Childhood Camperdown 1950’s-60’s

Myself about 3-4yrs at Manifold st, home in Camperdown.

My mother had just unwrapped my new cane basket which had arrived in the mail from my father who was away on an adventure restoring an historic property on Norfolk Island. (Boarding House  which was supposed to be Fletcher Christian’s House). The presents he brought back were exotic, silver and Chinese-inspired  bracelet for my mother along with huge shells I could blow into and feel the lustrous pink insides from a Pacific world far from Camperdown. They were exciting and interesting and fed my imagination and taste for adventure.

The Spare Room…. My Domain….Making …Sewing …..Concocting …Perusing…It rained often..lots of spare time. Lots of time to imagine….

The Dress-Up Room at Leura Farm was abundant with jewellary to die for and fabulous trunks of clothing and furs… You could imagine being aboard a  glamorous Ocean Ship dressing up for dinner and parading around with all your friends. 
My mother was with all the other local matrons scoffing jam and cream and unending cups of tea whilst we played. We were perfectly safe and happy to have unfettered time out from adults. When I stayed there with the two girls,  Dianne and “Tooty” who lived with their mum, Gwen Knox and her husband.   
I could wander through the Blacksmiths forge and other outbuildings and up on Mt Sugarloaf,  past the cows, onto land covered in yellow daisies. They had a genuine old style Rocking Hose which I loved to climb on and have imaginary adventures. They had the best book collection featuring “Snugglepot and Cuddlepie ” which became favourites very quickly. The big feature was the “roll-piano” which allowed me to play famous and not so famous songs to my heart’s content by putting in another roll and playing the pedals. They actually had cupboards full of rolls of music and other amazing things to explore.  The Butter factory produced Leura Butter at the time. Most special things seemed to have the “Leura” name in them. The milkie delivered our bottles of milk to the door as he clip-clopped down Manifold st past our house. Mrs Clarke, whom I visited sometimes gave me a copy of “Alice in WonderLand” when I was about 8, which I still have. Exploring the way I did , I felt a great affinity with Alice.
Wandering through old bluestone  mansions featuring Colonial murals and earlier way of  way of life such as “Purrumbete Homestead” and “Meningoort” and their  outbuildings with coaches literally fit for the Queen’s visits. “Talindert” was where the Queen and other Royalty stayed when they travelled through here on visits to Australia. Eugene Von Geurard went between properties like “Meningoort” sketching and painting the countryside and the huge properties that had been settled. 
The big thing about all the explorations and wanderings was the freedom we all had as children at that time.
The Botonical Garden with monkeys and ducks and the occasional “swaggie” staying there. I loved going up to the old gardens when the big ponds held the green and brown ducks that scooted and glided in the waters there.
 It was exciting to visit the old Indian Hawker when he arrived in town in his covered wagon to watch my mum buy exotic curry powders and other things. He used to park in an empty spot at the Manifold end of Fergusson St.
There were friends and locals who often came to the door with freshly shot wild ducks but more consistently a fresh rack of rabbits to eat. Until “Mixo” My mother’s kitchen held a big assortment of foods that were a big like a Victorian feast at times. Foods I couldn’t possibly create like Pig’s heads and trotters and Tongue and brains and liver and pickled eel.I was never sure whether to take flight on seeing half a pig’s head standing up here on the kitchen bench or a poor bunny’s body blanching in salt water in the sink , but it was all tasty and we all grew up healthy and open to experiencing different cuisines.
My Aunty Nell was the Manager of Eckt’s Drapery Shop in Camperdown and we were always kept in the best dresses and hats “hot from the rag-trade in Melbourne’s Clothing shops amidst the Laneways. Going to Melbourne was always with hats and gloves and bags to match. LOL. It was unusual for a woman to have such a great job before the war like my Aunty did. Part of it was the fact that my Aunt was smart and competent but the other aspect of it was my father had seen Mr Eckt being bashed up on the streets of Melbourne shortly after he arrived here as Polish Jewish refugee. My father didn’t know him but disagreed with him being beaten by a group of thugs and waded in and rescued him. Mr Eckt never forgot the kindness and rekindled a friendship later on in the country with my father and his “new” family-the Healy’s . He provided work and friendship always, I had my first job working at Eckts ; when my father died he was among the first to offer support to my mother. He was a very decent man who never forgot a kindness. He introduced Jewish cakes to the workforce and myself which he brought up from Elwood or St Kilda usually once a week and made sure I knew how to make a decent cup of tea to go with them.
It lead onto me designing and making a new outfit each fortnight with the help of Mrs Salau, a local dressmaker, to go to the local dance where I could dance my heart out. Brian Gaut was in charge of fabrics at Eckts and later had his own shop and I developed a passion for fabric and designing and making your own clothes.  I spent hours of listening to music like “Chattanooga Choo Choo” from our parents to my own “Surfer Girl”. Friends and myself danced and created concerts and  entertainment afternoons ; Maree Thomas ,my friend from the Convent and I  swapped stand-up lines back and forwards, laughing till we dropped. I loved going out to the Huland’s farm outside Cobden where I got to ride a horse, learnt to gallop and laugh as I found myself on my knees in the paddock having slid down the horse’s neck when it stopped abruptly and  with great gusto..got rid of me. The Huland’s family used to make their own butter and cream from their dairy. They were very kind and it was very olde worlde. Ros set me up tho for my first kiss at thirteen at the Cobden Picture Theatre. Wasn’t sure of what to make of it at the time. Climbing Mt Leura at the weekend was an enjoyable way to pass the day with a top view in the middle of it.
Any sunny day was an excuse to riding bicycles along hedgerows and picking mushrooms with my mother and sister. The hedgerows still remain out of town and between places like Noorat, Glenormiston and Camperdown and I hope they stay forever but there seems to be talk of ripping them out-with what?-barbed wire fences!
Being picked at school to do Correspondence Art with two other friends  because we were good at Art and the nuns couldn’t teach us what they couldn’t do themselves. 
Choosing to go with my education despite one priest denouncing University as a “den of iniquity”- time I walked out of the church at 14 thinking how dreadfully ignorant and impoverishing that sermon was. I continued onto Camperdown High School especially especially because  of the Art education it offered . Brilliant Art and Literature teachers. “Chips” Colvan and David Bradshaw and Barry Breen -the poetic guru. Loved French too!  Avid Love of Art, Design, Nature. Literature Language and Storytellng