SO MANY MEMORIES 
Marie Parton (Nee Loaring)

It’s a whole mile and we have to walk it whether it’s a hot February day or a cold wet one in mid-winter. I wonder how many steps there are in a mile? Maybe today I’ll count them, just to see. Yes, we’ve got our lunches, and we won’t be late – we’ve lots of time. So out between the big round gate posts and across the road that leads to Hackett’s Gully. Our way goes down a little hill, and on the right there’s the gravel pit. It’s an interesting place with lots of curtain spider’s nests, and some big roots sticking out of the bank. There’s a hovea growing there, and a pink myrtle, and that wild violet that’s covered with little purple flowers in the autumn. Oh, and there’s a Fairies Wardrobe bush with lots of little petticoats hanging out to dry.

MARIE LOARING
 

The road goes along a flat bit now, with a bank and a drain on the right side and our bush paddock on the left. There’s a drumstick blackboy. Dad says it’s the only one around here and we’re not allowed to touch it. Now round a corner to the left and we start down the big hill. The gravel on the road is very loose and if you run and jump you can slide quite a long way. Of course we must walk on the right side of the road, just in case a car comes along, but the luck tree is over on the left, and we all have to have a poke at the luck pots. The red stuff will be dry when we come home, and we’ll see who has got the biggest bit.

Another bend to the right, and this is where we’ve seen the snake. I wonder if it’s there today. Can’t see anything, though it’s probably there in the leaves. At the bottom of the big hill the land slopes up to the right and there’s lots of pretty flowers in the bush up there. Sometimes we even find a spider orchid. There’s some whistle bushes. If you take off the hard outside bit, and pull out the buds and things in the middle without breaking the thin bit on the edge-there, that’s a good whistle. I’ll make three and blow them all together so it sounds like a fairy flute.

Now we’re walking on the flat again, and the road surface is hard clay with hardly any loose gravel at all. It’s lovely and slippery in the winter and sometimes we can find a spring of water bubbling out of the ground at the side of the road. If you’re early enough you can “acky” them by putting a ring of stones around them, but the Palmer boys nearly always find them first. Down a small hill and the Palmer place is on the left with a big palm tree in front. Then along another flat bit. The brook through Palmer’s place has a dam in it in the summer. Boy! We’ll be swimming there in the holidays. Whitesides is on the right, then round the corner and there’s a swampy sort of place where you can find those white milkmaid flowers and more springs if you’re lucky. I wish the Palmers didn’t always find them first. They won’t if we poke a stick in to make the water run faster.

Now we’ve come to the bridge over the brook. In winter it’s sometimes almost a banker roaring down through the valley at the bottom of Green’s place, but now it’s clear and sparkly with a lovely creeky smell. Let’s drop a stick in this side and see how long it takes to come out the other. There it is now! Just listen to the frogs, there must be a lot of taddies in the water. I can see one that’s got legs and that other one looks like a frog but it’s still got a tail and look! There’s a gilgie. Better wait till this afternoon before we try to catch it. There’s a beaut big log lying in the bracken over there. It’s a bit high to climb up on it, but once you’re there you can see all around you. “I’m king of the castle”.

Uphill now and Mr. Bateman’s place on the left has a big deep drain running alongside the fence. Wonder if we can walk in it right to the end without him catching us! Wow! We made it! Never mind the dirt, most of it will brush off. Past Bateman’s house where Mrs. Blamire lives. She has a nice garden and you can smell honeysuckle and wisterias, and in the big canary cage the birds are singing in the morning sun.

Still going uphill and round a corner to the right. Here too the road is smooth and clayey, and in the grass by the side there are often mushrooms to be found. Sometimes you’re lucky enough to find one that the Palmer’s haven’t ackied. I’ve got enough Jack daisies to make a daisy chain, and look at all the pretty pink flowers on the Guildford grass. There’s a stork plant. If you hold up that brown one in the sun the seeds will all curl round and round like corkscrews.

Another bend, and now we’re going downhill, past Green’s house. It looks a bit spooky with all those trees and creepers around it. There’s an oleander by the roadside, but of course it’s deadly poisonous and we know not to touch it. We can pick up the leaves under the Norfolk Island pine and if you twist the thick end and tug, you can pull out the middle bit like a cutlass. I’ve got two good ones, and mine are bigger than yours.

Still going downhill, past Green’s shed and paddock and another bit of swamp where there’s lots of ti-trees and bracken. It’s a good place to hide when the boys are chasing you. Elephant rock is up there at the top of the hill – let’s go and explore it this afternoon. There’s a persimmon tree down there. It has pretty leaves in the autumn, and the fruit looks good to eat –Yuk! I don’t like the taste. Wish we could go down there and play.

Around another corner, up the bank and through the gate – gosh there goes the bell! Sorry we’re late Miss Solman, but it’s at least a million steps from home!

BONFIRE NIGHT

One of the most eagerly anticipated events of the school year was Bonfire night. For several weeks before the fifth of November we were given history lessons on the significance of Guy Fawkes and his plot to blow up King James and the English Parliament. The effigy of Guy Fawkes was made from old working clothes sewn together and stuffed with dry grass. To add a bit of colour, the grass was mixed with powdered copper sulphate, which burned with blue flames. The Guy had a hat and boots, his fingers were crackers and his nose was fashioned from soap, which, when the blaze was lit, was the first thing to melt and slip off his face. The P & C provided a big box of fireworks, and from this younger children were given sparklers and (Throw downs” which were paper discs filled with quartz chips and gunpowder, and which made a very satisfactory bang when thrown on the hard ground. The older children were given crackers, which were red or green and came in two sizes, the small ones being known as “Tom Thumbs”. There were also “Penny Bombs” which were about the size of a shot gun cartridge and were the favourite of the boys who liked to terrorise the girls if they could catch them unawares. “Jumping Jacks” were also popular, as they were unpredictable, spitting and sparking in all directions. Through the evening, the adults set off various coloured pieces such as “Roman Candles”, “Traffic Lights”, “Golden Rain”, “Silver Stars” and a number of others. The most spectacular of all were the “Catherine Wheels’ and “Sky Rockets”. On one occasion the weather decided to contribute to the fireworks by staging a spectacular thunder storm. WE had more than a fair share of flashes and bangs on that night. Sometimes the bigger boys got a little too exuberant and had to be cautioned, but generally the children had been taught to be responsible, and there were very few accidents. The day after the bonfire was always fun as we searched the ground for “Squibs” which had not gone off. These could be bent and half broken, and when lit would hiss and flare. There are many of us who regret that Bonfire Night has become a memory.

FREE STOCK

The pain of going back to school after the summer holidays was alleviated somewhat by the arrival of the free stock, usually in the first or second week of the new term. It was always delivered packed in a large tea box, and the children were allowed to help unpack it and store the new things in the big brown cupboard. There a few new text books – Swan and Temple Readers, Swan geography books, arithmetic books and so on. There were always new boxes of blackboard chalk, and sometimes a couple of blackboard dusters. Boxes of pencils, pen holders and shiny new nibs were unpacked and stored away. The ink came in powder form, and it was the job of the bigger boys to make sure the inkwells were filled each day with a mixture of powder and water to the right proportions. More treasures came out of the tea box such as pads in two sizes and brand new exercise books. These had tables and weights and measures printed on the back of them. Then came copy books and transcriptions book which were supposed to make us all into good writers. There were cottons and materials for sewing classes, a number of bits and pieces for use in the boy’s manual lessons. Sometimes there was a new mop or broom head, or some other bit of equipment essential in the school rook. When the box was emptied, it was broken up into sheets of three-ply and later used by the boys for fret work. There was something very exciting about the arrival of the free stock.

APRIL FOOL

Miss Sloman had set the mouse trap behind the piano the night before, and on April 1^st when she arrived at school, the boys called her to the back of the room to see that there was a mouse in the trap. There was no mouse there at all, and Miss Sloman was an April Fool. When we came back into school from playtime, the boys again called out excitedly that there was a mouse in the trap. “Oh no!” said Miss Sloman “You can’t catch me like that twice!” So one of the boys held up the mouse trap and there was a mouse in it! Miss Sloman was April Fooled again! For the rest of the day the boys seemed to have more than usually wide grins on their faces. Is it possible that they had taken the mouse out of the trap early in the morning and put it back later?

THE EARTH TREMOR

As we were sitting in school one day, just after lunch, there was a sort of jolt and the whole school started to rock. Through the window we could see water slopping out of the tank and the room was shaking and rattling. Miss Sloman was standing in the doorway holding onto the frame, and she said afterwards that at first she thought she was having some sort of dizzy spell. The shake lasted less than a minute, and when it was over there was a sort of silence. Then Miss Sloman said “I think we’ve just had an earth tremor”. We found out much later that the fault had occurred somewhere up near Moora, but sitting in school that day it felt as if it was right underneath us.

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

When the school P & C arranged a Christmas tree for the children, they put a lot of work and effort into making it a special night. There was delicious party food and a huge Christmas tree sparkling with decorations. We had the special treat of ice-cream made in a hand turned ice-cream churn, and there was music and dancing and games. Each child was presented with a gift from the Christmas tree and every gift, wrapped in pretty paper, was just right for the boy or girl who received it. It was Boans and the P & C who were to thank for that. The mothers made out a list of all the children with the name, sex and age, and this list was posted off with an amount of money to Boan’s store in Perth where the gifts were chosen, wrapped and packed, and then sent to the school. Whoever it was who chose those presents at Boans rarely if ever made a mistake.

Article:           Marie Parton (Nee Loaring)

Image:         Kalamunda & Districts Historical Society

Copyright : Gordon Freegard  2008 - 2023