* * *
We’re going on an excursion today to the goldfields at Ballarat called Sovereign Hill. I was worried the principal wouldn’t let me go as punishment for climbing the forbidden trees. But no, nothing was said.
We’d done a project on Sovereign Hill called Peddling Wares to the Goldfields. It was the story of a boy called Patrick whose father sold items on the goldfields. He used to sell pots and pans to the shopkeepers. But they had their own metal making outfit in Ballarat in this era of the story. So Patrick’s Dad carted up other supplies which the shopkeepers ordered, like flour and wheat.
The exercises we did tied in with the story. We had to look up the Internet to find the answers. In the story, Patrick was allowed to travel with his father to Ballarat for one week in the school holidays. Of course, it wasn’t all plain sailing as they were robbed by bushrangers before they even got to Ballan which is halfway between Melbourne and Ballarat. The story was set after the Eureka Stockade and there was a lot of unrest amongst the miners. At the end of the story, Patrick decided that his father had the easier life of peddling wares.
We had to be at school early to travel to Ballarat as it can take two hours to get there. We went in a big coach on the Western Highway, all the way to Sovereign Hill. Once we passed through the turnstiles into Sovereign Hill, we walked up the main street on the left hand side and went into all the shops, marking off items on our worksheets.
The photos from our exercise were obviously taken at Sovereign Hill and I recognised the tin shop where the pots and pans were sold. Some of the machinery was enormous. Johnny and I found the cart from the story and the Red Hill mine. We could only imagine being Patrick and hiding from the bushrangers. Once we’d finished, we crossed over to the other side for the shops, including the sweets shop. Dad had given me $5 to buy something so I spent some of it there.
By now it was lunch time so we found a space and sat down. A few of the boys had cameras so they knew how they were going to write up their report with lots of illustrations. I wasn’t too sure how I would do mine but thought a timeline would be an option. The Eureka Stockade would be in the middle adding how the Stockade helped the miners to no longer be obliged to have mining permits.
After lunch, we all had a go at panning for gold. It was hard work and no one found any. Dad had been on a gold prospecting tour one day out of Bendigo and he had only two small specks to show for his trouble and it cost him $200. No wonder Patrick thought peddling wares to the goldfields was more profitable.
We then went to a building that was all about gold and I found the rifle from the story.
On the way back I fell asleep and dreamed about finding a nugget of gold. But then the school bully robbed me of it.
5 My Last Days in Melbourne.
I was really tired by the time I arrived home and lay down before tea. Dad woke me about 6 pm with some of his spaghetti bolognaise. He let me work on his laptop afterwards but only for an hour. I used my notes and my workbook to do a timeline, and searched on the Internet for anything missing. I didn’t finish but there was always tomorrow.
There was also an email from an Andrew in the Scouts. This is a list of their activities:
Scouts in Broome is a unique outdoor and lifestyle focused adventure full of camping, campfires, hiking, orienteering, rope bridges, swimming, rafting, billy-cart racing, learning how to build really cool and amazing stuff (pizza ovens, floats, bows and arrows, snare traps, tee pees, and so on and so on ...), also learning to stretch your imagination and learn and understand how ‘stuff works’ .... You get to make water rockets, plant your own veggie garden, learn about aboriginal culture and bush medicine, learn to handle snakes and reptiles (if your game), learn to survive in the bush with little or no food or gear .... Also engage your creative side by painting a sunset, making a sand castle, build your own 3d creation out of marshmallows and kebab sticks, sing songs and entertain with skits and plays and take part in our scouts got talent challenge.
Yup just your normal raft up the Fitzroy with the croc’s and set up your tent in the reception of McDonalds .... or cruise around town in a double decker bus learning the history of our wonderful town. Taking part in the Anzac day parade in uniform, sitting down with the old war veterans and learning of their tales, hopping on board one of the navy ships for an under-deck privileged tour of the operating boat, or simply walking along Cable Beach and picking up rubbish from behind the sand dunes with the ranger.
Wow. It sounded really great and Dad was impressed as well. And they meet on Tuesdays.
Dad has been busy packing up heaps of boxes and has lined them up outside under the verandah so they’ll stay dry. He has written on the outside of each box what’s inside and what is fragile. He hopes the removalists keep this in mind though he has wrapped up everything carefully. He used some doonas to wrap the crockery in. I think he’d done 50 so far which means we have an awful lot of stuff.
Dad has now packed his printers and the binder away so no more printing and binding of orders. He’s found a printer in Broome and has already put in an order as a school has ordered a book. He told them he won’t be up for another three weeks and they seemed okay with that.
We were allowed six suitcases on the plane between us so I had to figure out what to take and what I wanted to wear before we left. Most of my books I’ll leave behind or give to the op shop. That goes for my old clothes as well, especially those I’ve outgrown.
I had a large garbage bag for the op shop. Each day I tried on some old clothes and if they didn’t fit, into the garbage bag they went. The same goes for my shoes. Dad said to take one good black leather pair, a pair of sandals, and to wear my runners on the plane. Being hot and wearing sandals all the time is my kind of heaven. I wonder if there are any snakes around and I’ve heard there are crocodiles in the mangroves so I’ll stay away from there.
It’s just as well Dad has a laptop (as does Mum) or we wouldn’t be able to take a desktop computer with us on the plane. Dad also had a canvas bag to put odds and ends in and he said he’d get me one too so I could put my book in it and anything else I wanted. I can’t take my pocket knife on the plane but I can put it in the luggage. It might come in handy when I join the Scouts.
A Kindle reader would be a good idea as I could have lots of books on one reader. I asked Dad the other day and he agreed; both of us could do with one. I want the one with the alphabet on it so I can type in stuff as I need to. We have Wi-Fi on Dad’s laptop and he knows of a website that will give us access to free eBooks.
Mum uses her laptop to download Kindle stories so she might get one too. She’s the one who told us about the free eBooks. It would be great to read it on the plane to Broome though they might ask us to turn them off before take-off and landing because they are electronic devices.
I told Johnny about the Kindle the next time we were playing DONKEY. We were over at his house and I’d just taken a mark.
“Lucky you, bro. Getting presents and going away.”
“I reckon I could ask Dad for anything and he’d give it to me. He’s really stressing over the packing and he has to finish by next week as the removalists are coming on Friday. All the stuff is going to Mum’s Dad’s farm and will be under cover.”
“What about the beds. Are they going as well?”
“Yep. They’re going to an aunt’s around the corner so we’ll have to sleep on the floor for the last week. We’ll probably take the Mazda to Grandma’s at Black Rock and stay two nights at Auntie’s before we fly out. She’ll take us to the airport and I hope she has plenty of room in her boot. Plus there’s Lassie. She has to go earlier and put in a crate. Australian Air Express is where we have to go and Qantas said she’ll be part of our luggage. That’s why we’re doing a direct flight so she’s only in the air for four hours.”
“Whatever happened to the fridge and your Dad’s electric bike?”
“They went to Seymour to a couple who were moving from Dandenong. They wer
e going to take a filing cabinet as well but there was no more room in their truck.”
“So when did the fridge go?”
“About three weeks ago.”
“So how do you cope without a fridge?”
“Dad bought lots of packet food to have with rice and small long life milk for cereal. We use take away a lot and we’re lucky with a shop round the corner which sells cooked meals. So we survive.”
“So that’s why you always bought your lunch for the last three weeks.”
“Yep, butter tends to melt if it’s not in the fridge.”
“What are you having for tea tonight?”
“Probably take away.”
“I’m going to ask my Mum to invite you and your Dad for Sunday lunch. What do you reckon?”
“Sounds beaut to me. Unless we’re going to Grandma’s. Maybe Saturday. Come on, let’s kick this ball!”
The Journal of Paul O'Leary: From the City to the Outback Page 2