The Sausage Tree Read Online Free PDF Page A

of children who needed schooling. The reply duly came back that if he would build and furnish a school then a teacher would be supplied. With his own funds, without reimbursement, Grandfather did as asked. He even supplied a piano and when the teacher eventually arrived found room in his house for the newcomer, much to the disgust of his children.
    Mum also told us of her early days at Nabowla. She and Dad lived close to a saw mill but had no near neighbours and the shop was eight miles away. She had to push the baby in the pram over a very rough rock-strewn road to collect the groceries.
    Every housewife made her own bread but Mum’s wasn’t always right until Granma Johnson showed her how tomake good yeast from potatoes and then the finer points of making the dough properly. Mum always maintained that Granma made the very best bread that she had ever tasted, so we suppose that Mum had the very best teacher.
    Then there was the time Mum told Granma that she was going to make rissoles for tea. “What’re they?” Granma asked. When Mum told her how they were made Granma laughed and said, “Oh! you mean patties”—and from that day Mum called her rissoles “patties”.
    One story that has survived the years concerned Valda who when little had a language problem. One morning when we lived at Oakleigh Mum told Valda to tell her when she heard the baker come because she was going to bath and feed the twins. When Valda heard the baker callout “Bako” she called from behind the closed door “Who um dut?” (who is that). When told it was the baker and who was there Valda called out “Wah Deenie Dontie” (Valda Jean Johnson).
    Valda is still on occasions affectionately called “Wah Deenie”, and her younger son sometimes does the whole thing. “Wah Deenie Dontie”. One day recently, Rosalie was telling her co-workers some of these stories when the suggestion was put to her that she write them into a story about our childhood days and so we began our little book.

4
Our war effort
    When we moved to Lilydale we didn’t have a wireless, we had a funny old wind-up gramophone and about twelve very old records that we used to listen to in the evenings. After about a year Mum and Dad sold the gramophone to a family who lived over the back fence from us. Then they bought a big battery operated Wireless that ran on three big dry cell batteries and one wet battery (similar to a car battery) that had to be sent on the bus to Launceston to be recharged. This meant that we were without the wireless for a week. Later Mum and Dad were able to afford to buy an extra wet battery for a spare to be used while the other one was away.
    In order to be able to get a reception, a high aerial was needed and for this Dad brought home from the bush two thin thirty foot poles. To the top of each he attached a length of wire and erected one pole near the side fence and the other next to the house near the dining room windowwhere the aerial wire was passed into the room and connected to the wireless. We only listened to the news and an hour and a half of serials.
    When electricity came to Lilydale on 3 April 1940, it was a milestone in everyone’s life. Of course we boasted at school that we knew all about it. We had had this luxury before and we weren’t about to let anyone forget it. Electricity didn’t mean hot water on tap or a refrigerator for us but we had our wireless for evening entertainment. Mrs Brooks would only pay for five lights and one power point in the dining room to be connected to our house so Mum had to pay for the passage and back verandah lights and a power point in the kitchen. The next year Mum and Dad bought an electric wireless and we remember Mum tried several types, including small mantle ones before settling on a big cabinet one because it gave the best reception.
    After the dishes were finished and we were listening to the wireless programs