Will and his 19-Teens Childhood.


Our guest today is Will, and I expect we'll catch up with him when he does his shopping. There he is now. You can always tell Wll at a distance from his shopping bag and his brisk, no-nonsense stride.

Will is in his 80s, but he looks a good ten years younger. What's his secret? I think it must be walking, sensible eating and an open, accepting nature that always sees the best in everyone else.

I call out to him and wave, and he grins and waves back. While we exchange pleasantries, he'll switch on his hearing aid. We'd better sit down on the brick wall in Station Square while Will tells us something about his 19-teens childhood.

Will says -

"I was born in 1915, and when we started off, when I was born, we lived in that white house near the bank, that's now the vet's place. I don't remember that, but that's what I was told. Then after that my parents lived in the little short street, and just prior to the finish of the 1914-18 war we moved up to Cotton Street.

Yes, I've always lived in the same town, though in different houses. I've lived here all my life except during the war, when I was here, there and everywhere.

The school in those days was near the memorial hall, it was a big old weatherboard place and there were quite a few rough old teachers, headmasters and all the rest of it. In those days we weren't allowed to wear hats at all when we were at school. We couldn't wear them inside, and not even in the playground. I unfortunately got a sun stroke one year and I was away from school for months. Oh yes, and then when they started to get ready to build the state school - people from Wynyard - that's a town along the coast - had the contract to do the building. The bricks came from Wynyard by rail and then they were carted up to the building site by horse and dray and emptied into the school ground. It was footballers who were dong the building and we liked to play football ourselves. The fellows said we could have the football if we stacked up all those bricks for them.

I started straight off to work after finishing school. I finished in late 1931 and started work on February 2nd 1932.

The copyright of the article Will and his 19-Teens Childhood. in Tasmanian Travel is owned by Allyso. Permission to republish Will and his 19-Teens Childhood. in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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