Saturday was a beautiful Spring day here - just right for a drive through the countryside to visit a dear friend in her lovely quaint old cottage.
She lives nearby in the historic town of Ironbark, known now as Stuart Town.
Banjo Patterson, Australia's favourite bush poet, immortalised the old gold-town in his well-loved poem, "The Man from Ironbark".
Since moving to Stuart Town our friend has become very involved in preserving the heritage and history of the area and works hard to to keep it's story going!
A small part of that story can be found in some of the memories of an old town resident, Thomas Hoy Lee. The son of the old general store holder, he was born there in 1911 and lived there until 1942.
As I took the above photo of this long closed-up store.. I found myself wondering,
"What would it have been like to run it back in those old days?"
".. in those days, everything was sort of on display and you had hooks on the ceilings where you hung billy cans and all that type of jive, see, and on the left hand side was the grocery section and all that and on the right hand side was mercery or drapery and boots and shoes and all that.
Around the back ... we used to carry produce, chaff and oats and bran.
In those early days well there was no transport and people did all their shopping locally, so, if they wanted anything that was unusual which wasn't carried, they would ask you to go and get it in for them, and you got it in for them.
When we were kids there were no motor cars, there was no toilet, there was nothing.
Everyone that wanted anything, no matter what, it was bought locally.
In those early days we used to deliver to certain parts of the district once a week and, being no transport or not much communication, you probably would not get people's orders but you made up an order - because each week they only bought pretty well the same thing.
They could not afford any luxuries. So you made up flour and sugar and this type of thing, you know, and they would take that order.
There were no luxuries in those days!
See, at one time, if someone ordered a tin of peaches or something..one of the first things you would say is "Hey whose birthday is it this week?.. because you're getting a tin of peaches!"
And bread was only baked.
People that worked in the bush like the young fellows sucker-cutting, they'd work for thirty shillings a week and their meat.
Well, they had to come in on Saturdays to go out on Sundays to work.
Well, they'd take out bread that was baked on Friday and that bread then would have to last till the following Friday or Saturday, till they came in for more.
There was no fresh bread in those days.
The same thing used to apply when you delivered groceries, maybe someone who was not your customer would want a piece of meat or some thing like that or corned meat and the butcher would ask you, would you take it and deliver to someone.
Well, you done it to oblige them and so you left it in their mail box which was on a gate post and they probably wouldn't come home from work till dark and there was no worry about hygiene in those days, it were wrapped in news paper [chuckle].
It's only since motorcars have been coming in that people now travel to Wellington or to Dubbo or to Orange like that and do their shopping, but in those early days, no, you did not do it."
I find it fascinating to read about the ways of the past.
Life has so changed for most of us, that we might feel far removed from the struggles of our pioneering families and ancestors.
For instance - I am very glad I don't find my meat has been delivered to my letterbox lol!
We take for granted the ease with which we can go to the stores and buy our needs and wants these days.
I am certainly thankful for the blessings of modern living - it's a privilege to live in a society that has made so much progress in many important ways.
I also think it's wise to learn from the sacrifices that others made while establishing our town's prosperity.
They did it all for us who would come after them - to give us a future.
They did it all for us who would come after them - to give us a future.
There are some lessons that are vital for each generation to learn in their turn.
Much can be gained from the experiences and wisdom of the old-timers who lived in those days.
What can they teach us about today?
Hard times!
Hard work!
About trials and sorrows and sacrificing for others..
and also about dreams and hope and courage - and how to find joy in the simple things of life too!
***
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God bless you..Trish
What a wonderful account of Mr. Lee and the operation of his general store. It was so interesting. What a great way to spend a Saturday--driving in the country and visiting a wonderful friend.
ReplyDeleteHello My dear hearted friend,
ReplyDeleteyour post is lovely as usual, I remember getting bread and meat in the mail box, and I am not that old. This is one of my favourite memories, with the bread wrapped in brown paper and string as kids we loved to break the bread apart and pull the bulging middle out of it. this is one of the joys of living in the country the mailman used double with delivering some much needed groceries.
Your pictures are lovely, I don't remember the store, funny I never thought of it as Ironbark either..
You continually amaze me with your knowledge.
Love NEll
Loved your post today, milady! And, I do so agree! This is one reason I love history - and all the little details of how people lived "back in the day" - this is true history - not so much dates and events - but PEOPLE! The contemporary generation of children have much to learn from their elders long gone - how I wish they cared more to learn it.
ReplyDeleteJoy!
Miss Kathy
How interesting to read about life in that town in the early 1910's.
ReplyDeleteMy husband's parents were missionaries in Senegal, West Africa in mid 50's to the mid 70's. They had to order items in as well. They grew a lot of food. Bought fish locally. Had their own chickens.
I am thankful that I can just hop in the car and go to any store, but people get used to whatever the circumstances are.
Lovely post, Trish.
Deanna
Hello Trish,
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting post. I enjoy stories like that, the history and all, and makes me even more thankful for what we enjoy today. I appreciate what those who came before us have done. Thank you for this lovely post. Wishing you a delightful and blessed day.
Hugs,
Sandi
I loved listening to your stories of how things used to be. When visiting small towns, I still seek out the small general store if they are around: thought I haven't seen one in a long time. After reading your post, I decided to change what I linked up to an earlier post I wrote along the same lines.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed hearing about Mr. Lee's account of past times. Those had to be some very sturdy people to live that way. As I read his story, it made me realize that they had to sacrifice and "make-do" most of the time.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading a story like this, it truly makes you thankful for the many blessings we have today, and most likely, take for granted.
Yes and oh how we can learn from times past. Great window to look in and us as a learning tool for the future. ~ jen
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that your friend is helping with keeping the history alive for her town,Trish. Enjoyed reading the interview, so many memories for me. I miss those general stores. My dh's grandfather ran a general store, and dh would drive his grandfather on a route to deliver groceries. He often shares memories of this. Thanks for sharing a lovely post.
ReplyDeleteSue
So much as changed from the "olden days" and I fear not all for the good. I think we as a society take for granted how much people really worked in those days. Everything now is available at the local shopping center or with the click of the fingers.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this story and how important it is to pause and give thanks to those who paved the way.
Hugs))
Hi Trish, your pictures are so beautiful! Spring is Australia must be glorious!! We are ending summer and heading into fall. The temperatures were just lovely until today. It's a cold, rainy day but we need the rain!
ReplyDeleteI too, enjoy listening to past generations lifestyles and it always makes me think we are so spoiled!