2 Working Life

Mum and Dad had left the Hotel and Mum started a Morning and Afternoon Tea Shop. They then went on to a Fruit Shop-Milk Bar. It was an Old Bank Building and Dad made all the fittings etc. I obtained a job in a grocery store and worked there until I joined the Air Force in 1949.

How I came to join the Air Force was due to me giving notice to my Boss. This was due to being called in to work one Saturday Afternoon. Dad was an SP Bookmaker and he used give me a Pound ($2) to help him. Anyway, this Saturday a load of Fibre Cement came in and my Boss told the Carrier to get me to help him unload. On Pay Day I got an extra 5 shillings which I was not happy about so I told my boss to keep it and the job. Mum made me go back and apologise which I did but I also said I was still finished. I obtained a letter from the Local Cinema Owner to one of the Theatres in Brisbane where I was hoping to get a job. In Brisbane I ran into a chap whom I knew and he was in the Air Force and he talked me into going down to the Recruiting Centre where I filled in the forms. As I was under 21 I had to get my Parents Consent. I had a little trouble with Mum as it was for 12 years however I talked her into it and I joined the RAAF 26th April 1949 until I elected discharge in 1973.

On joining up we were sworn in at Brisbane and then taken to Amberley where we did our Recruit Training. After a 3 months course I was posted to Wagga where I did a Clerks Course. This was rather comical as we only seen our Instructor 3 times in the six weeks course, he was an alcoholic. One of the Chaps on the course decided he did not want to be a Clerk and handed in a blank paper at the final exam. When the results came out we had all passed. He asked how this was possible and was told by the Instructor that he never had a failure and he was not going to have one now. Our wages were not that much (6.4 pounds i.e $12.80) a fortnight so I used to raffle a fiver ($10) each pay and cleared another fiver ($10). From Wagga I was posted back to Amberley.

In 1950 my Mother dies. She was quite young and was in Wynnum caring for my Grandmother who had Cancer. I had been to see her at the weekend and she appeared to be okay. My Sister who 6 at the time was with her and had tried to wake her but could not. My Grandmother told her to go next door and tell the neighbour. Mum had gone into a Coma and never came out of it. She died two days later. It was quite tragic as my sister was so young. She boarded at the Covent until Dad remarried Nora who virtually reared her.

From Amberley I was posted to the Recruiting Centre in Brisbane. I enjoyed this period as we used to do a lot of travelling. We used to follow the Show Circuit through Qld setting up Recruiting Displays. Four of us used to travel in a Panel Van take our own Bedding and sleep in the Pavilions at the Show Grounds. We did our own cooking mainly stews and made friends with a lot of the Carnival People. As a result of this we paid nothing for rides etc. I made some good friends there some I still keep in touch with. In 1951 I re-mustered to Clerk Equipment Accounts. Prior to the Re-muster being approved I was posted to JAPAN and went home on Pre-embarkation Leave. However whilst on leave my Boss rang me to tell me my Re-muster had come through and I was reposted to Darwin. I tried to knock back the re-muster but was not allowed so off to Darwin I went.

The Flight to Darwin was rather hectic. We left Brisbane at about 6am and arrived in Darwin some 12 hours later. We stopped at Longreach for lunch and when we came out some aboriginals were pulling the Propellers with ropes. Prior to landing the Pilot did not know if his wheels were locked so we had to circle around to use up fuel and then prepare for an emergency landing. Luckily the wheels were locked and everything was OK. I enjoyed Darwin although it is a lot different to today. There were still some bombed out buildings which had not been rebuilt. I played Rugby League while I was there and I was fortunate enough to get into the Darwin Representative Side. I was also Secretary of the Rugby League Association. They used to have Races there a couple of times a year and I worked at the Races in the Bar once and selling race tickets at other times. Not long after I was there we went to Katherine for a few days and had a good time. Whilst we were in Katherine the daughter of one of the Publicans had a 21St Birthday and the whole town was invited to the Party. It was some party. In Darwin it was not uncommon to travel 200 miles to a party.