The other day, I was walking around one of those humungus shopping plazas. Just in front of me, a young feller pulled out his wallet, and in doing so, dropped a two dollar coin.
I picked it up and offered it to him. His reply was, "No worries, old feller. It's only two dollars!"! Shortly, I bought a cup of coffee, and while waiting for it to cool, sat there and stared at the two dollar coin.
It used to be a "QUID"!!!
When a "Paddle Pop" was twopence. Chocolate coverd "bullets" were eight a penny. Threepence bought a kid a huge packet of fish and chips, wrapped in newspaper , so one had something to read while walking home. A hot dog, wrapped in a big bun was a shilling.
After surf carnivals us kids would "trawl" the beaches picking up soft drink bottles to be sold to the local grocer shop.
We collected newspapers for the local butcher to wrap up the meat your mum just bought. He would weigh the old newspaper, then and give us a few bob.
Beer bottles were collected to sell to the local "bottleo" at a penny each. The milk, and the bread cart, drawn by horses was a good earner. We'd pick up what the horse dropped, to sell to the local gardners, plus get a free bread roll from the bakers cart.
Friday night at the pictures, (not the movies) was ninepence. Randolph Scott shot half the Indians in the first picture, and Audie Murphy shot the rest in the second picture. All this was preceeded by Jack Davey with the news, a cartoon plus a frightening serial, like "The iron Claw"
All these years later, I have me doubts about "Hopalong Cassidy", as he only drank lemonade, never shot anyone and often kissed his horse, named "Topper"!?
Walking home, the two miles, from the Friday night pictures was terrifing, as there was a monster behind every tree waiting to grab us.
A ride on the Manly ferry to Sydney was a penny. Most fun arcades machines were a penny a go. Saturday at Luna Park, and most rides were a penny, or threepence. A belly full of fairy floss, plus a pie cost a ninepence.
A bus to school was twopence. As a paperboy, the "Sun" and "Mirror" cost fourpence. "Womens Day" eightpence. "Womens Weekly" was ninepence.
A haircut was two one shilling. A pair of shoes were fifteen shillings. We raced down hills in billy cars made of wood, with wheels that we found at the local dump.
We'd be out all weekend on pushbikes and billy carts.
Our money was, a "tray" (threepenny bit) a "zak" (sixpenny bit) a ("deena") was a shilling. Two shillings was ("two bob"). ("Half a Crown") was two shillings and sixpence. A pound note was known as a ("frog skin"), coz it was green. Mum eventually paid off a three bedroom house. It cost One thousand seven hundred pounds. It's still there in Newcastle.
All right, GNs, now it's your turn to remember.
Regards. Pipes.
Woody n Sue said
01:12 PM Sep 19, 2016
Cripes you got a good memory can I have some of it when your done with it, I must be a bit younger and being from the country we didn't have the pictures very often but I do remember just before I were 18 giving a mate who was, $2 to get me a a six pack of beer and telling him to keep the change .
Woody
dazren said
04:57 PM Sep 19, 2016
Yep I remember !! my first job was when I was 14 years old, [ you could leave school at that age then ! ] you could go to the Royal melb show with A Quid and that would get you in, buy food, have heaps of rides, and a dozen showbags -- But to put things into perspective my wages was only 6 Quid a week
Hewy54 said
06:10 PM Sep 19, 2016
Remember the cigarette adds on TV and at the flics. Escort was a popular brand and the song went "Join the club, join the club join the Escort club, 35c, and you're a member".
First job was serving petrol. $2.25 bought you 5 gallons(19 litres) of standard. Later when I converted the Kingswood to LPG it was 9c per litre (in 1989)
Tony Bev said
07:19 PM Sep 19, 2016
I remember when sweets were the last item to come off the rations list (England)
Dad gave us all a sixpence, and we all joined the very long queue of all the other local kids, at the local corner shop
Vince said
09:44 PM Sep 19, 2016
I can remember going to the pub and for $2 coming home plastered!!! That was when schooners were 15 cents
sandsmere said
06:13 AM Sep 20, 2016
My father had a pub in an inner suburb of Melbourne in the early 1950s. Most of the customer were wharfies.
A beer ( 7 ounce I think ) was 11 pence and went up to 11pence halfpenny. Of course they all grizzled about the rise.
And 1 said " right, if it ever goes up to a deena I'll give the bloody grog up. "
Of course it did and he didn't.
The Belmont Bear said
07:21 AM Sep 20, 2016
Probably a little bit later than pipes but I still remember when Newcastle's government buses were painted green, yellow and brown apparently it was the left over camouflage colours from the 2nd world war. It cost 10c for a half fare to town and took almost an hour to get there on an old double decker bus (16kms), you had a choice of about 10 picture theatres along Hunter Street or one in nearly every major suburb. The drive to Sydney was a week in the planning and took about 3 hours by car along a very windy and dangerous Pacific Hwy, the highlight of the journey had to be the rest stop at the Oak milk bar at Peats Ridge. Alternatively you could do it in style and catch the "flyer"from either Newcastle or Broadmeadow stations right into Central with time for a quick refreshment break at Gosford while they swapped over the Diesel and electric locos. I remember the adds on both the radio and TV leading up to the changeover to decimal currency "on the 14th February 1966" sung to the tune of click go the shears. What a rip off a zac was now worth only 5c and a bob was only 10c devastating for us kids whose whole economy was based on how many cobbers, freckles, snakes etc. you got for your penny or halfpenny. A real Newcastle flavour here but I'm sure that if you grew up in a city or even a big town in Australia during the 50s and 60s you would have similar memories.
2weis said
08:55 AM Sep 20, 2016
I can remember our neighbour going up to the local pub (Redfern NSW) with a billy and buying slops for threepence a bucket
brian
kandagal said
09:27 AM Sep 20, 2016
I remember when I used to do up the monthly accounts for my uncle - the local baker. A loaf of bread was 11d.
CC Bear said
10:47 AM Sep 20, 2016
In Kempsey and the whole town turned their lights off and most laid on the lawn to watch a light move across the heavens. Sputnix the first man made object to orbit the earth.
Aus-Kiwi said
12:03 PM Sep 20, 2016
I can remember buying a whole lamb for $5.. Lol won't even get a leg now !! Aha
macka17 said
11:07 PM Sep 20, 2016
Hmm.
Talking the other day with 84yr old mate.
I remember gran had gas lights in the wall of her house, and street lights were gas too.
Coalman with horse and carts delivering coal.
Beer drays with wooden barrels rolling out the brewery.
Milkman with horse and cart. Later with electric milk floats.
and electric trams down high street.
Travelling on the coal fired "Flying Scotsman" from London to Darlington (Edinborough final stop)
on a Fri night leaving Waterloo at 5 after midnight
on leave from Army in late '50's early '60's. going home to girl friend.
Remember "Lizzies" Coronation in '53?. I was 12.
Tables out down centre of most streets. Cakes sangers and drinks.
everybody got a red "Queens Coronation " book to keep.
All kids got a 1\3rd pint of milk at school.For teeth and bones.
till "Maggie the milk Snatcher". passed a law to stop it.
We didn't get much food in those days.
Stole a lot of it from markets and out of fields.
Also remember Air Raid sirens when Air raids were on during war.
and bodies in streets after the bombing.
Woodbines were the fag to have and one at a time from corner shop.
Bread at bakery was threepence a loaf, still warm out of the tray.
I've still got my ID card and food ration cards from the war
did you know food rationing in UK didn't finish till '56 from memory..
When real young. local farmer used to turn over the spuds in paddock behind our house
and we kids used to go "spud Bashing".
2 bob a day for as many buckets as you could fill.And he used to count them.
You lazy. no back tomorrer.
Nicking off school and walking down to fish Quay. Going out in "potters" for the day.
to get my sea legs.
Left school at end of Primary school.
and went on trawlers as galley boy first trip. Deckie afterwards.
when I showed I didn't chuck and could work the lines. gut the cod.
Spent 14th Birthday at sea off Longscar Rocks trawling for cod.
Never looked back.
A great life.
Moorey said
09:52 AM Sep 21, 2016
I remember the gang of four when I was in my early teens going to the pictures on Saturday night with two bob in my pocket (20 cents). It was one and six pence for the ticket (15 cents) and we would pool our change. At interval we would get two bobs worth of chips with vinegar and a large bottle of sars, real sars thats creamy not the lolly water you get today. I started work when I was fourteen and had a fixed wheel bike that you used to stop by putting your foot behind you and wedging it between the tyre and the top of the rear fork. If you needed to stop in a hurry you would bring the rear wheel just off the ground and brace the pedals to lock up the rear wheels.
I bought a brand new Malvern Star bike not long after starting work (that naughty word sorry chief) with the new style flat handle bars. It had the three speed gears with the finger selector on the hand bars, front and rear brakes and pinky/orange streamers that plugged into the end of the handle bar grips (early model reflector tape) . A dynamo that flicked down and run on the front tyre that fired up a tail light with a head light that was the envy of every truckie in town. The faster you rode the brighter the light until eventually the globe would blow. Always kept a couple of extra globes in the tool kit under the seat. One of the coolest things at that time was the new style kick down lever stand or the motor cycle type twin legged that stood your bike upright. At that time I was earning two pound six pence (two dollars fifty) of which I paid mum ten shillings (one dollar) and five shillings (fifty cents) off my bike per week.
We used to go down the tip and look for soft drink, beer and milk bottles, take them home and wash them clean. Easy money and made about one and sixpence a week (15 cents). My first car cost about 600 dollars it was an FC Holden panel van fully modified with Renault Bambini bucket seats, the Renault headlights welded into the front grill and all the chrome redone. The motor was bored to 3 3/16, shaved and polished head, tripple stromberg carbys and a wade 102 cam. The vehicle was lowered with wide wheels, low profile Pirelli tyres and chrome rings that clipped into the outer edge of the rim. The vehicle was sprayed in metalic gold and was nickname the Benson and Hedges unit.
Some time after this I grew up, met a beautiful lady and spent the next 43 years together watching the transition of the value of the dollar and like everybody else attempting to maximize the purchasing power of the dollar. I believe technology has brought a lot to the world and our quality of life but has also had brought about a loss of the basics that made life simple and enjoyable.
Aaahhhh the good old days as you sit and ponder and your four year old granddaughter comes up to you with an IPad and asks you to type in your wifi code.
The fi rst time I drove a tractor while growing up out west. It was agrey fergy...sitting on my old man,s knee...and driving straight into the fence next to the gate! Dunnowhat/where the old man was looking/doing at the time hey...I was about 5 I think.
Then there was an old BSA 500 ohv leaning against a post in the shed...and one day he said if I got it going I could have it. I was 11...and thats a whole nuther story. I have owned 39 bikes since...sometimes 4 at once.
All this was in the very early 1960,s
Cheers Keith
-- Edited by ST391GQ on Wednesday 21st of September 2016 01:17:20 PM
pomme said
03:54 PM Sep 21, 2016
Macka17,
Can you remember going down to the greengrocers for mum and getting a bag (if you were lucky) of spec's, damaged fruit and veggies.
we were that poor just after the war we as a family had to really scrape to put food on the table.
Still remember playing in the bomb sites looking for un exploded bombs, found plenty as well.
Talking about the bombs coming down, remember getting out in the middle of the night and jumping into the Allison shelter's behind the house ?
Pomme.
pipes said
04:07 PM Sep 21, 2016
My first "car" was a 1960 split window VW ute. 17 years old in Alice Springs. It would carry seventeen young blokes, and an eighteen keg of beer. The coppers would follow us around town 'til they/we found a party. Then we would all get on the "sauce" I miss those days.
Pipes.
ST391GQ said
07:17 PM Sep 21, 2016
Hey Pipes....bike number 40 is down in the shed on stand....a chinese q uad bike....it really doesnt stop hey.
Keep well
CheersKeith
iana said
10:13 PM Sep 21, 2016
A "Bobs" worth of fish n chips. Heaps of chips and two pieces of fish!
Tony Bev said
10:26 PM Sep 21, 2016
Five pounds of spuds for a shilling
aussietraveller said
08:59 PM Sep 24, 2016
In my younger years it cost a tray bit to go to the flix on saterday arvo, with a feature movie usually resulting in many dead indians, several cartoons, movitone news and a serial feature, then over to the fish shop over on the corner for tuppence worth of chips wrapped in newspaper, or down two blocks to the grocer and ask him for a penny worth of broken biscuits, all plain biscuits.
I built my own first bike with parts that I collected from the local tip, including the can of black paint to paint it, and gradually improved it with parts found over time.
My first car was an Austin A40 having cost me a total of twenty three quid, it had to have the gear stick held in place while travelling in third gear and petrol cost two bob a gallon, all of my early income came frpom doing a paper run at St George Hospital, I most liked the maternitysection for selling papers as they tipped best and bought Womens Weekleys which got me a bonus from the papershop for selling the most women's weekleys.
On leaving School I commenced my Apprenticeship as a Plumber on a salary of a quid a week for the first six months then thirty bob a week and paying ten bob a week board to mum then twelve and six after my massive pay rise.
Just a few memories which help us to realise how good we have it today
Aus-Kiwi said
09:09 PM Sep 24, 2016
Remember going to school . Mum gave me 3 p to spend in shop 6p for bus home . Didn't take me long to work out if I spent 6p in shop and 3p
For bus ride ? I was better off !! Early economic learning !! Lol was only 5 and the town was Eureka in NZ .,
Ron-D said
09:07 AM Sep 25, 2016
I can remember when supermarkets did not exist just the corner shop, I can remember when there was no television we had to go to the picture theatres with our parents,the old man had an old doge car, his father grew up with just horses and could not drive because he could not handle operating a clutch in these Car things ,he used to just drop it and kangaroo down the road according to what my father used to tell me about him,but he was good at what he did in the fist world war he was in the light horse,and used to pull the ammunition across the battlefield with his team of horses,and only the very best horsemen could do that job..
rockylizard said
09:17 AM Sep 25, 2016
Gday...
Yep ... I too remember most of the things mentioned above ... but when reminiscing about the cost of things it is a bit hard to compare today with yesteryear .... "our" youth.
It was hard to earn a 'bob' back then ... costs were low but so were wages.
Cheers - John
Aussie said
02:12 PM Sep 26, 2016
I remember life in the 1940s up in Wyndham, Here's a couple of paragraphs from my "Good Old Days".\
All true.
*************************************************
I can also remember going out to what was then called, The Bend Of The Ord, a favourite picnic spot on the Ord River back in those days, for another kids birthday. Out at this place there were many cattle carcasses bogged up to their bellies in quick sand on the side of the Ord River with their bellies eaten out by crocodiles. On this particular day, there was a bogged cow or bullock on the edge of the river and the adults new it was going to have a horrible death. So with 20 or so kids hanging around watching, one of the adults went to his car and got a knife. Then with me and all the other kids standing around watching he proceeded to cut a hole in the bogged cows head.
The blood just flowed out, a nice crimson red and the cow went to sleep so that a croc could not come up and eat its belly out while it was alive.
I know that may sound gruesome, but that was the way they did things back in the1940s.
I also remember the girl who shared my desk at school, she was Helen Maddock, and her Farther was the Wyndham Blacksmith. She was about my age 8 or 9 years. One day the kid sitting behind me whispered, I dare you to kiss Helen. Now completely out of character I turned around and plonked a kiss on her cheek. A little while later out in the play ground she picked up a rock the size of an egg and threw it and hit me right on the funny bone in my knee, down I went. I might add that our play ground then, was the vacant ground over the road from the school. There were dozens of car and truck tyres there that we bold around for entertainment.
Big Gorilla said
08:26 AM Sep 27, 2016
I sold newspapers after school and received 4.5 pennies for a dozen sold. My first car was a 1926 Whippet Ute I bought at 15 for 50 quid, drove it everywhere. Applied for a License at 15.5 years of age by putting my age up, got the License but it came back to bite me many years later !!! That's another story !!
-- Edited by Big Gorilla on Tuesday 27th of September 2016 08:27:07 AM
The Belmont Bear said
04:20 PM Sep 27, 2016
Love hearing about people's memories of growing up maybe it should be a sticky in I digress "do you remember when ?"
macka17 said
06:46 PM Sep 27, 2016
Yea Pomme.
Remember the bags from market to eat. and shilling for a dinner in public canteen 3d for a sweet.
I lived in North East. West Hartlepool.
Bombed every day.
Colliery's shipyards. Docks. Head Wrightons Foundry. (Made ships crank's and big guns for Artillery/Ships.)
Grays Shipyards, North Durham Steelworks, Fishing fleets.
We were Englands industrial centre/Ship manufacturing yards.
Copped it every day.
We didn't have shelters. as such. Just pits in garden with concrete slab over.
and outside dunny's with no light.
No dad. Just mum bro and self. lived in one front room in two up, two down house.
These people wouldn't /couldn't realise what it was like.
I never even had shoes till I was 8.
Used to go "scrumping" in the orchards to get some fruit to eat.
Farmers used 4.10's on us with salt/sand in them.
Damn. that salt burnt when you washed.
It was a great incentive to do something with your life though when you grew up.
I left school halfway through first yr of Tech college. (13 yrs) to earn money on fishing fleet.
Only got to finish Primary sch.
But a lot I grew up with . didn't get to grow up. A lot died b4 20. Lifestyle,
and the air we were breathing.
Type in West Hartlepool 1952 or 1961.
and look at the air we breathed.
Was even thicker in the early '40's when I Appeared there.
I still cough it up at 75 and left there when I was 17,
for the REME and a Trade.,
Each street had a "gang" and when we "captured" the enemy. they were taken up to the roofs of the old "Bommies", and itied to the chimneys.
You want him. Come and get him.
Weapons were 1\2 bricks and the roof slate tiling.
You grew up rough in them days up there believe me.
You didn't fight. you didn't do/get, anything.
"Rub in the nut". knee. boots, elbows, with nails in toes when in teens. and bike chain round collar with bent nails in them.
Andy cap hats with single edged razor blades sewn into rim of peak.
Then older 14/15 yrs.. got work and the "Teddy Boy" appeared.
Smart Suit. 42in Jacket. velvet collars. 12/13in Drainpipes (trews). String ties.
But still the chain and blades.
It did happen. We were dangerous.
When I look back I shudder.
Then Army.
Civilisation. Education. Trade. DISCIPLINE.
That stopped me being a complete piece of sh-t and jail bait.
Then West Germany in '60. Missiles. Nuclear Warheads.and living on top of them for 4 yrs in bunkers.
Yea. Great fun.
Not many squaddies survived the next 25/30 yrs after that. Mainly Artillery and Maint.(REME)
Oh yes. Me.
I got Bone Cancer. Lots got others too. Three Country's Governments.
We got nowhere with compensation claims. Just tossed us around till most had died.
Over in Germany England and western Europe. it was a completely different life to what it was in Aust.
Be thankful believe me.
A lot Specially the Eastern Europeans had it a LOT worse than even we did.
We had it good over them. and ours was ****.
Hewy54 said
07:48 PM Sep 27, 2016
Luxury.
When I was a lad we used to live in a shoebox, and have to walk 15 miles to school, and eat gravel from the road for lunch.
rgren2 said
11:07 AM Sep 28, 2016
Hewy54 wrote:
Luxury. When I was a lad we used to live in a shoebox, and have to walk 15 miles to school, and eat gravel from the road for lunch.
The other day, I was walking around one of those humungus shopping plazas. Just in front of me, a young feller pulled out his wallet, and in doing so, dropped a two dollar coin.
I picked it up and offered it to him. His reply was, "No worries, old feller. It's only two dollars!"! Shortly, I bought a cup of coffee, and while waiting for it to cool, sat there and stared at the two dollar coin.
It used to be a "QUID"!!!
When a "Paddle Pop" was twopence. Chocolate coverd "bullets" were eight a penny. Threepence bought a kid a huge packet of fish and chips, wrapped in newspaper , so one had something to read while walking home. A hot dog, wrapped in a big bun was a shilling.
After surf carnivals us kids would "trawl" the beaches picking up soft drink bottles to be sold to the local grocer shop.
We collected newspapers for the local butcher to wrap up the meat your mum just bought. He would weigh the old newspaper, then and give us a few bob.
Beer bottles were collected to sell to the local "bottleo" at a penny each. The milk, and the bread cart, drawn by horses was a good earner. We'd pick up what the horse dropped, to sell to the local gardners, plus get a free bread roll from the bakers cart.
Friday night at the pictures, (not the movies) was ninepence. Randolph Scott shot half the Indians in the first picture, and Audie Murphy shot the rest in the second picture. All this was preceeded by Jack Davey with the news, a cartoon plus a frightening serial, like "The iron Claw"
All these years later, I have me doubts about "Hopalong Cassidy", as he only drank lemonade, never shot anyone and often kissed his horse, named "Topper"!?
Walking home, the two miles, from the Friday night pictures was terrifing, as there was a monster behind every tree waiting to grab us.
A ride on the Manly ferry to Sydney was a penny. Most fun arcades machines were a penny a go. Saturday at Luna Park, and most rides were a penny, or threepence. A belly full of fairy floss, plus a pie cost a ninepence.
A bus to school was twopence. As a paperboy, the "Sun" and "Mirror" cost fourpence. "Womens Day" eightpence. "Womens Weekly" was ninepence.
A haircut was two one shilling. A pair of shoes were fifteen shillings. We raced down hills in billy cars made of wood, with wheels that we found at the local dump.
We'd be out all weekend on pushbikes and billy carts.
Our money was, a "tray" (threepenny bit) a "zak" (sixpenny bit) a ("deena") was a shilling. Two shillings was ("two bob"). ("Half a Crown") was two shillings and sixpence. A pound note was known as a ("frog skin"), coz it was green. Mum eventually paid off a three bedroom house. It cost One thousand seven hundred pounds. It's still there in Newcastle.
All right, GNs, now it's your turn to remember.
Regards. Pipes.
Woody
Yep I remember !! my first job was when I was 14 years old, [ you could leave school at that age then ! ] you could go to the Royal melb show with A Quid and that would get you in, buy food, have heaps of rides, and a dozen showbags -- But to put things into perspective my wages was only 6 Quid a week
First job was serving petrol. $2.25 bought you 5 gallons(19 litres) of standard. Later when I converted the Kingswood to LPG it was 9c per litre (in 1989)
I remember when sweets were the last item to come off the rations list (England)
Dad gave us all a sixpence, and we all joined the very long queue of all the other local kids, at the local corner shop
My father had a pub in an inner suburb of Melbourne in the early 1950s. Most of the customer were wharfies.
A beer ( 7 ounce I think ) was 11 pence and went up to 11pence halfpenny. Of course they all grizzled about the rise.
And 1 said " right, if it ever goes up to a deena I'll give the bloody grog up. "
Of course it did and he didn't.
brian
Talking the other day with 84yr old mate.
I remember gran had gas lights in the wall of her house, and street lights were gas too.
Coalman with horse and carts delivering coal.
Beer drays with wooden barrels rolling out the brewery.
Milkman with horse and cart. Later with electric milk floats.
and electric trams down high street.
Travelling on the coal fired "Flying Scotsman" from London to Darlington (Edinborough final stop)
on a Fri night leaving Waterloo at 5 after midnight
on leave from Army in late '50's early '60's. going home to girl friend.
Remember "Lizzies" Coronation in '53?. I was 12.
Tables out down centre of most streets. Cakes sangers and drinks.
everybody got a red "Queens Coronation " book to keep.
All kids got a 1\3rd pint of milk at school.For teeth and bones.
till "Maggie the milk Snatcher". passed a law to stop it.
We didn't get much food in those days.
Stole a lot of it from markets and out of fields.
Also remember Air Raid sirens when Air raids were on during war.
and bodies in streets after the bombing.
Woodbines were the fag to have and one at a time from corner shop.
Bread at bakery was threepence a loaf, still warm out of the tray.
I've still got my ID card and food ration cards from the war
did you know food rationing in UK didn't finish till '56 from memory..
When real young. local farmer used to turn over the spuds in paddock behind our house
and we kids used to go "spud Bashing".
2 bob a day for as many buckets as you could fill.And he used to count them.
You lazy. no back tomorrer.
Nicking off school and walking down to fish Quay. Going out in "potters" for the day.
to get my sea legs.
Left school at end of Primary school.
and went on trawlers as galley boy first trip. Deckie afterwards.
when I showed I didn't chuck and could work the lines. gut the cod.
Spent 14th Birthday at sea off Longscar Rocks trawling for cod.
Never looked back.
A great life.
I remember the gang of four when I was in my early teens going to the pictures on Saturday night with two bob in my pocket (20 cents). It was one and six pence for the ticket (15 cents) and we would pool our change. At interval we would get two bobs worth of chips with vinegar and a large bottle of sars, real sars thats creamy not the lolly water you get today. I started work when I was fourteen and had a fixed wheel bike that you used to stop by putting your foot behind you and wedging it between the tyre and the top of the rear fork. If you needed to stop in a hurry you would bring the rear wheel just off the ground and brace the pedals to lock up the rear wheels.
I bought a brand new Malvern Star bike not long after starting work (that naughty word sorry chief) with the new style flat handle bars. It had the three speed gears with the finger selector on the hand bars, front and rear brakes and pinky/orange streamers that plugged into the end of the handle bar grips (early model reflector tape) . A dynamo that flicked down and run on the front tyre that fired up a tail light with a head light that was the envy of every truckie in town. The faster you rode the brighter the light until eventually the globe would blow. Always kept a couple of extra globes in the tool kit under the seat. One of the coolest things at that time was the new style kick down lever stand or the motor cycle type twin legged that stood your bike upright. At that time I was earning two pound six pence (two dollars fifty) of which I paid mum ten shillings (one dollar) and five shillings (fifty cents) off my bike per week.
We used to go down the tip and look for soft drink, beer and milk bottles, take them home and wash them clean. Easy money and made about one and sixpence a week (15 cents). My first car cost about 600 dollars it was an FC Holden panel van fully modified with Renault Bambini bucket seats, the Renault headlights welded into the front grill and all the chrome redone. The motor was bored to 3 3/16, shaved and polished head, tripple stromberg carbys and a wade 102 cam. The vehicle was lowered with wide wheels, low profile Pirelli tyres and chrome rings that clipped into the outer edge of the rim. The vehicle was sprayed in metalic gold and was nickname the Benson and Hedges unit.
Some time after this I grew up, met a beautiful lady and spent the next 43 years together watching the transition of the value of the dollar and like everybody else attempting to maximize the purchasing power of the dollar. I believe technology has brought a lot to the world and our quality of life but has also had brought about a loss of the basics that made life simple and enjoyable.
Aaahhhh the good old days as you sit and ponder and your four year old granddaughter comes up to you with an IPad and asks you to type in your wifi code.
Don"t you just love life.
Moorey
The fi rst time I drove a tractor while growing up out west. It was agrey fergy...sitting on my old man,s knee...and driving straight into the fence next to the gate! Dunnowhat/where the old man was looking/doing at the time hey...I was about 5 I think.
Then there was an old BSA 500 ohv leaning against a post in the shed...and one day he said if I got it going I could have it. I was 11...and thats a whole nuther story. I have owned 39 bikes since...sometimes 4 at once.
All this was in the very early 1960,s
Cheers Keith
-- Edited by ST391GQ on Wednesday 21st of September 2016 01:17:20 PM
Can you remember going down to the greengrocers for mum and getting a bag (if you were lucky) of spec's, damaged fruit and veggies.
we were that poor just after the war we as a family had to really scrape to put food on the table.
Still remember playing in the bomb sites looking for un exploded bombs, found plenty as well.
Talking about the bombs coming down, remember getting out in the middle of the night and jumping into the Allison shelter's behind the house ?
Pomme.
Pipes.
Hey Pipes....bike number 40 is down in the shed on stand....a chinese q uad bike....it really doesnt stop hey.
Keep well
CheersKeith
I built my own first bike with parts that I collected from the local tip, including the can of black paint to paint it, and gradually improved it with parts found over time.
My first car was an Austin A40 having cost me a total of twenty three quid, it had to have the gear stick held in place while travelling in third gear and petrol cost two bob a gallon, all of my early income came frpom doing a paper run at St George Hospital, I most liked the maternitysection for selling papers as they tipped best and bought Womens Weekleys which got me a bonus from the papershop for selling the most women's weekleys.
On leaving School I commenced my Apprenticeship as a Plumber on a salary of a quid a week for the first six months then thirty bob a week and paying ten bob a week board to mum then twelve and six after my massive pay rise.
Just a few memories which help us to realise how good we have it today
I can remember when supermarkets did not exist just the corner shop, I can remember when there was no television we had to go to the picture theatres with our parents,the old man had an old doge car, his father grew up with just horses and could not drive because he could not handle operating a clutch in these Car things ,he used to just drop it and kangaroo down the road according to what my father used to tell me about him,but he was good at what he did in the fist world war he was in the light horse,and used to pull the ammunition across the battlefield with his team of horses,and only the very best horsemen could do that job..
Gday...
Yep ... I too remember most of the things mentioned above ... but when reminiscing about the cost of things it is a bit hard to compare today with yesteryear .... "our" youth.
It was hard to earn a 'bob' back then ... costs were low but so were wages.
Cheers - John
All true.
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I can also remember going out to what was then called, The Bend Of The Ord, a favourite picnic spot on the Ord River back in those days, for another kids birthday. Out at this place there were many cattle carcasses bogged up to their bellies in quick sand on the side of the Ord River with their bellies eaten out by crocodiles. On this particular day, there was a bogged cow or bullock on the edge of the river and the adults new it was going to have a horrible death. So with 20 or so kids hanging around watching, one of the adults went to his car and got a knife. Then with me and all the other kids standing around watching he proceeded to cut a hole in the bogged cows head.
The blood just flowed out, a nice crimson red and the cow went to sleep so that a croc could not come up and eat its belly out while it was alive.
I know that may sound gruesome, but that was the way they did things back in the1940s.
I also remember the girl who shared my desk at school, she was Helen Maddock, and her Farther was the Wyndham Blacksmith. She was about my age 8 or 9 years. One day the kid sitting behind me whispered, I dare you to kiss Helen. Now completely out of character I turned around and plonked a kiss on her cheek. A little while later out in the play ground she picked up a rock the size of an egg and threw it and hit me right on the funny bone in my knee, down I went. I might add that our play ground then, was the vacant ground over the road from the school. There were dozens of car and truck tyres there that we bold around for entertainment.
I sold newspapers after school and received 4.5 pennies for a dozen sold. My first car was a 1926 Whippet Ute I bought at 15 for 50 quid, drove it everywhere. Applied for a License at 15.5 years of age by putting my age up, got the License but it came back to bite me many years later !!! That's another story !!
-- Edited by Big Gorilla on Tuesday 27th of September 2016 08:27:07 AM
Remember the bags from market to eat. and shilling for a dinner in public canteen 3d for a sweet.
I lived in North East. West Hartlepool.
Bombed every day.
Colliery's shipyards. Docks. Head Wrightons Foundry. (Made ships crank's and big guns for Artillery/Ships.)
Grays Shipyards, North Durham Steelworks, Fishing fleets.
We were Englands industrial centre/Ship manufacturing yards.
Copped it every day.
We didn't have shelters. as such. Just pits in garden with concrete slab over.
and outside dunny's with no light.
No dad. Just mum bro and self. lived in one front room in two up, two down house.
These people wouldn't /couldn't realise what it was like.
I never even had shoes till I was 8.
Used to go "scrumping" in the orchards to get some fruit to eat.
Farmers used 4.10's on us with salt/sand in them.
Damn. that salt burnt when you washed.
It was a great incentive to do something with your life though when you grew up.
I left school halfway through first yr of Tech college. (13 yrs) to earn money on fishing fleet.
Only got to finish Primary sch.
But a lot I grew up with . didn't get to grow up. A lot died b4 20. Lifestyle,
and the air we were breathing.
Type in West Hartlepool 1952 or 1961.
and look at the air we breathed.
Was even thicker in the early '40's when I Appeared there.
I still cough it up at 75 and left there when I was 17,
for the REME and a Trade.,
Each street had a "gang" and when we "captured" the enemy. they were taken up to the roofs of the old "Bommies", and itied to the chimneys.
You want him. Come and get him.
Weapons were 1\2 bricks and the roof slate tiling.
You grew up rough in them days up there believe me.
You didn't fight. you didn't do/get, anything.
"Rub in the nut". knee. boots, elbows, with nails in toes when in teens. and bike chain round collar with bent nails in them.
Andy cap hats with single edged razor blades sewn into rim of peak.
Then older 14/15 yrs.. got work and the "Teddy Boy" appeared.
Smart Suit. 42in Jacket. velvet collars. 12/13in Drainpipes (trews). String ties.
But still the chain and blades.
It did happen. We were dangerous.
When I look back I shudder.
Then Army.
Civilisation. Education. Trade. DISCIPLINE.
That stopped me being a complete piece of sh-t and jail bait.
Then West Germany in '60. Missiles. Nuclear Warheads.and living on top of them for 4 yrs in bunkers.
Yea. Great fun.
Not many squaddies survived the next 25/30 yrs after that. Mainly Artillery and Maint.(REME)
Oh yes. Me.
I got Bone Cancer. Lots got others too. Three Country's Governments.
We got nowhere with compensation claims. Just tossed us around till most had died.
Over in Germany England and western Europe. it was a completely different life to what it was in Aust.
Be thankful believe me.
A lot Specially the Eastern Europeans had it a LOT worse than even we did.
We had it good over them. and ours was ****.
When I was a lad we used to live in a shoebox, and have to walk 15 miles to school, and eat gravel from the road for lunch.
You lived in luxury. Now:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo