Kerrie Hancock
Without Prejudice
She was such a pretty little girl, and had a lisp,
I had arrived at the Farm as a 16 year old girl, just on spec, a short Easter break and then back to Sydney, to stay with my Brother and his wife.
George 18 and I jumping on a midnight train from Wagga Wagga without letting our parents know. G and I tired of not being in work, and having no money. We gave Mum half of our $2 per fortnight, dole money.
Wagga has just been voted as one of the best places to live in Australia. And I would totally agree except for no work in those days. Locals employed before outsiders, that's just the way it was. And G and I were used to city excitement not country quiet.
I was working with J at a function on the Saturday night, after which G and I planned to get to the train station and take off. Running away to my older brothers in Sydney. Our plan to stay and apply for jobs, we knew there was plenty of work in Sydney.
J and I waitressed at the function, a blur of food and steam and sweat, running our legs off and being paid cash at the end of the night. Perfect!. So we did it all, G bringing me a change of clothes, and we were off to Sydney.
My brother and Sister in Law were shocked to see us the next day. We had one forgotten one important fact, it was Easter and they were going away to Gippsland for the Easter Break, the next day was my Sister In Law's Merry,'s birthday.
So they made us ring Mum to tell her where we were and she wasn't mad, she understood, so she told us to call in and pick her and Helen up. Ian loaded up the trusty old VW and we were off to places new, packed in like sardines, Andy, the baby, Merry who was breast feeding. Ian, Mum, George, Helen 2, and me.
By the time we arrived in Melbourne, we were starving, cramped and freezing. Ian took us to a late night cafe in Caulfield and we fell on our hamburgers like starving wolves, best hamburger I ever tasted, with the lot, Ian ordered, pineapple, beetrrot and egg. It was a scary choice for me, but it was to die for.
And we lagged the last hour or so to the Farm, Mandalay, A soldier settlement dairy farm of 144 acres in a green and lush valley at Soldiers Road, Loch. And we arrived in the early hours, 7am or so, Tiny and Gwen, Merry's parents just coming up from the milking.
Delightful people, so friendly, funny, down to earth farmers, who were funny and blunt and curious. My Mum and Gwen keeping up a long time correspondence by mail, before finally meeting. Gwen remembers my Mother as being a great person and they got along famously.
And I met all the family that night, the Older siblings of Merry and 2 younger ones, Kerrie 6 and Ivan, 9
Ivan was a white blonde headed little man, and was so sweet, Kerrie hid under the table and when the oldest brother came in would hiss at him from under the table.
"You black galilla",
He would just ignore her, mostly. She seemed to get that a lot, especially from Ivan, and one day I found her pounding his head into the fridge in frustration and I separated them and took her to my room, she was sobbing in rage, at 6, little tough nut.
I met up again with Merry's sister Pauline as she had been up to Sydney earlier in the year and we were the same age and palled up together. I liked Pauline, she was always fastidiously groomed and tipped hair at 16, she was amazing. George and her went to see Barbarella, he was 18 by then.
It transpired that Pauline wanted to go to the city to work and asked me if I wanted to go with her. Joy, the older sister worked at Lindsays Target and said 2 young girls like us should have no trouble getting jobs in Melbourne. We were both excited and I asked mu , she said sure and gave me a cheque for $10, which I had to repay in 2 weeks.
So I stayed at the farm, working sometimes with Pauline in the "Burra" at Peter Misale's little mixed business supermarket. he was so sweet Peter, letting me hang around and unpack items and put them away. the rest of the time I spent at the farm, waiting and tidying and probably driving Gwen half mad.
I loved playing with Kerrie though, she was a little older than my beloved little Sister, and my little sister was spoiled within an inch of her life. All of us teens when she made her surprise entrance into the world when Mum was 42.
Love Janette
She was such a pretty little girl, and had a lisp,
I had arrived at the Farm as a 16 year old girl, just on spec, a short Easter break and then back to Sydney, to stay with my Brother and his wife.
George 18 and I jumping on a midnight train from Wagga Wagga without letting our parents know. G and I tired of not being in work, and having no money. We gave Mum half of our $2 per fortnight, dole money.
Wagga has just been voted as one of the best places to live in Australia. And I would totally agree except for no work in those days. Locals employed before outsiders, that's just the way it was. And G and I were used to city excitement not country quiet.
I was working with J at a function on the Saturday night, after which G and I planned to get to the train station and take off. Running away to my older brothers in Sydney. Our plan to stay and apply for jobs, we knew there was plenty of work in Sydney.
J and I waitressed at the function, a blur of food and steam and sweat, running our legs off and being paid cash at the end of the night. Perfect!. So we did it all, G bringing me a change of clothes, and we were off to Sydney.
My brother and Sister in Law were shocked to see us the next day. We had one forgotten one important fact, it was Easter and they were going away to Gippsland for the Easter Break, the next day was my Sister In Law's Merry,'s birthday.
So they made us ring Mum to tell her where we were and she wasn't mad, she understood, so she told us to call in and pick her and Helen up. Ian loaded up the trusty old VW and we were off to places new, packed in like sardines, Andy, the baby, Merry who was breast feeding. Ian, Mum, George, Helen 2, and me.
By the time we arrived in Melbourne, we were starving, cramped and freezing. Ian took us to a late night cafe in Caulfield and we fell on our hamburgers like starving wolves, best hamburger I ever tasted, with the lot, Ian ordered, pineapple, beetrrot and egg. It was a scary choice for me, but it was to die for.
And we lagged the last hour or so to the Farm, Mandalay, A soldier settlement dairy farm of 144 acres in a green and lush valley at Soldiers Road, Loch. And we arrived in the early hours, 7am or so, Tiny and Gwen, Merry's parents just coming up from the milking.
Delightful people, so friendly, funny, down to earth farmers, who were funny and blunt and curious. My Mum and Gwen keeping up a long time correspondence by mail, before finally meeting. Gwen remembers my Mother as being a great person and they got along famously.
And I met all the family that night, the Older siblings of Merry and 2 younger ones, Kerrie 6 and Ivan, 9
Ivan was a white blonde headed little man, and was so sweet, Kerrie hid under the table and when the oldest brother came in would hiss at him from under the table.
"You black galilla",
He would just ignore her, mostly. She seemed to get that a lot, especially from Ivan, and one day I found her pounding his head into the fridge in frustration and I separated them and took her to my room, she was sobbing in rage, at 6, little tough nut.
I met up again with Merry's sister Pauline as she had been up to Sydney earlier in the year and we were the same age and palled up together. I liked Pauline, she was always fastidiously groomed and tipped hair at 16, she was amazing. George and her went to see Barbarella, he was 18 by then.
It transpired that Pauline wanted to go to the city to work and asked me if I wanted to go with her. Joy, the older sister worked at Lindsays Target and said 2 young girls like us should have no trouble getting jobs in Melbourne. We were both excited and I asked mu , she said sure and gave me a cheque for $10, which I had to repay in 2 weeks.
So I stayed at the farm, working sometimes with Pauline in the "Burra" at Peter Misale's little mixed business supermarket. he was so sweet Peter, letting me hang around and unpack items and put them away. the rest of the time I spent at the farm, waiting and tidying and probably driving Gwen half mad.
I loved playing with Kerrie though, she was a little older than my beloved little Sister, and my little sister was spoiled within an inch of her life. All of us teens when she made her surprise entrance into the world when Mum was 42.
Love Janette
