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| Sacred Heart School seen from the Porch of the church. |
BRIGHT HOPES
FOR THE FUTURE
Last Thursday,
I had the privilege and pleasure of speaking to the students of both Year One
Classes at Sacred Heart School in our suburb on Sydney's North Shore.
My Granddaughter had been asked to volunteer a Grandparent to speak to
the combined classes about life when he/she was the same age as the children
are now. Six years old - and how far away 1946 seems to me - but it is only 65
years ago, so I was glad to have the opportunity to see what these little Australians
are like as an audience.
So, after
attending 9.00am Mass at Sacred Heart Church on the Feast of Saint Leo the
Great, I headed up the path to the school to the Reception and Office. I was
duly signed in and pleasantly welcomed, but carefully cautioned that if I
needed to "use the facilities" I should not use the children's
Toilets!!Well, in 1946 no such caution would have been deemed necessary to a
visitor. Though I greeted the caution with a laugh, in truth, I found it a
distasteful reflection of how far we have slid down the path of the Nanny
State, and the witless fear of "something going wrong". Enough of
that. The Office staff phoned Mrs. S, my Granddaughter's Teacher and she sent her and her best friend along to escort me to the Classroom. This they did in fine
style, proudly pointing out the various features of the school as we went.
As we passed
the Hall, Emily stopped to wave to her Mum, my daughter , who with other
Mothers was supervising a pre-schoolers play group. Her mother’s return wave and warm smile sent us
on our way. Arriving at the classroom, I found about 40 little Australians of a
wide range of national and racial backgrounds sitting in orderly fashion and
well behaved, on the carpeted floor of their colorful Classroom. Mrs. S was there and then Mr.H the Teacher of the second half of Year One joined
us. Mrs. S introduced me and reminded the children of the background -
their project to learn what life was like for their Grandparents. And so, I
launched into my presentation.
Firstly, I
told them that we would talk about my School in 1946, then about my home and food,
then about going "out”, then about transport, then about entertainment, about the
world as it was and about the latest things then available. And lastly but most
importantly we would talk about the Church.
I told the
children that I knew that their least favourite word would be "No"
and I apologized in advance for the fact that I would have to use it a lot! I
asked them to close their eyes and imagine their homes with:
No: TELEVISION
COMPUTER
INTERNET
TELEPHONES
REFRIGERATORS
DISH WASHER
WASHING MACHINE
DRYER
HOT WATER SYSTEM
CARPET
AIR CONDITIONING
FLUSHING TOILET
Already the
chorus of groans, and "But how did you...." and "That's
terrible..." and more had started before I asked them to now open their
eyes. I explained that although some of those things existed, we did not have
any of them, nor did our relatives, friends or neighbors.
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| My home in Berala from my 1940 birth until my 1970 Marriage. |
To explain how
we "survived" such fearful deprivation, I told them of the importance
of the Radio, in its black wooden cabinet which stood on the floor and rose to
about table height, and it's tiny dial and large speaker covered by a cloth
screen. My habit of sitting on the floor close to the Radio, listening to
"Canadian Pacific”, The Goon Show (some had heard of it and knew of Peter
Sellars and Spike Milligan).
We talked
about how the non-existence of the Internet meant relying on books, the Library
and the newspapers and the absence of Email meant relying on the mail, which
was delivered twice a day. Without computers we used handwritten letters, and
much more often paid visits to those we wanted to communicate with.
The lack of
refrigerators was covered by the Ice Box and we discussed the replacement of
its block of ice once a week in cool weather or twice a week in hot weather.
The lack of a hot water service meant my poor Mum having to carry large
containers of hot water from the gas stove to the bathroom, for my bath. Later
years brought first of all a gas heater at the end of the bath and later still
the true hot water service.
The absence of
carpet was made good by linoleum which Mr. H helpfully pointed out was
somewhat similar to a nearby patch of vinyl flooring, though not so flexible
and durable.
The absence of
the flushing toilet meant trips to the "little house “in the backyard and weekly visits
from the sanitary service to remove and replace the container- an unpleasant
subject!!
We moved on to
more pleasing matters with the subject of food. Because of the War, food was
rationed and people carefully managed their ration cards. They would save
ration stamps which came in a Bank Book sized card so that they could have
enough for special occasions such as Birthday Cakes etc. Rationing reduced the
demand for transport of non-essential goods and especially of shipping from
overseas. Everything was made to serve the idea of winning the War.
There was no
chocolate! Cries of HORROR from the kinder! What chocolate there was was kept
for the sailors, soldiers and airmen. But we had a next door neighbor who used
to have dealings with the soldiers (I never found out what or why) and he would
trade goods for their chocolate rations and give them to me.
Our milk was
delivered each day from the Dairy by the milkman in his horse-drawn cart with
its glass-lined tank. He would take our Billy Can and the money from our front
verandah and leave the milk there early in the morning.
The Baker also
delivered fresh, hot bread from his little pre-War red Ford Van. Only two types
existed square and round top! There was no sliced bread, it was strictly do-it-yourself!
Bread was delivered every day except Sunday.
The food we
ate was all very recognizable to-day:
Breakfast -
Corn Flakes/Porridge
Boiled Eggs or Scrambled
Eggs on Toast
Toast with Jam or Honey
Lunch - Sandwiches cut in triangles with
Devon/Roast Beef/
Corned Beef (LUNCH was called DINNER)
Tea - Sausages/Rissoles/Roast Beef/Roast
Lamb/ Steak
Vegetables: Carrots,
Cabbage, Cauliflower, Potatoes, Onions
(but no Broccoli or
Brussels Sprouts etc. which only came
To be available as a result
of post War immigration. We
Called those immigrants
"New Australians".) Tea is of
course, now called
"Dinner"!
For dessert we
would often have deep sponge .cakes halved and filled with cream or “mock cream" with jam. After the
War, ice cream became available in shallow cardboard packs known as
"bricks"(a brick of ice cream).
The flavor was Vanilla - later “rainbow ice cream: vanilla, chocolate,
strawberry began the flood of various ice cream treats.
Take away food
as an idea started with Chinese take away Restaurants. Again, the Billy Can was
pressed into service. But there had always been a number of Hamburger and Fish
and Chip Shops often combined in the one location. When I was very little three
pence (written 3d and pronounced "thrippence"or if you were English
"thrip pence") bought a good sized bag of chips. Then, to our horror
the price doubled in one jump to sixpence (6d that is from 2 1/2 cents to 5
cents in to-day's money).
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| Five Pound Note - the equivalent of Ten Dollars |
Our money in
those days was Pounds, Shillings and Pence: Dollars and Cents were American. It
did not seem worthwhile to burden the kinder with the intricacies of Pounds,
Shillings and Pence - they might have thought we were all quite silly!
When speaking
of my school, Saint Peter Chanel's Convent School, it became necessary to
explain "Nuns" to the kinder- because we had no lay teachers not one!
I told them of the Nuns decision to serve Our Lord alone and to give up
everything shown by wearing their religious habit (which I reminded the little
ones, they had seen in picture of Saint Mary of the Cross Mackillop". This
produced unanimous nods of agreement. I told them how the Nuns were so
completely dedicated to
Serving Our
Lord that they gave up there name and adopted a name in religion. Such names as
Sister Austin (an old English form of Augustine) and Sister Christina served to
give them examples.
I told them
what a very happy time I spent there, with the huge playing fields, and how I
used to walk twenty minutes each way to and from school.
I told the
kinder that we used to say Prayers at the beginning of each day, before Lunch
and at the end of each School day. I was able to circulate among them a 1975
copy of the green Catechism we had originally used to learn by heart.
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| My First Communion Class 1947 -I am front row second from the left of the picture. We are gathered around our beloved Irish PP Father Con Donovan.God rest his soul.How generous he was to give up his dear homeland to come out to us in the heat and the flies and a lifetime of struggle to build up the Parish. |
I told them
about our uniform of dark blue shorts, blue shirts and black boucle ties with
multiple pairs of horizontal gold stripes.
I had worn a
boucle tie to show the type of material. One little fellow realized that it was
made out of silk! Later I told them that I had gone on to Marist Brothers
Lidcombe and Darlinghurst.
Finally I told
them what great fun we had setting up the Church/School for Sunday Mass. This
was done at the close of school each Friday, and the boys would push open the
very high and heavy folding doors that divided up the classrooms and then, five
or six at a time, run the pews down to
the front of the building as fast as we could AFTER we had swept the whole
building clean. What fun and a great way to start the weekend!
When it came
to going "out" we had no Shopping Centre or Malls and for that
matter, no Supermarkets either! Our shopping needs were met by groups of
"corner shops" a Grocer, a Greengrocer and a Butcher. In bigger
suburbs, there would be a Delicatessen, a Ham and Beef Shop and shops for all
sewing and dressmaking requirements,jewellers shops and gift shops, and even
electrical goods shops (though the range of goods was MUCH smaller than to-day.
Then I told
the kinder how once a week during holiday time I used to go into town - the
City - with my Mum and Dad if he was not on shift work. Or, as an alternative
we sometimes went to Burwood. These were always interesting trips to me, seeing
more and more of the world.
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| Greatest of the Manly Ferries - S.S. SOUTH STEYNE |
When we went
to the Beach we travelled by train and then ferry to Manly our favorite beach.
I loved the trip on the ferry, especially as we crossed between the Heads where
the ocean swell always caused the ferry to pitch and roll a bit or a great deal
depending on the weather. I loved looking down into the engine room of the
steam powered ferries because of the smell of oil and steam, and the heat and
the sight of the great pistons and rods turning the cranks in the propeller
shaft. An added bonus on the trip was a packet of SMITHS POTATO CRISPS whose
salty taste seemed to complement the salt smell of the Harbour seawater.
Sometimes I
would go with friends across the Street to their favorite family beach at
Bronte. This involved traveling by train to Central Station then down to the
trams which travelled out to Bronte via Bondi Junction.
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| The typical tram of the day - straight out of the 1920's or even earlier perhaps. |
About once a
year there used to be a Parish Picnic usually by Bus to the Royal National
Park. These were good days with the extended family and Parish friends.
Transport in
our local area was by private bus- normally quite old and rather noisy and
bumpy. Trains were mostly electric, ALL single deckhand painted a dull red with
a gold stripe under the windows. There were still some steam trains from outer
western and South Western suburbs- I loved them- they always seemed
"alive" in some way.
We had no
cars, not our family, friends, neighbors or relatives. They were too expensive
and few people knew how to drive. After a few years the older children in
families left work, saved enough money and bought second hand cars, this was
the case for my older Brother.
Banks had no
ATMs. They opened between 10 am and 3pm, and 9.30 am and 12.00 pm on Saturdays-
during which time they were very crowded. Most tellers we're men about 35 years
old - it was thought one needed to be about that age to be trusted with the money.
Banks were made to look solid and serious places so that people would feel
confident about depositing their savings with them. The more important Banks,
in the City for example, we're built to be very strong, with heavy brass doors
and high windows with metal grills over them - to make the Banks safe from
attack. People still had in their minds the "run" on the Banks in
1929 at the beginning of the Great Depression. I explained to the children that
people became very worried about the Banks and all went to ask for their money
back. I explained that Banks COULD NOT give everyone their money back at once
because they lend it out to other people over periods of years. Banks only keep
say 10 to 15 per cent of their total deposits in cash to meet withdrawal needs.
So, I said, when you take your money to the Bank to deposit it they do not lock
it away and say “that is "Mary's money"! Toward the back of the
room one young gentleman's hand shot up like a rocket and goggle eyed he said
"They do with MY money!!!" I carefully assured him that he was Wong
and explained as simply as possible why it could not be done any other way.
Subdued, but deeply sceptical about Banks, he went along with what I had said.
I went on to
talk about the world as we knew it when I was little. Firstly, the rest of it
was a long way away. Few travelled overseas but the wealthy. Ships were the
least expensive, but they took 6weeks to reach England. Aeroplanes were VERY
expensive and took 2or3days to reach England allowing for stop overs to refuel
on multiple occasions.
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| Like all ships of the time OTRANTO was very old, perhaps 1920's and tired, in 1948,49,50 she and her sisters were to be replaced by the new Orcades, Orsova and Oronsay and later the 45,000 tons ORIANA |
The War just
finished in 1945, was the one thing that united everyone and still dominated
everyone's attitudes, thoughts and ideas. The only thing to rival it in the
minds of those old enough was the Great Depression (1929 to 1939) in which one
man in three was unemployed. The memory of this made people who lived through it,
like my parents, ultra cautious about money, about debt and about saving.
The War increased
Australia's friendship with the United States , which really saved us from
Japanese invasion, and, at the same time, it diminished our ties with England,
which had put Australia in a second rank of priority for most assistance. People
remembered and resented that, although as time passed it became less of an
issue.
Now we dealt
with the most important thing - the Church - most important why? Yes, I told
the children, because it was given to us BY GOD HIMSELF.
Leading the People and concentrating on God
Mass in those
days was said I Latin with the Priest mostly leading the People facing the
Altar all of them concentrating on God Who made us all and Who made EVERYTHING
that exists. It had been this way for about 1,600 years and before that, back
to Our Lord's time it had been said in Greek which everyone used at that time.
The Tabernacle
was fixed on the Altar, at its very centre, so that the focus of everyone's
attention was always Our Blessed Lord in the Tabernacle in the Blessed
Sacrament. The Church was FULL for three
Masses every Sunday and it was most often "Standing Room Only".
I especially
loved the Procession to the Altar of Repose on Holy Thursday. Love for Our Lord
in the Blessed Sacrament filled my heart and mind since I was about seven years
old.
The “latest things" in those days were.
Bakelite and plastics, I explained both to the littlies, with plenty of
examples. Not long after that would come pizza, which we first heard about in a
song sung by Dean Martin “when the Moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie...” That took a bit of explaining. Then
Coca Cola came back for the first time since the War began and then NEW cars
started appearing on the streets - wow! Everyone was excited about that and
many felt they could now afford one! A little bit later in 1956 came Black and
White Television and then Widescreen Movies.
I sought to
fix in the children's minds that very many things change and that change is
constant. But some things never change, and the principal one is God Himself always,
all powerful, loving and good.
I asked them
to be always confident in themselves, because God Himself had chosen to make
each one of them and He has a purpose for them as He does for each of us. So
they are special to God and He will help them to find their special purpose in
life as long as they do what is right and good and try their very best.
Mrs. S and Mr.H then invited the children to ask me questions. A forest of eager
hands went up. The questions were all very good and intelligent. However one
amazed me and the teachers as well. A very quiet young girl near the front of
the group fixed me with a steady look and a sympathetic smile:
"With all
that change, what did you find the most difficult to deal with?”!!! What had we here? A true child
psychologist?
It was a
seriously intended and thoughtful question way beyond her years. I thought
carefully and then told her it was the changes in the Mass. I found it very
difficult to accept the idea of the Priest looking at me when he is praying to
God. And I missed the noble Latin which I could always follow from my Missal
She nodded sagely, and I was surprised to notice a number of others also nodding in agreement.
As I said to them : if I am looking at you, what am I doing - I am gesturing
and projecting an image, performing to impress you -but the Priest's attention
and ours should be on God.
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