the boarding house reception area as the main front door to the building is at the end of that hallway.
I introduced myself to this lovely lady and she welcomed me warmly. She then took me on a bit of a guided tour, which was very interesting and I appreciated greatly. She did show me the old dining room. I can’t remember what it is now. Then we moved away from that boarding house, across an enclosed walkway and to the boarding house that I lived in after moving from the very old one over the administration block all those years ago. The actual building of this new boarding house seemed to be exactly the same. No additions. However, the interior – wow. This lady took me straight upstairs to the first dormitory wing. Only it’s no longer dormitories – these girls have a real home away from home. They have separate little individual cubicles with a bed, wardrobe, dresser, chair, bedside table and desk. Each one has a curtain across the doorway for privacy. I would have loved that. I didn’t count the number of these but they were side by side all the way down the corridor, where there used to be three dormitories housing four beds each, as well as the one at the very end, with five beds. This wing probably still sleeps the first year (Year 8) boarders. There is a second identical wing in this building, which would have held the second years (Year 9). At the opening of both these wings, before heading down to the cubicles, was a TV room. There was at least one very comfortable looking lounge as well as a couple of chairs and a table. We didn’t have any of this. These girls are so lucky. But that’s easily said – I imagine the generation before ours would have said the same about us – and so on.
We did have the use of three TV sets at different stages throughout my boarding life. Although I don’t think we had a TV at all when I was in Grade 7, in that very first boarding house. At the end of the day, after lessons finished, many of the girls played sports, just as they do today. Or any of a number of other things – whereas I very possibly wrote letters. Evenings during the week would have been much the same as they are now – homework, supper and bed. I suspect that hasn’t changed a lot, if at all. And on the weekends? I honestly cannot remember that first year. But in the following years, I think many of the girls played sports, some inter-school matches, on Saturday mornings. Then in the afternoons, the school did organise for us all to have an outing. We would go by bus – to the beach, to a movie, to the zoo or any of a number of other places. I think some girls also used to go out with relations or friends in the afternoon. I rarely did – certainly not at the beginning. There were also annual events that we used to attend – the boys’ Head of the River being one. This was a rowing regatta/competition held on the River Torrens and we used to go down to watch and support whatever school we chose. That’s actually the only annual day time weekend event that I can recall but I am sure there were others. The girls’ rowing regattas started many years later.
Saturday evenings were mainly spent in front of the TV. While, as mentioned, we did not have a TV in my very first years there, in subsequent years there was a set in one of the downstairs rooms in the old original boarding house, where that ‘Over 70s’ lunch was held. The seating arrangement was a table – first come, first served. There were also a couple of chairs but I was never quick enough to claim one of them. Once the new boarding house had been built, there were the two downstairs rooms – common rooms – (under the dormitories) – one of these was barely used and the other one had the TV as well as a small kitchenette. This latter one was also used for the odd socials we used to have with some of the boys’ schools. Now the common room that we used as a TV room is full of computers so these days the girls can do their prep between their own little rooms and the computer room. No trekking up through the school to the library for them – which is what we had to do. In those years, we had to walk up en masse through the grounds, as we did get prowlers occasionally and we were not allowed to walk around by ourselves after dark, for good reason – our own safety.
We did go to church on Sunday mornings. The Anglican service was held in a local church and we had to walk in a ‘crocodile’ (two long lines, walking in couples) there and back. There was also a Congregational church somewhat closer and which seemed to hold a more popular service so a lot of the girls ‘changed over’ to that one during their years at the school, irrespective of their faith. This did not appear to bother the school staff – as long as we attended one service, that was the main thing. In the afternoon, again some girls were invited out with others outside the school.
To Be Continued Next Blog
One of the currently hard parts of life in the outback. Balladonia is between Norseman and Cocklebiddy heading toward Adelaide from Perth.
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