The Kitchen

As I write one post it often makes me think of something else - this time, talking about the strap reminded me of our kitchen.  It was a typical 50s kitchen, with multi-coloured cupboard doors, a sink below the window, formica bench tops, and table and chairs just like in this photo.

We had shadow boxes just like this one (not sure if they were in the kitchen though - more like the loungeroom) and appliances and cannisters just like these.  Our cupboards and drawers were painted different colours.  But the fridge was pretty much like this one.  And we ate in the kitchen, not a dining room (or loungeroom as so often happens these days).  I only remember an electric stove and oven, but perhaps when the house was first built (which wasn't long before I was born in 1953) there was a wood stove, because I seem to remember that the oven was in an alcove under a chimney.  I'm sure there was a chimney because I remember the day a bird got into the kitchen via the chimney, frightened John and he (literally) had a fit - biting Mum's finger as she tried to keep him from swallowing his tongue.
Eventually Dad recessed the fridge into a cavity made into my bedroom, so that the door was flush with the wall and the fridge itself didn't protrude into the kitchen.

The Outside Dunny

Like all houses in my childhood, we had an outside 'dunny' or toilet.  This was non-sewered - a can placed under the wooden seat for collection of the 'waste'.  Very smelly, what with the combination of the waste itself, but also the additive that was supposed to prevent the smell but had a unique smell of its own.  Probably phenyl if I remember correctly.
Our dunny was in the back yard behind the playhouse, shed, woodshed and chook house.  Quite a hike, especially if you were in a hurry!  Of course for night time needs we used a 'potty', kept under the bed.

This site provides a good description of 'dunnies' - but don't click on it if you are likely to be offended by a bit of 'blue' language.

Dunnies by Warren Fahey

The waste was removed, not at night time as is commonly believed, by the dunny can man.  He carried in an empty can, and took away the full one - carefully covered by a secured lid!

Oh how we relished the day when our indoor, plumbed toilet was installed.  In those days - sometime in the 60s I guess - toilets had to have rubber floor covering.  This was approximately 1/4" (1/2cm) thick and very flexible.  As the workman was trimming the floor covering to fit, he created several strips about 1" (2.5cm) and 12" (30cm) long.  Muggins me suggested to Mum that one of the strips would make a good strap for when John and I were naughty.  She agreed completely, and from that day on the strap lived in the middle drawer in the kitchen.  It was used, occasionally, and threatened often!  One day it mysteriously disappeared - and I genuinely don't know where it went.

The Play House

Thinking of Livingstone Street reminded me of the play house which Dad built for me in the backyard.  Oh, the hours that were spent there playing house and school - I couldn't tell you.  It was wonderful.  Not sure of the dimensions, but it was a full height room.  Had a door at the front, and a window in the left wall, and another in the back wall.

This photo shows John and me having a tea party outside the playhouse.  It was next to dad's big shed where he had his model railway set up.  In front of the playhouse you can just see the aviary where we had a rosella (I think).

6 Livingstone Street

My childhood years were all spent at 6 Livingstone Street, Morwell.  Ron and Val Hardy and their children Yvonne, Sharon and Dale lived across the road, Mr and Mrs Locock (or was it Laycock?) and Patricia lived next door on one side, the Pointers lived on the other side.  Etta Milligan and her husband, whose name I can't remember, lived across the road next to the lane.  There were the Junkers down the street, next to the Smiths - Harry and ? and their children. The Junkers had twin boys - one, Shane, was tall, dark and solid - the other, Dennis, was much shorter, thinner and blonde.  They didn't look like brothers, let alone twins!  Mrs. Chaffey lived across the road between the Hardy's and the Hendersons - Aileen, Jim and Jane were the children.  Mrs. Chaffey was very old and frail - she had LOTS of cats.  I remember Mum often had to go over to help Mrs. Chaffey find something she had 'lost', or to ring the police because there were naughty men in her roof! and there were cats everywhere.  I guess she had dementia.  On the other side of the Henderson's were the Shanklands, and further down on our side were the McPhee's - the wife was a Milligan daughter, sons were Robert and Ross.  The de Lange's, with daughter Helen and sons Kees and ? were right on the corner where the road curved down towards Churchill Road.  There was another family, German I think, with a name something like Merkel.  I think they were either between the Hendersons and the Shanklands, or perhaps next to the Shanklands.

This photo of the house was taken in November 2006.  The front fence, the garage, shed, playhouse and it seems the room Dad added on as my bedroom have been removed - but it also appears that there have been other extensions at the back of the house.
The 'hill' behind the house is the wall of the reservoir - still as tree-less as when I lived there.  The house was always white when we lived in it.

Next to the Pointer's house (I think the people who moved into it later were the Kearns's) - just visible to the right of our house here - was an empty block.  This was an SEC easement I think, and where we used to play, and have bonfires on bonfire night.  Across the road from the empty block was 'the lane' - again, a block wide but it went right through from Livingstone Street to Churchill Road.

Here's the lane - no concrete footpath when I was a kid, in fact we walked down the middle.  Milligan's house is on the left, Hardy's on the right.

The lane was the access to the Rintoull Street shops, which were off Churchill Road, also to the bus stop - turn left when you got to the end of the lane, up the hill to the bus stop.

My goodness - Montague's Pharmacy is still there, after all these years.  But the newsagency used to share a door with the chemists, and be on the right.  They were also the last shops in the block - I see now there are a couple of extras.  The greengrocers has gone, and so has Trevorrow's bike shop which was the first shop in the block.  There's still a butcher's I see, and a mini mart.  We used to have a little shop that sold some groceries - maybe it was the greengrocers too.  I can't remember - but I know we used to go there to buy our lollies.  Especially 'umbrellas' and lucky toffees.