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Just a few memories of our sojourn in Adelaide

I must have been a sickly child as I can remember sitting with my mother and baby sister at the children's hospital, something to do with my ears nose and throat, I guess as I did have my adenoids out .

My mother had an idea of me becoming a sky pilot (parson) as she had me join the Choir at St Cyprians a Anglican church in Melbourne St, I had to go both Sunday morning and evening, also Thursday night for choir practice, I even sang in the choir at St Peter's Cathedral, why I forget now, but being me, I would have only opened and shut my mouth in the appropriate places. I reckon this church be maybe a mile from home and after church would just dawdle home through the parklands searching for what we called monkey nuts, real name I not have a clue. These parklands had numerous pine trees and also many olive trees growing in them.

One morning my eldest sister must have had an urge to explore so being the four intrepid explorers, but I think young brother may have been left home, so had the girl from next door join our excursion. As I have said before that the trams ran past our house and that there was a terminus almost out side our front gate. We must have had the whole some total of one penny each in our pockets and that was the fare to the end of tram line, which would have been about two miles further on at the limit of the metropolitan sprawl in those days. Anyway we left the tram and started walking, how far I not know, but we did find a few relics in our trek, one that can remember was an old tennis racquet, we came to a mulberry tree and probably the fruit was ripe and we would have had a feast of mulberries. By this time it must have been getting late in the day ,so decided had better make tracks for home and not having the fare had to walk all the way back, bet we slept good that night.

Not far from home there in the River Torrens was a swimming hole, actually it was a proper pool as had life guards and all that, being kids, we would act the goat most times by making out we were drowning to see the reaction of the lifeguards, but this was an unfortunate thing to do, as when our young brother did get into difficulties the guards took no notice and he was drowned. At this time my father was away shearing about six hundred miles away way out in no man's land, and how long it would have taken him to get home ,I don't know, so mother would have had days of grief before he could get home to console her, that must have been a terrible time for both of them, this must have been the time that we were farmed out to various kin, can remember being to some relations at Roseworthy and also to one of my mother's aunts at Mt Gambier.

We still used to frequent this river but the swimming hole was taboo, remember one day Avis Ella and I were sitting on the bank with our feet in the water, we had left our shoes and socks at the top of the bank, Avis and Ella had their shoes and socks and were washing their feet , when me being in a tearing hurry as usual grabbed my shoes and raced down to where my sisters were, but, could not stop and went into the river, we were very lucky as a fisherman seen or heard the cries of my sisters and came to my rescue, imagine the thoughts of mother when we arrived home and me soaking wet, and had explained what had happened.

When I was about Nine I had a bout of diphtheria and also whooping cough, maybe other ailments too, Know that I was in the infectious disease ward at the Northfield Hospital for how long I cant remember, but to me it seemed to have been forever, must have recovered as I am still here, I know that at the time I was in grade three at school and had to repeat that year.

Sometimes my mother would go where my father was shearing and of course I would accompany her, remember one time we went to Robe in the southeast of our state how long for I cant remember, but do recall one day walking along the beach picked up an old tobacco tin, and when I opened it, there was this ten bob note (dollar), wow was rich.

Remember going to the Oakbank races with Grandfather and I think his brother-in-law in an old Essex motor car, it had celluloid side curtains

,had to stop often to put water in the radiator, that is all I can remember of that trip, can also remember going fishing down at Marino Rocks, a long time before any houses were there.

While we were still in Adelaide a son was born to our parents and this may have been the deciding factor of us returning to Sheringa, mother's parents took over the house, while our parents were moving I was sent to a place in Victor Harbour to a place called Toc H hut, was probably run by the Anglican church, not like it all that much, from there I went home to Sheringa, how or When don't remember.