The following article was contributed following a reminiscences session held at Watsonia library June 2008, on the topic “Holidays”.
It was around the year of 1938. I was about 8 years old at the time. We were living in a small rented home in Collingwood and there was very little money. My mother was a very good saver and she managed to put aside a little money each week for a holiday and eventually rented a ‘holiday house’ at Cockatoo in the Dandenongs (Melway 188 G5).
We did not have a car so an Uncle drove us to our destination in the hills. He kept us occupied on the trip by saying he would give us two shillings for every white horse we saw. We were lucky if we saw a white horse because we were in the mountains and it was too hilly for horses.
There was great excitement unloading the car and racing into our holiday house with my brother and sister to check the place out and see where we were going to sleep. When we had settled in my Uncle would leave and return in two weeks time to take us home again.
After breakfast each morning we would walk into the little township of Cockatoo about a mile away and buy fresh bread from the bakery. It was summer time and there was a large swimming pool made of rough concrete belonging to the shire and we would go for a swim every day. There was no fencing around the pool and we were not allowed near it unsupervised. At the house we had our board games ie. Snakes & ladders and Chinese checkers and listened to the radio. There was also cricket to play and a lot of exploring to do.
Although we were quite young it was not necessary for our parents to be with us all the time we were quite safe. There was also an apple tree in the back yard which was a novelty to us coming from the suburbs and we would eat apples to our hearts content. That was nearly 70 years ago!!! We had the best time ever!
Val Mahony June 2008
