Then I found an advert for Artificial teeth, £2.10s, perfectly fitted, and I got the giggles, only Ma said all serious she’d like to be able to buy Pa some of them only she ain’t got the money for frivolities, so he’ll just have to do with the chompers he’s got till her ship comes in.
Ma’s always talking about when her ship comes in. She says it’s loaded up that much with money now it’s a wonder it don’t sink. I know she don’t have a ship but, not really, she’s just saying it. Only when I were little I did and Maisie still does. Sometimes when we’re out and Maisie sees something in a shop window she wants she says, ‘Ma, can I have that? Please? When your ship comes in?’ And Ma only smiles and says, ‘We’ll see, Maisie. We’ll see.’
12th January, Friday
They’re selling school books up town at Dymocks, only when I saw the advert, I turned the page real quick. Ma’s not got money for books and that’ll set her thinking about me leaving school again, so best left well alone I say. It’s not fair when there’s plenty of people asking for boys to wash bottles or deliver leaflets only she never talks about Fred or Artie earning their keep. Just me.
Pa helps her sometimes taking the washing and ironing back to people. Ma says she’s never known it so busy as now. It must be the sticky weather. People wear a shirt till midday maybe, then take it off and put on another. Anyway today me and Fred helped Pa, then we went on up to Surry Hills to see Ethel in her factory, then on to Dolly’s.
Ethel’s factory is awful noisy and dirty. Like going to the bootmaker’s, only worse. There’s this huge room with all this banging going on that nearly deafens you. All these men hammering shoes on lasts. Then there’s big machines that smooth the leather whining away as well. Ethel’s job’s to put laces in the boots and pack them into boxes marked mens’ and ladies’. We waved to her from the doorway only we weren’t allowed over to talk to her even if she could’ve heard us above all the din.
Dolly’s factory made me feel nearly ill but, what with the smell coming from all these big vats. It’s real sweet and sickly on account of it’s a jam factory as well as pickles so there’s this sugar cooking and fruit that smells too far gone almost. Then there’s vinegar as goes to make the pickles that’s sharp in yer nose. I were quite glad when it come time to leave. We didn’t know which one were Dolly at first on account of they all wear long white aprons and caps as covers their hair. But then we sees her sitting at a table putting labels on jars and soon as she spots us she give us a wave.
13th January, Saturday
The Herald says the troopers’ll come out the gates of Victoria Barracks over in Paddo and march down Oxford into Bourke Street, then into William. Ma says Ethel and Dolly should tell their foremen it’s their brother marching next Wednesday and can they please get away in their break and wave him off. They should get a good view from Hyde Park corner she says.
The troopers’ll turn down Pitt Street to Bridge then up past the Treasury to Macquarie Street. And that’s where Pa says we’ll stand, right in front of the Rum Hospital, as Pa calls Sydney Hospital, on account of he says it’s how it were paid for. According to him almost everyone drank rum in the early days.
We should get a good view from there before they march round past St Mary’s. That’s the big catlick church in the city. Ma’s a catlick and Pa’s a protty dog. St Andrew’s is his church. Anyway, we don’t talk religion in our house, that way nobody gets to argue. Pa says God’s God and He must be awful busy of a Sunday having to get round to all the churches at once.
The troopers’ll end up down at Woolloomooloo where their ships’ll be waiting. There’s three steamships going. Surrey, Moravian and Southern Cross. That’s Bertie’s.
14th January, Sunday
Ma give herself the day off today. She’s that tired. She still spent time doing folding but. She says she’s been working that long now, she can’t just sit and do nothing or she might break down like an old clock and never go again. Besides she thinks the devil finds work for idle hands. I still don’t know how the devil’d know Ma’s hands were idle but.
I minded Maisie today. I’m teaching her to jump rope. She’s too little to skip proper. I don’t mind having to look after her. There’s most girls round here got babies or little’uns to mind. You get used to it. Ethel used to mind Mabel and Dolly did me.
15th January, Monday
Monday’s washday for most. But every day’s washday for Ma almost. She does for people she used to know in service. They got lovely things too, some of them, lace edging and lawn that’s ever so soft. Not like calico drawers and combis Maisie and me got to wear. Anything delicate like Ma don’t put in the copper but washes by hand in the tub. She makes her own soap and all, boiling up the mutton fat with soda and borax and ammonia till it stinks the kitchen out. She says she knows it’s pure then and it won’t hurt the clothes and that’s what her customers want.
Our washhouse is a lean-to out the back. The roof’s tin so it gets real hot in summer, especially with the steam from the copper. Sheets and pillow slips and shirts get done first, then dirty things, ending up with Pa’s old work clothes which are always worst. When he come home after cleaning out that filthy ship she wanted to throw them all out only he said, ‘You can’t do that, woman, they’re me good work clothes.’ Sometimes it’s that big a wash but, her hands are red raw almost and her nails all ridged and split, so I have to help out just to give her a rest. But she always stands over me to see I do it right. I hate that. I’d rather hang washing out any day. Pa’s put up a line out back, fixed to the fence one end and a post the other. Sometimes the load’s so heavy but, we have to get another prop just to help hold it up in the middle, to stop it trailing in the dirt.
Even if I never get to be a lady typist I’m never going to take in washing. Not if I can help it. Not after I seen how hard Ma works and what it done to her hands.
16th January, Tuesday
Someone in Adelaide’s got bubonic the Herald says. Yesterday. It’s getting close. The Formosa come in with a man on board, Weppatein or some such, and he’s died of it. And the ship’s been in port two months and some of the crew’s upped and left.
Soon as Ma heard she went to the back door and yelled, ‘Fred! Artie! You come in right now and have a bath,’ and Fred said, ‘Aw, do we have to?’ only she insisted. She boiled up the water in the copper and Pa tipped it in the tub and she told them to make sure and scrub their knees and behind their ears, or she’d come in and do it herself. Artie started to grizzle a bit only started scrubbing just in case.
Pa said there’s things you can take for plague. Vitadatio the paper says is s’posed to purify the blood, only Ma said that’s only adverts. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with her blood and she’s not about to start taking things for it now.
17th January, Wednesday
Saw Bertie off today. Ma had us all up early and soon as we’d had a bit of bread and dripping and a cup of tea, we set off in our Sunday best for Macquarie Street to make sure of a good possie. George come too, the funeral shop let him off for the morning and Fred and Artie were that excited and kept running ahead. I were too, only I had to make sure they didn’t get lost in the crowd. There were all these girls in pretty dresses, white with pin-tucking and lace, only my dress were blue and a bit faded on account of it was one of Dolly’s cut downs. I was worried Bertie would be ashamed of me only Ma seen the look on my face and said, ‘Never you mind what other people got on, it’s what’s inside a body that counts, my girl, and Bertie he knows that.’ So after that I didn’t mind so much.
People was ten deep in places, waving hats and hankies, only we stood on this little wall round the hospital for a better view. Behind us some of the nurses and patients come out on the balconies to wave too.
There was lads as climbed up telegraph poles and lamp posts for a better view and soon as we heard the cheering, all this paper come fluttering out the windows of the buildings opposite looking ever so pretty, like snow. I’ve never seen snow o
nly that’s how it must look I reckon.
Out front the band was playing Soldiers of the Queen and Ma said it brung a tear to her eye. They must have heard cos they finished playing that and started on Dolly Gray. That’s her favourite and it cheered her up.
Then the officers come riding past and the troopers marching right behind. And suddenly I yell, ‘There’s Bertie, Ma! Oooh, don’t he look handsome!’
Ma says, ‘Shush, Kitty, you’ll embarrass him. Where?’ Then she shouts out almost as loud, ‘Bertie, over ‘ere!’ and Pa says, ‘Good on you, son. You show ’em!’ and lifts Maisie up on his shoulders for a better view.
The troopers were all in brown, only Ma says it is khaki, and hard to spot them in Africa, not like red or blue that’s easy to shoot. Bertie’s tall, taller than Pa even, and with his hat turned up the side and all them feathers stuck up he looked even taller.
They went past in the blink of an eye and we could hear the crowds further on as they went round the corner and down to the wharves.
Ma was a bit teary then, only George said, ‘Cheer up, Ma, he’ll be back before you know it.’ And after that he went back to his coffin shop and we come on home.
18th January, Thursday
I felt quite down today. So did Ma. Seeing all them soldiers and hearing all that music she said, it didn’t somehow seem fair having to come home and start washing again.
But she perked up a bit when Pa come back from the Herald office down Pitt Street. He said they got all these pictures up showing all these little boats out on the harbour seeing them off. Even rowing boats. Fred and me heard the foghorns yesterday and a man that were standing next to Pa told him the band on the wharf went on playing Rule Britannia and Auld Lang Syne till the ships was on their way. I’m really sorry I missed that but.
Southern Cross has sent a message back to say thank you for the presents and Moravia’s gone and let off some carrier pigeons. One come back with a note saying the horses are well, only the other three pigeons got lost in a storm at sea.
19th January, Friday
Guess what? Mr Paine, Elsie’s pa, has come down with bubonic. That’s what Mrs Higgs told Ma. The Paines live in number 10 Ferry Lane and Mrs Higgs is next door. She said he come home sick from work round midday today. (He’s a carter down Central Wharf, as drives a lorry with two horses.) He said he felt crook and Mrs Paine thought he were just coming down with flu on account of he had a temperature and aches and pains so she put him to bed.
Ma said, ‘Poor Arthur,’ when she heard and, ‘He’s only 35. That’s younger than me.’ So I asked how old she were and Ma said I were nosey enough to know the ins and outs of a chook’s bum. So I shut up after that only I think she’s maybe 40 or 41. It seems ever so old, only Ma’s short and round so it’s hard to tell. Anyway she says we’re not to go nowhere near Paines’ place or play with Elsie or Jess, and that’ll be hard on Artie and Maisie.
20th January, Saturday
Mrs Higgs has told Ma that Arthur Paine got pains in his stomach now and he come on delirious during the night yelling out and all. Mrs Higgs said she heard him on account of the wall’s thin between their two houses. The Paines got a bigger house than ours, a two up two downer. The live-in help sleeps out back in a lean-to next the kitchen.
The Premier of Victoria, Mr Deakin, has gone to London to see the Queen. He’s going to ask if we can have a federation and she’s bound to say yes now we’ve sent all our troopers off to fight for her. Pa says all the colonies voted for one last year, except West Australia. But that’s no reason not to have one just cos they can’t make up their minds. Maybe Miss Collins is right and this time next year we’ll have a federation.
Guess what? There’s been seven stowaways found on board the Southern Cross! The oldest’s 28 and the youngest only 14. Fancy anyone being that keen to fight a war they’d stow away? You wouldn’t catch me doing it but.
21st January, Sunday
Nothing special today. Except Reggie Cook says if Mr Paine dies, they’ll most probably paint a big red cross on his door and after dark a cart’ll come along Ferry Lane and the man’ll yell out, ‘Bring out yer dead!’ like they used to in Black Death time. Only I told Reggie not to be so stupid. It were different now, and besides, he were just trying to give me the heebie-jeebies.
Reggie’s pa’s a wharfie and ever so big. Reggie says he wants to be strong like him only he’s still a bit skinny. When his ma’s out he gets her flat irons and does wheelies and windmills with his arms so he’ll end up with arms just like his pa’s. I can’t see no difference yet but he’s got black hair like his pa, so maybe he’ll end up with arms like him too.
22nd January, Monday
There’s been more rats out the backyard and Ma even found one in the washhouse eating her good soap. ‘You get away from that!’ she yelled and got after it with the clothes stick only she didn’t catch it.
I said, ‘It just goes to show, Ma. He knows it’s pure.’ Only Ma didn’t think that were funny.
Every day now me and Maisie sing
Ring-a-ring o’rosies,
A pocket full of posies,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down
ever since Mr Paine come down sick just in case. Ma used to sing it when she were little so it must be really old. It can’t do no harm and it’s better than nothing.
23rd January, Tuesday
No news of Mr Paine still. Mrs Higgs said their blinds are down so you can’t see nothing to know what’s happening. I keep expecting George in his undertaker cart to come round, only he’s not been so far.
There’s a policeman standing outside the house and he’s not letting nobody in or out. All us neighbours want to know how bad it is, only the copper won’t say. Reggie dared me go and ask if Mr Paine was going to die but the copper only said, ‘It ain’t none of your business. Go on, clear out!’
24th January, Wednesday
The doctor come again today to Paines, and before you know it there was an ambulance pulled up in Windmill Street. The sides were closed in so you couldn’t see nothing, only then Mr Paine come out on a stretcher looking ever so sick. I couldn’t see no big black lumps on his neck on account of there was this grey blanket over him, same colour as his face, right up to his chin. Mrs Paine were with him and Elsie and Jess, and Harry the baby, he’s 3. Annie French, the help, come out too, then Mr Paine’s sister Hannah. She were just visiting to see how he were only the policeman made her stay behind. There was no room in the back of the ambulance for her but, so she sat up top on the seat next the driver.
The horses set off and me and Fred waved just in case it’s the last time we ever see them. It seemed proper somehow. Then the ambulance went down the wharf to the launch waiting to take them over to quarantine. It’s only a little boat, green with a black funnel but it gives me the creeps cos Ma calls it the Death Launch. She says them as goes off in it don’t always come back. Now I’m really scared. I hope there’s no-one else comes down with it round here. I keep looking about for people as looks sick or got big black lumps on their necks.
The paper says there was dead rats in Adelaide near where that man died. I hope we don’t see any, or more live ones neither. I hate both. They’re up in the ceiling of a night and I can hear them scuttling over me head and can’t get to sleep for fear they’ll drop down on me face and maybe start eating it. Ma says that’s nonsense but. They’re even scareder of me. She says you does your best to keep things clean but no matter how hard you try there’s always rats round somewhere. And Pa says they eat anything, even pigeon droppings, and there’s plenty of them on our roof. And they eat Ma’s special soap.
25th January, Thursday
Paines’ things went off today. A cart come down Ferry Lane and pulled up outside their house and two men went in. And next thing they come out with all the mattresses, kapok and straw, and the baby’s cot. Then the pillows and shawls, then their cats, three of them, dead. Fred said one were Tiger, so he must have got i
t too and we stood right back after that.
26th January, Friday
Even though there’s plague about there was still a holiday today on account of it being Anniversary Day. Ma said we had to do something to get us out of the house not sit at home worrying. There’s been lots of ads for outings so I showed Pa one for the Zoological Gardens over at Moore Park and could we please go there I said on account of they got this wild man from Borneo, an orang-outang, and lots of lions and tigers in cages.
Then Fred says he wants to see the pumas and Artie wants to know what’s a puma and Fred said they’re lions and tigers only without manes and stripes. And Maisie says she wants a ride on an elephant, only Pa says, ‘Shush, the lot of you. What’s all this going to set me back?’ Then he reads the advert and says, ‘It says 6d for adults and 3d for children. How much is that then, quick?’ I were just working it out when Fred says, quick as anything, ‘2 shillings for all of us.’
‘That’s right,’ says Pa, ‘well let’s see now,’ and he pulls out his trouser pockets to show they’s empty.
We didn’t say nothing then, only Ma gets out her purse to see what she has. ‘I ain’t got enough for no zoo,’ she says, ‘but how about we go to the park and stop off first and I buy us a big bag of humbugs?’
We say, ‘Yes please, Ma,’ cos we like humbugs and they’re better’n nothing.
After that we went up Observatory Hill and played chasings and hidings while Ma and Pa sat on a seat looking out over the wharves. It were a good day and we didn’t see one rat.
Plagues and Federation Page 2