Charles Errock [2] b
Charles Errock [2] b 20241111
I do not remember a lot about Grade 3 anGrade 4 at Peterborough Primary School, but at Grade 3, I had a teacher called Miss Thomas. I had a lot of sickness at that time, and she was very kind to me. She signed me up for the Children's Lending Library in Adelaide, and every month, I would send off requests for what books I wanted and send the other books that I borrowed back. It was all free and I read all the Biggles books through that scheme. The book would be sent to Port Pirie, Peterborough to Peter.
When I was in Grade 4, I used to get one sickness after the other. Then, I started getting these shocking pains in my stomach. I asked to go to the toilet. I'd get up to the toilet, and it was a fairway away from the classroom, and I wouldn't come back. They'd send someone for me, and I would be doubled up. They would get her, bring me back down to the classroom, lay me down, and give me a couple of aspirins. Then, when the pain goes away, they'd send me home. Usually, one of my friends would donkey me home on their bike.
When I went home, my mother would call the local doctor. His name was Doctor Flaharty. After he came a couple of times, he decided that I probably had a twisted bowel. So, he recommended that I go to Adelaide to see this doctor Britton Jones, who was a leading surgeon there. He examined me, and he put me in the Children's Hospital. I don't not remember how long I was there, but one thing I do remember about the place was that every morning, I'd go out on the balcony. There was a depot across the hospital, and because it was during the war, they would come out and all line up, and salute the flag. They would parade in the morning, so, I would watch them.
They then found out that I was suffering from kidney stones. I didn't require an operation. They said I was OK, and I could go back home to Peterborough because my mother was there.
But I had two aunties who lived at Middlebury Rd. Lower Mitch, and I said I wanted to go to see her. Auntie Lorna was my father's cousin. She had a hairdressing salon in the York Theatre at Rundle Street. The hair salon had a big photo of Joe Stalin on the wall. She came to the hospital to pick me up when I was ready to go home. She took me to the Civic Theatre in Rundle St to see the film called Hit the Ice, with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in it. It lasted the whole day.
When we got outside the theatre, there were two aboriginal chaps, two American soldiers, and two Australian soldiers. They were having a little scuffle there. And next thing, there was this screeching of brakes and two American MP's in a Jeep turned up. They didn't say a word to anyone. They both had a bat. And they went to the two American soldiers, and hit them across their heads. Then, throw them into the back of the Jeep, and tore off. Apparently, during the war, they had an office at the opposite side of the Adelaide railway station. Someone must have rang up and reported it. They come and fix it. They didn't say a word; just went bang and put them in like that. So, I remember that. They were one of the first impressions of Adelaide. I was in Grade 5 at the time, so I remember lots of things that happened while I was there. I could remember more also because I was a lot healthier than before.
[Returned to Peterborugh? How and When?]
One day, my friend was dogging me to my home on the bike [?], and there was a big stormwater train that ran right through the middle of Peterborough. They used to get huge storms around April and May. That was empty this time, thank goodness, and we fell off when he lost control of the bike. We went through the fence and fell down into the drain, which was about 8 foot down and about 6 foot wide. As we fell down there, this chap, Ivan Lang, who had a dairy, a simple old dairy at the turn of Victoria Street where I lived, came and got us out, and took us home.
And that started a relationship with him because he got to know us and my brother. They used to milk eight cows a day, and it was only him and his elderly mother and father. So my young brother used to go up there at night time, and help him with milking cows. He would have milked the 8 cows. So then one day, Lang pulled up, and he said to my mother, "Would boys like to come out to the farm?" They had a farm about 12 miles out from Peterborough on the door [?]. She said alright, and he said "I've got a bit of work to do out there. They can come out. I'll just cuddle my lunch. I'll pick them up." A lot of the fences had been washed down with this rain, so he had to put all these fences up there and needed someone to hold the post while he pounded them in. So, that happened several times. We went out there with him to help put up fences. So, I learned how to put a fence, how to use the wire tighteners and everything.
And then, another year, he came back. They were shearing, but his brother had gone off to study to be a motor mechanic. So that left techie with the 20 techy island [?], Lang said.
So, he would like to take us out with him. So, he taught us how to shear the sheep, and told us out Australia to flees [?] out on the table, and pick all the other bits out, follow up, and put it in the bottle. [?]
When we're done with that, he'd get us to jump in, and press them down. So he went out there. We would be up there all day while he was sharing. So, I got to know him very well. And that was something for us to especially in our school holidays, then later on in the year.
The Gibbs brothers, they had the milk round. They lived on the other side in Peterborough. Jim Gibbs came in one day and he said to me, "would you like to earn a bit of pocket money? I need someone to come on the milk round with me." Those days they used to have a can and the needle in the top. Just tip the milk into whatever jug or sauce.
whatever person was going to put the milk in. [?]
And I remember milk was 4 pence a pint and tuppence. hate me [?] for half a pint and so anyway,
He had a model [?]. He used to go on the ground, and we'd have the big cans of milk in the back, and the smaller ones in front of them. We go out and I suppose they used to serve about between 40 and 50 customers. They used to get 2 shillings from each customer. We go around all the households.
And there was a strange thing that went on that of course. It was during the war, so, it was against the law to serve cream to people. People had to go to the butter factory to order it. But Jim used to scold his milk at night time. Give the scolded cream to some of his customers if it was their children's birthday or something. "Mr. Gibbs, can I get some cream?" And he used to have these little condensed milk tins. He cut the cloth out.[?] It. And he'd fill one of them up. And I used to charge them one, two, and six cents [?] for one of these. It used to be funny. He used to wear a hat for what you may call a sort of covering.[?]
And he just hide it under there and look around and see that no one was looking. It used to be real funny, eyes get real. It was great on a grey coat he used to wear. He put the cream under the coat to hide it, to see if anyone was looking. He always had a few of those in the back in a box with a wet bag over it.
I used to work there with him for quite a few years, like Grade 5-6, and probably Grade 7. All the other milkmen used to go early. They'd be coming off their milk round when we started, and they used to call us the mid-day milkies.
I had to help him wash the cans out. And then, they gave me lunch. They'd make a nice lunch for us. Jim would always takes me home afterwards.
Cuting up chaff
One day, he said to me, "If you'd like to earn a bit more money, we need to cut up some chaff."
What do we do? Well, he bought an army disposals truck the Chevrolet, and we used to go down to the canal. We built load that up with hay [?] and bring it up because when we got there, had to go through the chaff cutter to feed the cows, They had between 28 and 30 cows.
So, I would do that from probably 2:00 in the afternoon till it got dark. I would be be up there putting a chair [?]. She's a haze for the church[?].
And I would get another two shillings for that. So that was OK. You had to get wherever you could because we were a very poor family. But we were well looked after.
Collecting newspapers and bottles
Then, apart from doing that, to earn a few more, about once a month, I used to collect newspapers and bottles from the nearby households. I had a cart that I made, thacould carry those for a good mile and 1/2 to the butcher shop, and he would buy the newspapers.
Month to month, I'd loaded up the bottles, and then, I go down to root shocks [?]. This route, like the Federal Hotel across the road, he had a a green grocery shop and a wine shop which were together, so he wouldn't take ... [?]. He wouldn't pick up the bottles from him to a greengrocer shop as he used to. ... [?] Showed at 12:00 on Saturday mornings, so you have to wait there till the shop openned.
Then they come out and buy the bottles from me. So I might make 3 or 4 shillings out of that.
Christmas time
A Brumby
Alongside of him. And he said, I've bought your kids a horse to try. He said it is a Brumby. He said,"A lot of Brumbies from the north are to be slaughtered. But I saw this little bloke there. And I thought, he looks like he might make a good little horse to ride in the Gymkhana." "You'll have to break him in", he said.
So anyway, because my father was in the life force during the War, he knew the first thing we had to do with for mounting. So he was able to help us with that. So he's put him in. We had a 10 acre paddock and went out. The two horses there and we just shoved him in. He took a little while, but he seemed to be OK. We gave him a feed bin and fed him the same time as the others. And then we tried to pat him and clotting him down as much as we could. And then when we got him after I put a halter on him, and left him for a couple of weeks. Then, Dad started to put a bridle on him with a bit in his mouth so he could teach.
you know they have to mouth. And so that when you pull on one rain, they come round and that so anyway we got him mouthed and. And and we used to. Put the saddle on him. But we were my father wouldn't let us ride him and he said no. He'll get someone to ride him. When? When the time comes. And so we'll put the saddle on and leave him. Not the saddle on for a couple of hours. Then take it off. And that and leave him around. We'd get on one of our horses and have a head truck alongside of us round the paddock and that's so we got, you know, got him fairly quiet.
The brumby was very young. He was only about 16 hands high. He was just above pony size, still a couple of years old.
When we got him reasonably quiet, O'Toole brothers, Jack and his brother Ronnie, used to break in horses and and educate them at a place in the Terrelli Rd. called the Ranch.
There were a few horse yards, and they'd built a little barn, and put all their saddles and gears in there. It was a meeting place for us all. We'd go out there to practice. It was not right alongside the [?]. We would practice for the GYMKHANAS. Anyway, I said to Ronnie one day. Well, we've got that Brumby ready to arrive. Dad won't let us ride. He said, "All right. I'll come in tomorrow and I'll jump on, and see how it goes."
so he can well, he screwed or just and squealed and bucked and bucked, and yeah, you know he couldn't. [?]
But Ronnie was pretty hefty, so he couldn't bug him off. So, he came two or three nights after he finished out at the ranch, and jumped on him. Eventually, he got the brumby very quiet. He'd walk around, then we could ride him and do what we like. We used to ride our horses quite often bare back without putting the saddle on. But the Brumby would not let you ride him bare back. No, he bucked off straight away. You get on, he bucked you off. But if it's with a saddle on, he wouldn't buck.
Collecting firewood
We used to burn wood like firewood. Mum and Dad used to buy the firewood. We had this little green cart, so we harnessed the brumby, and put him in his cart one day.
I knew metallic out that mean valara just out the.[?] So, I went to him, and asked if we could. ... [?]
He had a lot of dry wood available in his paddock. He said, "Yeah, you can take all the dry wood you like. But don't touch any of the green. It's all mally trees."
He said we could take all the dry wood soon. But we would get bit by bit. My brother and I would go there on a Saturday morning. We'd take some lunch with us. We'd go out there with a saw and an axe. We'd dig up a few stumps, and we'd load the load on the cart as high as we could. The cart had a seat across the front. And the back was all open. The Brumby gave no trouble.
So, at least once a month, for a couple of years, we would go there, and get a load of fire wood. And that helped. We've made enough not to buy wood. That was a real experience for us. Now breaking a horse in, and that. That was about when I was in Grade five. I think that's when things started to get better for me.
So the same old thing, there put me in. You have. Room out of bed in their restroom, gave me a couple of aspirins, and then when it came time to go home.
A teacher would ask me if I was alright. Yeah, OK. So, that was done. Mr Anderson took me home on the pipe [?]. I don't think Peterborough ever had an ambulance until after me. Anyway, there's no such thing as calling the doctor or calling an ambulance. We just go home.
Boxing
Then, I became very interested in sport and boxing. Boxing was great at that time. It was a big thing among boys. Four or five lads used to come around to our place. We couldn't afford boxing gloves, but we used to make up materials. We used used socks and stuff, together with newspapers, and get in fight.
I wanted to keep on doing that. I wanted to learn to box. Then I found out I could join the YMCA. That was a club that made a big difference to my life. We used to have 40 minutes: you'd go into the room, you'd first have a prayer session, and perhaps the Bible reading. And then, we used to have debating. We would be split into two groups. There were 40 people, so 20 on each team. You have a debate for or against, you learn how they do it. So it taught me a lot. You got a lot of confidence in public speaking, that sort of thing. But then, after 40 minutes, you go out into the gymnasium, and they used to have tumbling, and there was one chap there who used to teach boxing. So, I got into that squad.
Most students from our school went to YMCA. In the boxing group, a lot of us were about the same height and weight. So, they would be teaching us to throw punches. You're using a punching bag and everything. And then, at the end of the session, the coach would pair up two boys: "You have a fight with him," and "You have a fight with him." He'd sort boys out, try and make it even strength.
We would get big 8 oz boxing gloves, and we have 2 rounds of boxing. The coach didn't like to say, "You're the winner." But, you sort of knew who won. And he would just tap on the shoulders,"Well done." So, I've done that for several years.
They used to always send a manager from Adelaide to manage that side of it. [?]
They had a big brick fuel [?], they took boarders, and Mrs. Nuttall used to run the boarding house. She used to make the meals.
They ate meals for their boarders and everything,
but they they couldn't get suitable boats to go and take over the club part that I was in. So that virtually died.
You can go down and use the gymnasium on your own sort of thing. And some of us used to go down, but I eventually left school and joined the railways in 1948. Shortly after that, they had a big wave of migrants. They built a big migrant hostel under the Mass Rd. They got all these blokes from the Baltic states.
They were under contract to the railways' Waterworks for two years. When they came out, we started the boxing and athletic club. So I got into the boxing again. And we had this Nicky, I don't know what his other name was, but he was one of those chaps. He was very strict, he wouldn't let us put the boxing glove on for at least a month. He gave us a list of exercises just to skip and run, and use the punching bags.
And then, several instructors here pieces [?] had to throw punches, and that. But after a month or so, he used to do the same thing. He would pick out who would fight who. So he went to three rounds. Freely and false. And so you said, you know, a couple of weeks,it wouldn't be every week, probably every fortnight.
And so that lasted for a while. I didn't go any further than that. I was quite happy, but I wasn't winning as many as I would have liked. Later on, I got called up for the National Service training for three months. When I got there, I went in to the sporting section. Of course, I went in the boxing thing again. But after I came out of there, I decided that I wasn't going to make it.
The National Service training is done up to two years with CMF (the Citizen Military Forces), so it was a two year thing, but we did three months basic training at Woodside.
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I went back to Peterborough and I was working in the railways.
Then made it on to come round.[?] And he said oh. I forget that I do touch. That I do it. [?]
This lad, he was an apprentice children [?], Turner and he'd been sent up Medley.
But he was an amateur fighter. He had been practicing only for a title because his father back in the 40s used to be the station master there, and he himself was an amateur champion boxer. He had two boys. He taught them both just right. So, this lad had come up from Adelaide.
He said to him later, like Kevin Turnbull, he said, "I need someone to spar with." And he said, "Oh, I'll ask Charlie." He said he might start with me. So I went down to the gym, and I said to him, "Look, I haven't done any training, but yeah, OK." And because he was bigger than me, I said, "OK, well, you know, we'll give it a try and see how it goes."
For the first round, I thought "this is alright." I was keeping up with him halfway through the second round. But I was starting to get a bit puffed out. Then, when we come up to the third round, we only went about 1/2 a minute, and he put his hands up on my head. He said, "Yeah, you were right to give it away." And that was the last time we were put in a box.[?]
I said "It is OK." But he said, "No, give it away. I don't wanna hurt you. You haven't got it."
I had a mate that I met in the National service training. He filled in my place. He was a good boxer. He turned professional when he was about 15 or 16. He went to Melbourne. He fought the top preliminary boy,
and fought for square, bumped into Wilford [?].
Always put feathers on that [?] because he could beat me easy, but it was just for fun.
Most of the trainers we had had just come back from the Korean War.
And they were the boats that trained us. [?]
We got trained very well because they'd just come back from the war.
But the only page is while you're there. [?]
Strange times. Yeah, a lot of terrific memories there. But you get basic military training full on. By the time you come out of there, you could use a brand gun.
It was very good. So that was later on in life.
Entertainment
So because it was during the war, they were always collecting money for the Red Cross or fighting forces comfort funds.
And I remember, at one stage, they had these penny pricked [?].
Bugs had a card that always watching you take it to you, and you gave me a penny. You'd put a brick in the card. You might give me shopping for six months and put.
I mean, and I saw I think couple of weekends I walked all the time around Peterborough to fill these cards up so I could take him back.
At Monday's school. And, umm, and
that's one of the things I mean from doing there and.
I always loved sailing, and I would love to have been said I wanted to join the Navy.
My father would never sign the forms for me to go.
But I used to make these the the at the end of the this big drain that went through Peter, it was it was a railway dam was a huge dam. Yeah and. The size of this block probably get even a bit bigger so as to make these wooden boats to put a sail on them and take them over and. And watch them go around the dam. You know,
they all different sorts. And then. I saw someone there one day they dabbing yabbies. And they were about that long.
I thought I'll give that a go. So I used to have a Sunday afternoon. And with a chop and a bit of string and a little dab net, I'd feel like a bucket. Well, full of the yabbies, you know.
And I'd take them home, and mum would cook them, and she'd make a salad and we'd have them for dinner on Sunday night. So, I've done that for quite a few years.
And then, of course, a bit later on during the war, we had the troop training, running up and down, and they passed in front of our place, and we used to go out to see them.
Because we all use firewood map [?]. But there was a railway bridge there, and we would go out sometimes with a bucket, and just go along, and get some of the coal that had fallen off the engines, and take it home.
I live there.
the first time with one of these Troop trains were coming back from Darwin.
And all these bits and these all of a sudden, they threw these cans.
And those hands of preserved apricots, and we'd just pick them up and take them home. And, you know, Mum would be real pleased, you know, with their vape cuts [?] and custard for dinner that night.
they were big cans. So, that was always something that went on because with the coal, if we were going along, getting the coal and. The train went past and they recognised who we were, and they throw a shovel for a cold out.
They give us a bit of help. So, that was right.
And over there, because we had this cow that dad bought, and we used to go across there, and there was always plenty of green plants that feed.
So we got with a sickle and a chaff bag with a filled chaff bag and.
With this for the cow, you know and butcher from this will, but she used to love her and I sold the horses.
sometimes we'd fill a couple of bags of freed up, which are sickle and and the horses have some like that.
So then we got into this. Jim Carnes. They started up and we used to ride in the bending races and the flag and barrel races and the musical chairs competition.
And they would always have a hack race [?]. And I used to ride moan and a hack races but then there were a few gaps there that had real race horses out, and they always put a race on for them, and my brother used to ride in those races. He was a lot better than I was, a lot lighter. So, that was a bit of fun.
I used to ride them in the bit of track with it, you know, and it became quite a hub tools had their ranch there.
And they were always breaking in horses. And they had a big horse called Lofty because half the draft horse half that same but big horse they used to put him in a cart. And the horse having trouble with getting the horse that they're breaking in time, they'd put him in and they go around the track, you know, and of course, the little other little horse. He'd have to go with his with Lofty, would you know? And yeah. So. And then we used to. We we decided with some of the horses there would try and jump them and that and. Fell there one day and and they had this pony and I was trying to make it jump and it just wouldn't jump.
And any rate, Mr. Maloney, he was the oldest man in South Australia holding trainers license. He trained hundreds of winners back in the 20s and 30s. And he was well up into his 80s, and he was a big man.
And he is on his horse this day and he's watching me try and jump this pony. And he said. Bigger than a pound. Yeah, about 15-16 hands high. Anyway, he jumped off his horse. Give it there, he told me. I'll show you how to do that.
So he left and stirrups and he jumped on his horse, and just wheeled it around back-to-back that way, and then he tore it to jump straight over the top.
I'm looking. He trained lots of steeplechase winners and hurdle winners and his training career. Now, he's a very interesting man.
So. Where we go here. Troop trains?
Ken's seat with the butcher there.
And he bought these young steers. They were half brown. Who brought them down. And there was a road that went in the back of our 10 acre block.
But no one. To use very much so, he used to bring them down there with plenty of grass there and he'd put them in there and.
For the day to have a feed, you know? So my brother and I thought at that time they were thinking about starting buck jump riding.
it was as well as the Jim Carner, which meant riding the stairs, and riding bucking horses and that.
So we'll give our try ourselves out with these stairs. We've run a bit of winning across. Behind and in front of them when we got out there with the rope pushed, put a rope around him and jumped on them and they bucked like hell.
We've done that for several days, but then someone must have told us to sleep, that we would he come down on his horse with a big stock, wet and threatened, he said. They get on those tears again, and he said you'll get this whip around you and that. So that was the end of that. We didn't do that anymore.
But we were never bored.
during the school holidays, we're getting enough to get two teams together and and go on one of the ovals and have a football match and that.
But was there any difference between? Like rich families, poor families, kids.
No. Not really much, no, not there. There was never much that there
That was a beautiful place. Yeah. And everyone got on pretty well together.
I suppose there weren't many people that consider themselves elite, you know, umm, most of us working class town.
And that and. And everyone got on pretty well together.
So that was virtually about all that happened during my School life, the younger life in general, and when I turned 14, of course.
I've done like most kids at the time. I went to school. I had done only one year of high school at 14. Around this time, most of students, 70-80% went to highschool. But, with us, in the position we're in, my mum and dad needed our help. I remember my first payday. I couldn't get home quick enough to give my mum 5 pounds for my board. So, it was help to them, but then, the first year was the only highschool year for me.
Mr Jack McCarthy was the math teacher there. He was a great athlete. He ran second in a store gift once, and he said he always won. But that was a hometown decision. Nowadays, they've got a camera photo for the finish. But those days, he said, they just gave it to the local lad. He said, "I'm absolutely certain I beat him."
He played football for this time. During the recess time when we were out, he'd be out there watching us, and he'd give us a tip on kicking a football or cricket bowling.
In the winter time, there were four football teams in Peterborough at that time. There was one combined team there: Peterborough and James Sound. It was combined because they all died away, but he would ... [?] the teams that the football clubs would ring him up and say, "Are there any lads that you think might be good enough to fill in with the short."
Once he tapped me on the shoulder, and said, "If you go down to practice with the railway football club, you might get a game this week. They're very short of players." I said alright. So that was a story in itself. I went down because I was very excited. I put my shorts on, and ran out over there. I went to pick the ball up, and this boy said, "Hey, have you paid your Subs?"
His name was Healy Stevens. He was the captain of the RailwayFootball Club. And I didn't even know what he meant.
The Town Football Club used to have half the home and the RailwayFootball used to train the same night, so that half the Day. Bleeds. [?]
And just release presents. He was from and past.
He said, "Charlie, come over here with us. Don't mess about there. Come over here with us. You can have the ball now here." So they took me under their wing. So, instead of playing for the Roller [?] Football Club, even though working rollers are playing for a Town football club.
Because of that, they're. It was just one of these sarcastic quotes. [?]
He was David. You applied with him in combined size later on in life.
Then, I got better at playing, but that was a start there.
So, anyway, I didn't I intend to get a job.[?]
As soon as you have from 10/14, after Christmas and. Any latencies?
Chaptal said, said Tweeden.
He was another player.
He tried to help me a lot with my football.
Finding a job and learning to work in an office.
And he said, "What are you going to do when you leave school?"
I said, "Oh well, I don't feel about the job in Peterborough. I'd like to go to Adelaide, and live with my auntie. I get on really well with them."
Then, he said "Oh, you might want to go to Adelaide, but you might also like a job here." I said, "I'll try, and let you know." Then, in a couple of weeks, he came and said, "I got a job for you."
And I said, well, you, me and he said, well, he said,"I've been in the stores clerks office since I was 14. But I turned 21 now, and I have to go and work in the store. I asked Mr. Harris, my boss in the house if he would give you the job. He knew who you were, and he said yes. No worries."
So, my first job was the OfficeYouth in the stores. Mr Island was fantastic. He was the best boss I've ever had. I owe him a lot. One thing he did was he taught you to work. He had a little office. First, this room and a bit more besides, yeah. He had his desk faced out over where the stores were. Mine faced against the wall so I couldn't get distracted. All had a certain amount of work to do every day, and then he had a draw down alongside. I ran out of wor, he'd put his hand down. Need some something to do that is happy.
But he tried very hard to make me go back to school. He didn't want me to leave school. "You go back to school. If it does not work out, you come back here. You will always have a job here." But I said, "No. I need to help mum and dad."
The store sold all kinds of miscellaneous things that were needed in the railway workshops, no groceries. It was all nuts and bolts, and parts for steam engines and parts for royal cars. Yes, it was like a hardwa store.
So, anyway, it's the lower stop [?] there for a few years
and I never left the railways after that. I worked there for 41 and half years.
So, that was my start, but he had this office and it had the old Brown Liner that government stores had. So every morning, he used to come in an hour later. [?]
I used to come about 7 a.m. And normally he'd be there by 8 a.m, but sometimes, he wouldn't come in till 9 a.m.
What I had to do was to scrub one yard at a time, and then wipe it off. Then, another yard. When it is dried, I had to polish it all. Polishing on the hands and knees. My boss, Mr Island, wo, "I think you better do it again, lady. So, I'd have to do it again. So, he taught me to work. He was very strict that way. But he was a good boss.
Couple of times I was when you young lads like that you get into with the strikes, then you know, I got had a made over in the machine shop, and this Bill Sanders was the boss over there.
He came because I used to go around. I used to go to the office and at the main office and pick up the mail and that and I'm on the way.
I'm calling in the chat with Peter, mate, who was office boy there?
An old little Sam's. He came over and he said, "Can you keep that lady of yours out of my office? It's distracting my boy. That all hinders him. You go back and look after yours."
Then he told me off afterwards. But he also stuck up for me while he was there. Then when he went, he laid the Lord out.[?] Me.
That's good. Yeah were there. Yeah.
The store had eight employees. Others were of older age.
Three of them worked shift work. And the oil store, which was on the other side, had to trap the buckets.[?]
The bucket for the boats driving engines with the lamp in them, and different things. They had to go like afternoons.
This store had no relation to railway. It was like as an independent company.
The store itself was a part of OK. [?]
Yes, it was. That's what it was. And yeah, no, it was the actual
I was 21 and 14.
then I went out into the store.
They used to bring the oi, lead, zinc down from Broken Hill over to Port Perie.
The smell of used to be smelted and that was at a premium at that time.
They couldn't get enough trucks. And a lot of trucks needed fixing,
and they couldn't get any of their carriage and wagon makers to come up from Islington to Peterborough. So they put us to dilute the demand for the carriage and wagon makers. So I went out and it was a lot better money and a lot of overtime. And so I went out there as a carriage and wagan maker, and that was a big thing. Normally, it requires apprentice, but because they didn't have enough trucks to go along, caring ragnos came up. They gave us jobs. They would call us. for diluting carriageway. We hadn't served our apprenticeship, but they just employed us to do that. And mostly, it was out on the trucks. These all trucks always needed to be repaired. So, we would go out there ahead of the system that worked there. Trucks came in the morning, went out at night. You might get 20 trucks come in some days, and you'd be working flat out, getting only three of them ready next day.
There would be some skilled technicians. But you would be helping them. That's right.
But then we went on to working on the carriages, and you're learning the trade as you went along. Because you're working with tradesmen, so you eventually become one. That is how I became a carriage and wagon maker. Today's term is like an automobile mechanic.
I suppose it is a trade. Sometimes, I found a bit awkward because I didn't have enough skill, but then eventually I learned. In 1963, I was transferred to Port Lincoln. There, I had to work on everything. Rail cars and coaches. And we rebuilt brake pans. What we've done there, we got four blocks and tackles. We took him in a shot and we pulled the roof off of the brake there. And pulled the whole thing, and we had the wooden machines there. MMM. [?]
The doors, we used to get them sent over to Adelaide, and they had to be specially made, but the rest of it, we had to do it ourselves. So, that was interesting. So that occupation still exists.
Well, they closed the railways there, despite change of technology and material, it is still an occupation wherever they build carriages.
I think the Victorian Railways are still run by the government, so they would still have carriage and wagon makers. But they cut it right out in South Australia.
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