Pat and her 1940s Tasmanian Childhood

Today, we're going to meet Pat. She's a very busy person, so we'd better go to the library where she works. It's a pleasant stroll up the main street, then in at the old library. I say "old library" because it's been here as long as I remember, but it's had a few facelifts over the years.

These days, there are computers in the library and next door is an on-line centre. The only things that stay the same are the shelves of books (though the books themselves vary) and the cheerful presence of Pat.

Pat is always welcoming, and she always has friendly words for library patrons, whether regular or occasional. She is happy to suggest books to folk looking for something different to read.

We'll just wait until she has a spare moment between visitors... right, here we are. Sit down on the swivel chair and we'll hear what Pat has to say about her 1940s Tasmanian childhood.

Pat says;

"I was born in Deloraine, halfway between Latrobe and Launceston.

I had two sisters and a brother, and I was the youngest. They always told me I was spoilt but I wasn't. Oh, I must tell you about my grandfather. He was an old red-headed Irishman, called Paddy. Funnily enough, his real name was Richard!

He was a hardworking farmer, enjoyed the Deloraine races and having a bet and a beer. He had a dark green Mercury car.

We always used to go to his farm in harvest time, not that we didn't have enough work on our own place! We used to drive the horses and waggon getting the stooks of wheat and oats and of course, we used to help around the dairy. We always enjoyed a glass of warm, fresh milk straight from the cows.

I remember the Easter Races. There were crowds of people and plenty of horses. I suppose the only horse I really remember well was our own horse. She was our pet. Her name was Goldie and we used to ride her barebacked.

Our house was very, very old and some of the bricks had convict thumbprints in the corners. The walls were about 18 inches to 2 feet thick. It was lovely to sit in the sun on the recessed windowsills and read a book. We had a huge big open fireplace in the livingroom and a stone larder that was really cold. We never went into it unless we had to.

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