Hearing about life growing up in the 1930s and 40s never ceases to peak our interest. During a session with this lady we learnt more about how illnesses impacted children at that time, as well as more about what she did for fun, growing up in Perth's eastern suburbs.
"We didn’t really have a chance to get up to mischief because our dad was away during the war.
We used to play in the street. But I had rheumatic fever when I was little so I couldn’t go outside when it was wet because I couldn’t get cold. So that sort of restricted me a bit. I used to have to sit in the classroom at school too while everyone played outside if it was a bit damp. They didn’t know much about rheumatic fever then.
And I didn’t like getting dirty so there were a lot of things I wouldn’t do. There was a family of boys who lived next door to us. They eventually taught me how to climb and sit up on the roof with them all. I remember sitting up there thinking ‘Well here we all are’ but then it was a battle to get me back down again!
When I was older I loved to dance. We went to a lot of tea dances. I met my husband at Anzac House on the Terrace. There was a crowd of us and we all sort of danced with each other. Some of the girls drank; I wasn’t a drinker. There was a big hall. There were seats all the way around. You’d sit there and then somebody else from down the other end of the hall must have liked some of us girls and they’d come up and say ‘can we have a dance with you.’ We really did have a good time!"