“My mother May’s life must have been hard, washing was done weekly in the laundry room under the flats where we lived in Coogee. She’d put money in the gas meter to boil water for the copper, emptied by bucket with a hand wringer for the clothes which were hand rinsed & wrung out again, then pegged out on the long lines held up by props in the back yard. There were 8 flats and only 7 days. We each had our day in the laundry which only had 2 sets of tubs & boilers. As kids we used to help, wringing out the blankets & sheets by twisting them tight.
Mum did all the shopping, cooking and housework as well as managing 2 kids at school with precut lunches and I also needing to be taken for exercises regularly as a result of contracting Polio. Her mother Bessie, aged 80 in 1949, helped a great deal with us kids but she died in 1956.
Shopping was done at the Coogee Bay Road Shopping area. Cold foods were kept in a green ice chest, ice being delivered in large blocks by a delivery service. The iceman would carry the block of ice with large tongs, leaving it in the top section of the chest if mum was home or on a hessian bag in the entrance if not. On rare occasions we would collect hail stones as a top up.
Fruit & Veg’s were available just around the corner at the tram terminus, as were ice cream cones, small tubs, or cardboard wrapped blocks which we would nick down to
get at the end of the Sunday Roast. Our cat Tippy used to lick the empty cardboard clean. Full cream milk was delivered each morning. A man would come running down the steps with his large container & ladle it into our billycan which was left at the front door with the correct money. The cream would rise to the top & set. Mum used to separate the cream and it was a great treat.
Fresh bread was also delivered daily from the Sunshine Bakery by horse & cart, large loaves with rounded crunchy tops. We kids used to get given freebies by the man, loving the still warm doughy white centres. We collected the manure for Gran’s garden pots when we could.
Stones Milkbar and Cabaret served large milk shakes in metal containers which you then poured the contents into tall fluted stemmed glasses yourself. They had
beautiful timbered & mirrored walls with bench seats in pairs with high backs with a table between. At the rear up a few steps behind movable screens was the large wooden dance floor. The stage area at the rear had a set of narrow windows set high up which looked out onto a lane. We used to sneak down there at weekends to see & hear the band playing, & were often chased away by the bouncer.
I was born on the 17th March 1942 in Parkes NSW. We lived at Coogee until 1959 before moving to Punchbowl. When I was 4 years old I contracted Polio and consequently had to spend many weeks in the Royal Children’s Hospital in Camperdown in an iron lung. My only memory of those weeks is lying on my back with a mirror above my head so I could see what was behind me outside the iron lung. I was fitted with many splints, plaster casts and corsets until having a spinal fusion to my upper spine in 1957 at the age of 15. This was done in Sydney Hospital by Dr Hodgekinson. During that treatment I had to remain in hospital and lie flat on my back in a full plaster cast for a few months until the bone fused. After that I spent 6 months in the cast at home and had some homeschooling through Blackfriars by post. During that period I spent 3 years at Coogee Public school, 2 years at Randwick High and did my Intermediate certificate at Punchbowl Boys High.
I’ve lived a fairly normal life. Polio people tend to be stubborn and insist they do everything for themselves. It’s a trait that develops so everything I’ve done, I’ve done as a challenge basically.
My first job was as a trainee at Stromberg Carlsons in Alexandria who were well established producers of radios and TVs. I worked and bought my first bomb car which was an Austin Wasp 8hp soft top.
I then went on to complete a Radio Trades Certificate, a TV Certificate & an Electronics & Communication Cert at North Sydney Gore Hill Tech. There I met a fellow named Brian who by coincidence lived around the corner from us in Bankstown. He is still one of my closest friends. Sadly Stromberg Carlson closed due to financial problems. It was a great innovative company that had a fully automated assembly line producing TV’s & Transistor radios, the 1st in the southern hemisphere.
I then worked for Rolls Radio [RadioGram Manufacturers] In Enfield for a while until a friend persuaded me to join Qantas as an aircraft Tech so from 1966 to 1986 I was an Electronics Tech/Leading hand at Mascot until I retired after 21 years aged 44. During my years at Qantas I did many training courses overseas & toured southern England,
parts of America, China in 1980, New Zealand & Fiji a few times.
I had many camping holidays in Australia in my Galant Station Wagon travelling through the Snowy Mountains, The Victorian coast, Birdsville Track and Central & North Queensland. I went on the inaugural Rail journey, with a Qantas work friend Tim, on the standard gauge track from Sydney to Perth on the Western Endeavour. I loved travelling our country.
I moved to Dunoon in the Lismore Area into a house which I had built to lock up stage but it was an empty shell when I moved into it and over the next few years I completed it myself. Everything you see inside here has been done by me. Even a lot of the furniture I built myself. I did electronic repairs at home for several years and restored a beautiful Vintage car, a 1924 Vauxhall 14/40 which I had bought for my father to restore in 1968. I did some travelling in America with friends and travelled around Australia in 2002 in Toyota Pop top Hi Ace van for 5 months.
I travelled around central/southern QLD in my van with Dunoon friends Dave & Joan. During my life I travelled numerous times to “EAGLE FIELD” a sheep farm near Cooma. I loved life down there & had countless holidays, trout fishing, shooting & helping out at shearing time.
Before I left I decided I needed something to do on my way round the country so I took up Watercolour painting. I went to a couple of classes and gradually learnt how to paint. I did a lot of sketching and painting on the trip and I’ve carried that on ever since. I hadn’t done art at all before that. I’m quite sure that anybody can do anything if they put the time and the effort in and keep at it, as long as you’re physically able you can do it. I’m 81 now. I still do all my own cooking, cleaning and shopping. I just don’t vacuum, a lady comes in to do that. I’ve never been in love, there’s no time in my life for love. Everyone has regrets in their life but it just never happened for me.
Last year a little Numulgi group started up doing art on a Tuesday evening. So I went along with another lady in town and I’ve started my painting again and now I’m selling a few. I’ve sold about 7 so far. At the moment there is 25 of my paintings exhibited at the Dunoon Sports Club. If anyone would like to contact me to see my work or to buy a painting please let me know.”
Footnote – I actually bought one of Ron’s paintings whilst doing this interview. It’s lovely. Do yourself a favour and check out his work. Ron’s number is 0497388926.
x Denise.
