Winnie and her 1900s Childhood.

This is the first of our stories about Tasmanian childhood in the Twentieth Century and today I've arranged for you to come and meet Winnie, who was born in 1903. Winnie is a tiny lady with a soft face, curly white hair, china blue eyes and a determined little nose. I think the curls probably came from the salon, but the white colour is natural.

Winnie lives in a retirement home. She hasn't been here long, but after a spell in hospital last year she decided to make the move from the house she shared with her late husband. She's waiting for us now, so come along this corridor. No need to tap on the door. Winnie is expecting us. See? She's sitting in her chair, watching a sporting broadcast on TV. As usual, she is wearing a pretty blue dress that picks up the colour of her eyes. See the flowers? Her daughter brought them this morning, and the fruit is probably a gift from one of her old neighbours. That beautiful photograph on the wall is Winnie's great granddaughter, and the long-stitch pictures are Winnie's own work.

Winnie smiles through her glasses and turns off the TV. She holds up her cheek for me to kiss, but she'll simply shake your hand. Don't squeeze too hard, she's feeling a little bit fragile.

Now, sit down and make yourself comfortable while Winnie tells her story:

Winnie says -

"I was brought up in a close, friendly town in north-western Tasmania. At Christmas time all the verandah posts in the main street were decorated with gum boughs. There were posts outside all the shops, with hooks for hitching horses to. At Henley on Mersey, our local festival, a parade was held which commenced at the Catholic Corner* and was led by the Latrobe Federal Band. My late husband drove a bull pulling a small cart in one such parade.

I remember going to bed with a candle as Latrobe had no power until about 1913. I remember the big floods when we had as many sheep as possible on the front verandah, and I also remember having to help Mum scrub the verandah afterwards. We had a big wood stove for cooking and a big open fire side by side in the kitchen. On top of the stove we had a fountain which had to be kept full of water as this was our hot water supply. It

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