Living History

Frank's story - Working in Canberra

Canberra in 1959 had a population of about 80,000 mostly public servants. Here I learned to drink and ski and drive. Accommodation for single persons was a group of Hostels scattered around the city. They consisted of rows of long buildings, with rooms about ten feet by ten feet down either side of a hallway. Each room had a bed, wardrobe, chair and washbasin with a mirror above. Each room had its own electricity meter on the wall and one power point. Each building was inter-connected with a covered walkway. Central to the hostel was the ablution blocks, dining room and a large common room with tables and chairs where you could relax together. There was also a room with a billiard table.

The hostel I was put in held about 400 people most of them were from Europe, construction workers etc. There were about 40 English speaking, Public Servants and Bank employees mainly. The food was very basic and a lot of the time pretty crook. After tea, the common room tables were occupied, with various card games, Poker, Pontoon and other gambling games. The stakes varied, you could start at one table at a shilling limit or another with a ten-shilling limit. Many a night you could be playing with a group of four players all speaking different languages. I was a good poker player and made enough money to live on without touch my wages for the first six weeks I was there. I always played with the same stake each night if I lost that I quit for the night, I never kept digging into my wallet so I only played with money I could afford to lose. With all the different nationalities living there I only ever saw one disturbance over cards. Knives were pulled but it was settled without bloodshed.

In those days you created your own fun. A few of us decided one night, after every one else had left the common room, to build a pyramid with the furniture. We stacked all the tables and chairs up to the ceiling and against the door. We then locked all the windows accept for the one at end of the room, which had a drop of about fifteen feet to the ground. As I was the lightest of the group every one else got out of another window, which I locked. I then climbed out of the last window and shut it behind me. I then leapt off the ledge and the others waiting below caught me. The reaction next morning was amazing the manager could not work out how we got out. He thought all the windows were locked. He would have killed us if he found out who did it. Every one thought it was the best joke ever.

Another night we were playing cards and drinking in the room of a bank employee and he passed out from too much drink. We carried his bed out and set it up on the lawn. When he woke up there was a huge frost even his hair had frost on it. He was not impressed but it gave every one a good laugh at the time.

A few weeks before I turned 18, I bought a 1934 Vauxhall Tourer. It had the dicky seat in the back and was fire engine red. My work mate Bill Timmings was teaching me how to drive after tea each night. One night it was raining and I had a close shave when a car pulled up in front of me and when I braked I skidded up and bumped his car. No damage except to my nerves. So Bill drove around to the pub for a drink. We got out of the car and as it was raining I ran to the pub door but did not see a tree branch in the beer garden, which I struck with my head and ended up on my back in a puddle of water. I staggered into the bar soaking wet and blood running down my forehead. The barmaid was all sympathetic and cleaned my forehead and put a Bandaid on the cut and gave me a free beer. The next day was payday and my eighteenth birthday so after work we all went to the pub to celebrate. The boss bought the first round and asked for a pint for me. Why asked the barmaid well its Frank’s eighteenth birthday he said. She looked at me and said you little bugger if I had known you weren’t 18 last night I would have put more than a bloody bandaid on your head.

Christmas 1959 I decide to go to Delegate and stay at my Grandma’s instead of going home. I had not been back to Delegate since I was fourteen and now at eighteen I was seeing it in a totally different light. Kids that I would have hardly noticed were now teenagers and the kid sisters of mates were now attractive young lasses.

Christmas Eve, Midnight Mass was well supported in this small community and as most of my old friends were Catholics. It was traditional for the teenagers to visit from house to house, gradually increasing in numbers having a non-alcoholic drink and nibbles at each house. Listening to music etc while waiting for the time to pass before going to mass. It was during this foray that I was advised that the youth club held a dance night each Wednesday night and that I was welcome to come along. A few days after Christmas, being a Wednesday, I went along to the small hall where the dancing was being held. I must point out that even though I was eighteen years old I had had very little social contact with girls and was extremely shy and awkward when in their company. When I arrived at the hall one of the ladies in charge introduced herself and explained the rules. No drinking, No swearing, and every one had to be up and dancing when the music was playing. I said I did not know how to dance. A girl standing nearby said I will show him and grabbed my hand. I did not recognize her she said. “My name is Helen. I know who you are Frank". Helen proceeded to show me the different dance steps throughout the evening, and we talked between dances. At the end of the evening, Helen said. “I’ll see you at the pictures Saturday night”. I replied “ok”.

The next day when I caught up with a couple of mates, one of them said. “Gee you and Helen were stuck together last night.” When I thought about it I realized we had been together the whole evening and I had barely spoken to any one else all night. I had made nothing of it and simply said that she had been teaching me to dance as I had never danced before. Come Saturday night I strolled up to the local hall where the pictures were shown and joined up with my mates. Outside the hall the girls were all grouped together talking and likewise the boys. As the show was about to start the girls all went in and we followed. Two of my mates kept me talking until we were the last to go in. All the girls were sitting in one row and the boys in the row behind them as I went to follow my mates into the row one of them said there are not enough seats you will find a seat in the row in front. The lights had dimmed and I could see a spare seat in where the girls were sitting, so I took my place there. To my surprise Helen had saved it for me and had arranged it with the fellows to maneuver me into it. For the rest of my holiday we were constantly together. Our passion was kept strictly above the waist, more so from me as I was in love and still thought nice girls didn’t do any thing else.

I had made friends with a fellow who had moved to Delegate after we had left, Kevin, he was around my age and we hit it off straight away. One of his sisters Esther and another girl hung out with us they were waiting to go to Melbourne to begin training as nurses. We had a good time together until they left. Well my holiday come to an end and I headed back to Canberra to work.

Helen and I wrote lots of sloppy love letters promising to keep true to each other etc. About 4 months after I had left I got a letter from K.B. he told me that Helen was pregnant and had been seeing another bloke. I was shocked but later realized how naïve I was. Helen married the father of her child, unfortunately Helen died at the age of 44.

Frank

Look at more contributions:

previous | next