MEMORIES OF BYGONE DAYS by CARMEL WOODEN MEMORIES OF BYGONE DAYS ABOUT THIS BOOK In 1925, Carmel Margaret Davidson was born at Crows Nest, Queensland. Carmel tells the story of her childhood during the Depression years growing up in nearby Hampton, a small country town. Many of today’s landmarks in Hampton bear the names of families in the District, which Carmel vividly brings to life. Her father was the local butcher, and in those times of The Depression he was often paid with anything people had to trade. Her earliest recollections were of trying to find shelter from the cold winds on the range, while she made dolls clothes from leaves, artfully pinned together. When Carmel was fourteen years of age, around the start of World War II, she travelled alone by steam train to find employment in Brisbane. She lived in the heart of Brisbane, in the Hotel Victory, which was then owned by her brother-in-law Sid and his wife, her sister Irene. She tells her story of work as a model milliner and fashionista, and of her courtships with military servicemen on R&R from the Pacific rim (often American personnel). Married in 1950, Carmel moved to Sydney. She rounds off her story with her family life. This is a very personal tale covering epic periods of Australian history, from the perspectives of both country and city life. 3 CARMEL WOODEN First Edition 04 August 2013, ISBN 978-0-9923117-0-4 Dedication For my Grandchildren, Brendan, Leona, Garry and Jenny A Special Thank You My special thanks to Christine Reis and Carmel Anne for their help in getting this book together. Only for Christine’s help this book would never have been printed. I must also add a big thank you to Paul for scanning photographs and documents to make my book complete. Copyright 2003 – 2013 This work is the copyright of the author, Carmel Margaret Wooden, Australia, who also asserts the following moral rights: • The right of attribution o the right to be clearly and reasonably prominently identified as the author, in any reasonable form o the right to avoid false attribution, where the work is falsely presented as being another's work • Integrity of authorship o the right to not have the work treated in a derogatory manner (this is a right to protect the honour and reputation of the author) Availability At the time of first publication, this book is available only as an Acrobat PDF file (formatted for A5 paper), on request by email to: [email protected] 4 MEMORIES OF BYGONE DAYS TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT THIS BOOK ....................................................... 3 First Edition .......................................................................... 4 Dedication .............................................................................. 4 A Special Thank You ........................................................... 4 Copyright 2003 – 2013 ....................................................... 4 Availability ............................................................................ 4 1. NEW BEGINNINGS ...................................................... 9 2. OUR HOME AT HAMPTON ..................................... 12 3. HAMPTON ...................................................................... 15 4. FOOD ............................................................................... 17 5. ENTERTAINMENT ..................................................... 20 6. SCHOOL DAYS.............................................................. 22 7. ANGELA & IRENE....................................................... 27 8. THE BUTCHER SHOP................................................. 31 9. PETS .................................................................................. 33 10. AILMENTS AND ILLNESSES ................................. 37 11. BRIAN LEAVING HOME ........................................ 39 12. VERONICA ................................................................... 40 13. MY LEAVING HOME ............................................... 42 14. RETURN TO HAMPTON ......................................... 48 15. SYDNEY HOLIDAYS WITH IRENE & BEVERLEY ................................................................... 49 16. LIFE AT ‘THE VICTORY’ ......................................... 52 17. BRIAN AT WAR ........................................................... 56 18. PEARL HARBOUR ..................................................... 57 19. KENT WALDROP....................................................... 61 20. BATTLE AT WORK .................................................... 64 21. JIMMY CROZIER ........................................................ 66 5 CARMEL WOODEN 22. CHARLES GOPELL ................................................... 67 23. RICHARD FOREMAN ............................................... 71 24. FRIGHTENING TIMES ............................................ 74 25. END OF THE WAR .................................................... 78 26. ALL HALLOWS ............................................................ 79 27. GEORGE CAMPBELL ............................................... 80 28. IRENE & SID ................................................................ 81 29. BEVERLEY ................................................................... 88 30. ANGELA AND HER UPS AND DOWNS ............ 90 31. PAT AND BRIAN ........................................................ 91 32. VERONICA GETS MARRIED ................................. 94 33. MERVYN WOODEN ................................................. 97 34. EMPLOYMENT AT JUNE MILLINERY ............ 103 35. MARRIED LIFE ......................................................... 115 Grandfather Davidson’s Poem ............................................ 116 36. LEAVING BRISBANE BEHIND .......................... 118 37. ERMINGTON ............................................................ 120 38. A PREGNANT PAUSE IN MY CAREER ............ 122 39. ERMINGTON – NEAR DISASTERS ................... 126 40. A WORKING MUM .................................................. 129 41. POST JUNE MILLINERY ....................................... 134 42. MERVYN’S WORK IN SYDNEY ......................... 136 43. TRAVELLING ............................................................ 138 44. NORMANHURST ..................................................... 141 45. TERMINOLOGY ...................................................... 150 Sulky ................................................................................. 150 Buggy ................................................................................. 150 Private hotel ....................................................................... 150 Pounds, shillings & pence ................................................... 150 Part time work ................................................................... 150 46. PHOTOGRAPHS ....................................................... 151 6 MEMORIES OF BYGONE DAYS 47. END .............................................................................. 190 INDEX OF PHOTOGRAPHS Photo 1: Me at 2 years ........................................................... 151 Photo 2: Me at around 16 years ........................................... 152 Photo 3: My dear sister, Veronica ....................................... 153 Photo 4: The Hotel Victory – circa 1939 ........................... 154 Photo 5: Hotel Victory rear entry ........................................ 154 Photo 6: I'm in the middle at Cloudland ............................ 155 Photo 7: I was a Model Milliner .......................................... 156 Photo 8: Night out with June Millinery work mates ........ 157 Photo 9: Unique in all the world ......................................... 158 Photo 10: Luna Park, Melbourne, with Margaret ............. 159 Photo 11: Me, modelling a two-piece swim suit ............... 160 Photo 12: Police had to be called to manage the crowds when I modelled in person! ............................................ 161 Photo 13: Regent Theatre Pinup competition: I won! ..... 161 Photo 14: Irene in the beach suit Kent bought ................. 162 Photo 15: Visiting Sydney with Irene and Beverley ......... 163 Photo 16: Another Sydney ensemble .................................. 164 Photo 17: We stayed at Pettys Hotel Sydney ..................... 165 Photo 18: Mervyn & Me ....................................................... 165 Photo 19: To Dear Mervyn With Love From Carmel .............. 166 Photo 20: Mervyn .................................................................. 167 Photo 21: 100 Yards of lace ................................................. 167 Photo 22: Mervyn & I in downtown Sydney ~1948 ........ 168 Photo 23: Our Wedding ........................................................ 169 Photo 24: Bride & Bridesmaid Couples ............................. 170 Photo 25: Our wedding, St Paul's Cathedral, Brisbane .... 171 7 CARMEL WOODEN Photo 26: Honeymoon at Coolangatta ............................... 172 Photo 27: Mervyn on his bicycle ......................................... 173 Photo 28: Living with Mervyn's family in Sydney ............ 174 Photo 29: A win at the races - Dad & Irene ...................... 175 Photo 30: My brother Pat ..................................................... 176 Photo 31: Mum & me at Jenolan Caves ............................. 177 Photo 32: Beverley near the time of her world cruise ...... 178 Photo 33: Young parents at Ermington ............................. 179 Photo 34: My children: Carmel-Anne and Carl ................. 180 Photo