My Life in Western Australia in the 1950′s
nirab
Horizons
A toy truck, a pile of dirt and some stones, and I could amuse myself for hours. These are some of my first thoughts when I think of life back in the early fifties. I was born early in the previous decade during the second world war. After the war was over, I recall occasionally seeing a tramp with a bag on his back, walking along the road through Gabbin. I also remember watching approaching dust storms which blew from Koorda direction, leaving their mark at Gabbin and continuing on towards Bencubbin. I often marveled at the beauty of the sunsets.
The 1950’s covered a period in my life from the age of nine to nineteen years. Throughout most of this decade, I lived in the central wheatbelt area of Western Australia with Mum and Dad, two brothers Ron and Bill and two sisters Gloria and Yvonne.
During the early 1950’s our family lived near Gabbin, a small siding on the Perth Mukinbudin railway line 160 miles (257 kilometres) north-east of Perth. In the siding there were six houses, two shops, a hall, school and railway station. The siding was surrounded by bush, then there were paddocks of wheat and grazing sheep, extending into the distance. I would sometimes look across the farm land, and on a summer day there was often a shimmering heat haze on the horizon; a future would lay somewhere out there.
We lived in a mud brick house on a twentyfive acre block. Lighting consisted of hurricane and tilley lamps, and we bathed in a portable tub. Cold foods were stored in a Coolgardie safe until a kerosene fridge was purchased from the total proceeds of a wheat crop we grew on the block. A kerosene fridge had a container of kerosene at the bottom and a wick which had to be lit. The homemade ice cream Mum made, was a treat. Dad had a 1928 Dodge. On Sunday evenings we listened to hymns of praise on the wireless.
Yvonne, my younger sister and I, walked a half mile each day to the one teacher school of fifteen students. One year we went to Point Peron to a school camp, and it was exciting for many of us who had never seen the ocean.
During this period I developed a love for music, covering a broad range. I often listened to the wireless, and a favourite programme was ‘piano playing for the dinner hour’. The late Mrs Hilda Williams, a local farmer’s wife started me off with piano lessons. I learnt from her for several months and enjoyed the experience.
Dad broke his leg when he was working for the Bencubbin Road Board, and was laid up for many months in Merredin District Hospital. Early in 1953 unfortunately we lost our house in a flood, and in May that year we moved to Merredin, a larger town 70 miles (117 kilometres) south of Gabbin, on the Perth Kalgoorlie line.
I attended Merredin Junior High School from May 1953 to 1956, and passed my Junior Certificate. It felt strange attending a much larger school. My class had sixtyfour students. Marbles were very popular and were often played on the playground. I liked learning, and also enjoyed the athletics and annual school sports. Once I was chosen to go to Meckering to be in the interschool sports. I was a member of the school cadets and we went to a cadet camp at Northam Army Camp during one school holiday. In 1954 our school went to Northam by train to see the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh during a visit to Australia and everyone had an enjoyable time.
After being in Merredin for several months I managed to get booked in to piano lessons with the late Miss Hazel Bray. I had been looking forward to this and had an enjoyable musical learning experience with Miss Bray. My parents opened up a laundry business called ‘Standard Laundry’. The business went very well, and after two years they sold it to the late Bert and Elise Iverson.
In January 1958 my parents purchased a new Kemble piano. The old piano which was passed down from my late Grandmother had been flood damaged, but with some persistence and obtaining some sympathy, we traded it in at Musgroves in Perth, for the new piano.
In February 1958 I joined the Postmaster General’s Department as a Trainee Postal Clerk. The course involved fourteen months; nine months being trained by the local Postmaster Mr Ernie Walker, and two separate periods of three months and two months in Melbourne. The thought of interstate travel was a pleasant surprise; it made me all the more determined to study hard and do well.
At the Merredin Post Office I learnt counter duties, money order, telegraph and mail work. I also learnt morse code. This was used for sending and receiving telegrams. I had never used a telephone. It was exciting to receive my first pay which was the sum of eight pounds each fortnight. This is equivalent to sixteen dollars.
In March 1958 I flew to Melbourne by TAA Viscount with Brian Ticehurst a Trainee Postal Clerk from Katanning, and we were in Melbourne for three months. We both stayed at a large private boarding house in Kew, and subsequently Brian boarded with friends in Thornbury. We both settled into the training school well with ten other trainees from Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
The highlight of my trip to Melbourne was attending concert recitals by pianists Claudio Arrau, Julius Katchen, other concert pianists and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the Melbourne Town Hall. While attending a recital by Claudio Arrau I had to pinch myself; here I was at the age of fifteen, spellbound; and not many years earlier a boy playing in the dirt at Gabbin. Now I was on the other side of the country, far beyond those sunsets and farm lands, at a concert recital by one of the world’s great pianists of the century.
Click here if you would like to hear a piece that I played in the 1954 Musical Festival at Merredin. The piece is called “As Night Falls” by Alfred Hill and was a set piece for the “Under 14 Years Piano Solo”. This recording was played by me fiftyfive years later on the 31st December 2008.
Posted on: Friday, January 2, 2009 at 2:51 am 
Classical Music - My Musical Experiences, My Life Experiences. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Hi Brian,
Reading your blog was a real blast from the past!! I am doing our family history and was looking through the Merredin sites and there you were.
Life has been pretty good for our family – it is hard to realize that so many years have passed by. Seem just like yesterday.
I hear that Yvonne is living in Geraldton. Strangely enough I came accross a photo of Yvonne just recently whilst doing the history. She had come to Perth to holiday with us, (way back in the early ’60′s) and this photo was taken at my aunt’s place in Parkerville.
I live in Roleystone and sadly my husband passed away almost 5 years ago. I have two daughters and 4 grandchlidren.
Hope you and yours are all well.
Regards
Kath Ball (Pereira)
May 21st, 2009 at 2:45 amThe article is usefull for me. I’ll be coming back to your blog.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:45 pmI really like your post. Does it copyright protected?
June 13th, 2009 at 8:04 pmThe best information i have found exactly here. Keep going Thank you
June 15th, 2009 at 7:45 amThank you. How did you find it useful?
June 20th, 2009 at 3:29 amSeems like you really took your time on this. Keep up the good work!
October 2nd, 2009 at 8:48 pmI don’t usually reply to posts but I will in this case, great info…I will add a backlink and bookmark your site. Keep up the good work!
October 10th, 2009 at 12:03 amYou said in your time at Gabbin there were two stores – Spalholtz & Barrons? You also said there were six houses – could you give me their names please as I can only think of 3 – Huxley? Spalholtz? Barrons? Was the old boarding house occupied?
March 31st, 2010 at 12:26 pmHave you seen in Google ‘Our page in history’ then pick Select a town – Gabbin
Just want to say what a great blog you got here!
I’ve been around for quite a lot of time, but finally decided to show my appreciation of your work!
Thumbs up, and keep it going!
Cheers
June 1st, 2010 at 7:20 amChristian,Diet Guide!
What a great story. I found this doing a Google search on my Aunt Hazel. Hazel Bray was my Aunt and it was so nice to read about her. Thank you. Joan
August 19th, 2010 at 7:03 amHello Joan,
Nice to hear from you. Am glad you enjoyed my story. Do you mind if I ask how you are related? Do you live in Western
Australia?
Regards,
August 22nd, 2010 at 4:01 amBrian Goddard
Hey. Very nice site!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Superb .. I’ll bookmark your website and take the feeds also…I am happy to locate a lot of helpful information right here within the post. Thank you for sharing .
September 29th, 2011 at 1:28 amI used to be more than happy to find this internet-site.I needed to thanks in your time for this excellent read!! I undoubtedly having fun with each little bit of it and I’ve you bookmarked to take a look at new stuff you weblog post.
October 19th, 2011 at 1:15 amReall nice blog…
March 15th, 2012 at 6:02 pmOutstanding article! I just uncovered your article and will without question become a usual lurker now. Keep up the outstanding work.
March 31st, 2012 at 11:53 pmDynamite read! I just came upon your blog and will definitely become a ordinary reader now. Keep up the good work.
April 1st, 2012 at 12:10 amSuperb information and facts, plenty of due to the posting article author. The concept is actually uncertain with me right now, nevertheless all around, the actual performance and meaning can be mind-boggling. Definitely a lot thanks again and bye for now .!
April 5th, 2012 at 4:47 pmI wish to show my appreciation to the writer for rescuing me from such a problem. Right after researching throughout the world-wide-web and seeing solutions which are not pleasant, I thought my entire life was done. Being alive minus the answers to the problems you’ve solved all through your article content is a critical case, and those that might have in a negative way damaged my entire career if I had not encountered your site. That talents and kindness in controlling a lot of things was very useful. I don’t know what I would have done if I had not come upon such a subject like this. I can also at this point relish my future. Thanks a lot so much for the skilled and results-oriented guide. I will not think twice to endorse your web page to any individual who requires care about this subject matter.
April 18th, 2012 at 2:58 amI have been surfing online more than three hours these days, yet I never found any attention-grabbing article like yours. It’s lovely price enough for me. In my view, if all web owners and bloggers made just right content material as you probably did, the internet will be much more helpful than ever before. “When there is a lack of honor in government, the morals of the whole people are poisoned.” by Herbert Clark Hoover.
May 18th, 2012 at 9:09 amThanks you for your kind comments.
May 18th, 2012 at 1:05 pm