Dear Fran, Love Dulcie

by Victoria Twead

  Well, Fran, I must away now and finish my washing.

  So all the best and love,

  Dulcie

  10th June 1961

  Dear Fran,

  Well, I hope you have received my other letter by now. I hope Dick is much better and that the cardiogram didn’t show anything serious.

  We are having cool weather here. Officially winter starts on 12 June. The temp was 67 degrees [19ºC] this morning. Gosh! I was frozen stiff until mid-morning.

  That is certainly good news about your story. I didn’t know you wrote short stories. What kind Fran? Romance, adventure, murder? Gosh $75 seems a lot of money. A dollar is 10 shillings Australian.

  Terry & Collie 1961

  There are 20 shillings in a pound and wages here are £12 per week. The cheapest car out here costs about £1000 and a small house about the same. Meat is 3 shillings a pound (30 cents), and bread 1 and ½ shillings a loaf (12 cents). Milk is 1 shilling a pint (20 cents a quart). So you see our money doesn’t go far. A good frock costs about £10 ($20) so you can see why I make all our clothes. Dress material can be bought for 4 to 6 shillings a yard [91 cm].

  Things are very bad out here too. There are thousands of unemployed. It must be very hard when one is paying a house and furniture off and loses his job as so many of the workers here are doing. We are very fortunate to have our farm. We are not in debt and don’t have anything to pay off. So if we were really desperate we could live off our own produce and only have to buy a few clothes now and again.

  Most of the farmers are in the same position as us. We are unable to get a market for our produce now. With so many unemployed they just haven’t the money to buy much. The older folks think we are heading for another depression like they had in the early 1930’s. I can see us living on fruit and beef, pork and poultry for a long time if that happens.

  You say you thought the kangaroos would be bigger when you saw them at the zoo. How big were they, Fran? Out here they grow to about 7 ft [213 cm] high in a couple of years. Most stay that tall but a few old bucks grow around 8 ft [244 cm] but I’ve never seen any taller.

  We shot a possum in the garden last night. They are eating pawpaws from a tree near the bedroom. I skinned it this morning and roasted it on an outside fire for the dog. The fire was lovely and warm and the dog enjoyed its breakfast!

  Yes, Fran, I would like to go out to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary on 10th July but I think we will be staying home. Buying the Holden took all our spare money.

  Well, enough of our troubles, I suppose we could be worse off.

  I have enclosed a few more cards of Australian fauna and flowers. I have the complete set - so will send a few each time I write. Hoping you are all well, I must away now.

  So love,

  Dulcie

  PS I have sent a parcel of cards by ordinary mail.

  20th July 1961

  Dear Fran,

  Many thanks for the photos. I like your house. All the houses over here have fences around them. Don’t you have fences over there?

  Gosh, it’s been cold here. Most of Queensland has had the lowest temp reading on record. It was down to 28 degrees [-2ºC] here a week ago. I never felt so cold in my life before!

  I heard on the news this morning that America is going to put a man up in a rocket again. I hope it is a successful trip for the fellow inside.

  I have a boil on my second toe and gosh is it painful! It doesn’t look much but it can really hurt, especially at night!

  My garden is just a frosted black mess now. Gee, I could cry every time I look at it. Even the pineapples were frosted. They are black too.

  I have enclosed a snap I took of Len bulldozing behind the house. I couldn’t get close enough to him as he was pushing a tree over at the time.

  So love,

  Dulcie

  * * *

  PS Terry has another pet - a kangaroo rat. Len ran it down and caught it. They are like a kangaroo but only grow to one foot [30 cm] high.

  12th September 1961

  Dear Fran,

  Well, we could do with some of the rain you were getting when you last wrote. Gosh, we are having terrific winds - has been blowing in great gusts for three days now. My garden is getting a bad time of it. Limbs are breaking off the shrubs and just about all the plants are stripped of leaves.

  I had four back teeth out three days ago and gosh is my face painful. Usually they never worry me but this time I seem to have something wrong. My whole face is swollen and so sore.

  You ask what Terry is interested in. Well, mostly riding his bike and pulling nuts and bolts out of old engines Len has in the shed. I guess he copies Len when he is fixing up the machinery. I’m glad you liked the cards. I have enclosed a couple more that belong to the Shell Project set. Also more of the matchbox tops.

  Well, Fran, please excuse this short note but I don’t feel the best and shall go and have a nap while Terry is having his.

  Love and all the best,

  Dulcie

  25th October 1961

  Dear Fran,

  I was pleased to hear that Dick has a job. You will be all feeling bright for Christmas now.

  Yes, we do have a Sears store here but its called Waltons-Sears. There are 18 branches of this store in Australia.

  Did the kiddies enjoy Halloween? We don’t have it over here.

  Gosh, it is so hot and dry here. They say it’s the worst drought since 1946. There are dead stock everywhere and those that are still alive are just skin and bones.

  We are out of house water - all tanks empty. I am carting [water] in the truck from a well ½ mile [1 km] away and then I have to tip it into a tank here.

  Len is so busy. He’s trying to feed stock and water them too. Apart from the money loss, I hate to see animals die of hunger and thirst.

  We have only recently gone out of pineapples and onto cattle too! We still keep a few acres of pineapples, citrus and other fruits just to fall back on.

  I am enclosing a few stamps that someone may like. I haven’t any new match tops. Have you any old stamps you don’t want, Fran?

  Both cats, the dog and Terry are stretched out on the verandah floor sound asleep. Lovely and cool out there! I think I’ll join them later.

  Mum bought a lovely Persian kitten. Gosh, it’s beautiful but such long fur, nearly 2 inches [5 cm] long. I don’t think it will be much good up here in the tropics. However, she is considering getting its fur cut.

  Well, Fran, I must away now and get a cool lunch ready and then get the truck out for more water!

  Yours with love,

  Dulcie

  2nd February 1962

  Dear Fran,

  Many thanks for the papers and lovely bracelet. Terry enjoys his puzzle very much. We don’t see things like the bracelet and puzzle out here. I mean ones of Australia to send overseas. However I was able to find a couple of things to send with some papers a few weeks ago. You should get it soon.

  You say in your letter Ricky starts school in September. Our kids start school here January 30th and go every week from 9 to 3:30. They have 2 weeks holiday in May and go again until August when they have 2 more weeks off, then go until December 18th then have a few weeks off and start again on January 30th the following year.

  Children must be 5 years old before they start and they must start on January 30th and aren’t allowed to start in the middle of the year. If they miss out through sickness or something they have to wait till the following year. Most country children are taught at home by their mothers by correspondence schools as there aren’t many schools in the country.

  Terry will be quite lucky as the school here is only 12½ miles [20 km] away and the State Government pays for a bus to take the children from this area to school. The bus passes our house and leaves here at 7:30 in the morning and gets back here at 5:30 in the evening. It’s a long day for a small child though.

  I think I’ll wait until Terry is 6 years old. I can apply for a year’s absence from
school on account of the distance if I want to. At this time of the year here it’s risky to send the kids when it’s raining as the creeks come up and often the bus gets stranded and the kids have to be either brought over in boats or stay the night in the bus and come over the next morning if the creeks have dropped.

  January, February and March are what is termed the wet season here, though monsoon rains come down from the north. The creek closest to us has been over the bridge only once this year but not high enough to stop traffic. It’s very hot and steamy now - while there’s a break in the rain. Len has been bogged twice today with the tractor - is he in a nice mood?!

  Well, Fran, I guess I must close and do some work. So once again many thanks for the gifts and I hope you get yours okay.

  Love from,

  Dulcie

  17th March 1962

  Dear Fran,

  Well, we have had plenty of rain now! We have been isolated by the two creeks for a week, however they have gone down under the bridges now.

  Officially summer is over and we are in autumn now. It’s quite cool too, was 75 degrees [24℃] this morning and I had to put a blanket on the beds last night.

  It’s a lovely day today - the sky is clear and blue and a bright westerly breeze is blowing. The temp is still only 77 [25ºC] degrees at midday!

  Len is away at the far end of the place ringbarking [killing trees by stripping bark around the circumference of the trunk] and he’ll be there a fortnight before he comes home. Seems kind of lonely here - just Terry and I.

  I have another boil on one of my toes! What a place - it’s very sore and throbbed all last night.

  We have to go into Yeppoon in two weeks time for our chest X-rays. It’s compulsory to go every twelve months for an X-ray for TB [tuberculosis] in Queensland. I don’t know about the other states - if they do or not. It’s quite free, the government pays and I think it’s a good idea. The only way to wipe it out. North Queensland has a very high TB rate.

  Gee! I got ducklings everywhere at the moment and three other ducks are sitting. One on 20 eggs, due out in a week - one on 15 eggs and another on 13 eggs. I keep them to eat. Sometimes I sell them if I get too many.

  My garden looks lovely just now. Roses and gladioli are out in bloom with countless annuals and all the bulbs to flower are starting to shoot after winter.

  We’ve got a wonderful crop of pawpaws too! Ready to be picked and packed for market in a week or two. Also cucumbers, bananas and custard apples all ready to start on soon.

  Gosh! Work again.

  Well, Fran, I had better close now - by the way have you got the parcel I sent yet?

  Love and all the best from,

  Dulcie

  PS Will have a new set of match boxes for you next letter.

  23rd April 1962

  Dear Fran,

  Today is Easter Monday and the Easter holidays have taken a few more lives in accidents. Three car smashes in Yeppoon since Good Friday. We went into Yeppoon on Saturday and gosh was there some traffic about! The roads were full! We stayed to see the pictures and saw “Summer Place” starring Sandra Dee and Richard Egan and another one - some cowboy thing. I liked “Summer Place” very much.

  Many thanks for the photos. They are a beautiful colour. Mark has an impish look about him and I bet he likes to get into mischief? Like Terry.

  I have enclosed a few pawpaw seeds for you. I can’t put many in the letter in case they make it too heavy. They like a tropical climate but if you put the seeds in after winter and keep them in a warm sunny spot they will come up, then the trees must be kept in a warm place too. Maybe you could plant the seed in large 4 gallon tins or something and take the trees inside in winter.

  You must have a male and a female tree to get fruit to set. One male to every 10 female trees. The male tree gets long branches of flowers about 12 to 14 inches [30 - 35 cm] long and the female gets white flowers close up against the stem. The bees then pollinate them.

  If there are no bees, rub flowers off the male on the females. The trees bear [fruit] when they are about 7 and 8 months old and 3 ft [91 cm] or so high. The fruit goes yellow and soft when ripe.

  They grow kind of wild here. Every seed that hits the ground will grow but I don’t know how they’d go in the cold areas. Anyway, try them.

  About that “monster” that was found in Tasmania, it has never been released what it was! There was a fuss about it when it was found - some rumours about it being a whale and all sorts of things but I think it was more of a hoax as no pictures ever appeared in the papers.

  [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6O9j2Nb4KE]

  Well, Fran, I must end now and get some work done. Len is away and Terry and I have the outside work to do.

  Your pal,

  Dulcie

  PS Enclosed is a part of new set of match tops. Progress of Australia. There are 64 tops to the set. Will send the others as I get them.

  1st July 1962 Mt. Pelion Via Mackay, Queensland, Australia

  Dear Fran,

  You’ll notice the change of address. We are up here for the sugar cane season.

  Len is cutting 1900 tons [1 ton = 1016 kg] at the rate of 20 tons a day. Gosh, they are long days. Up at 4:30 am and not in bed again until 9:30 pm. Still there’s a lot of money in it and we need it, to swing off the fruit crops at home onto beef cattle. We need about £2000 to buy the cattle to stock our place. It’s about 300 miles [483 km] from home to here.

  The cane farms have small huts on them for the cane-cutter and family to live in - and are they small! This one has 1 bedroom 10 x 20 feet [3 x 6 metres]. 1 kitchen 9 x 20 feet [2.7 x 6 metres]. 1 small verandah and a bathroom just big enough to fit in! The laundry tubs and an old copper boiler are outside and I have to wash outside, rain or shine. Still, I guess I’ll suffer it ’till it’s over at the end of the year.

  You should see inside the hut. There is an old fridge about 14 years old that runs on kerosene, an old-fashioned type of kitchen dresser, a small pine table and three old chairs plus an old black stove that burns wood and smokes our eyes out. There were no beds so we brought our own and there’s no cupboards or wardrobes to put clothes in, so they have to stay in our suitcases. The floors are bare wood and how I hate scrubbing them! Oh well, I guess its good exercise - I suppose I need it too.

  The Holden all packed up to go up to Mackay

  Did I tell you last letter I’m expecting a baby at the end of November? I have the same doctor in Mackay as I did when Karen was born 6 years ago. A woman doctor and she was very good so we went into Mackay last week and I went to her again. We are only 1 and ½ hours drive from Mackay - most of the road is bitumen surfaced and the road gang are working on the other few miles of gravel road.

  A beach, “Seaforth” is only 10 miles [16 km] from here and we go down each weekend. We have rented a house there to spend the weekends. The house is lovely and fully furnished - a change from here.

  Well, Fran, I must away now as I have to get dinner on for Len.

  All the best and love from,

  Dulcie

  5th August 1962

  Dear Fran,

  The weather here has been quite cold. We haven’t had any frost but still the nights and mornings are very cold. The days warm up to 80 degrees [27℃]. So far this winter we’ve had only one frost and winter is over at the end of this month. Just as well as I certainly don’t like the cold! Actually the weather is no different to home here, Fran. We are only 300 odd miles [483 km] from home.

  We are going to drive down to have a look at the place this weekend. Just to see how the stock, etc. are doing. Probably won’t want to come back when we see home again!

  I’ve been in hospital for a couple of weeks. Have a duodenal ulcer and it plays up a bit with this hectic life and long days. I don’t think the baby helps it either! Len really had a job while I was away. He had to look after Terry and cut cane too.

  Terry followed him up and down the paddock and played in the dirt with his toys. When h
e got tired he went to sleep in the car. Len said he was very good. Poor little kid came in one night to see me with Len and got into bed with me and told me he was going to ask the doctor if he could take me home.

  We can drive down to a beach every weekend and stay at a motel. It’s a break from the hut anyway! No, Fran, there’s only the people who own the farm living here and they think they are too good to speak to us. We didn’t tell them we have a place 4 times as big as theirs and a lot better. If they want to think they are better it doesn’t worry me.

  At home we never act as if we’re better than the people who work for us if they are there at meal time - they eat with us and I find even the poorest people are very nice. But these people here are Italians so maybe in Italy they are like that.

  Well, Fran, I must away now and get dinner and then we’ll be off to the beach for the afternoon.

  All the best and love from,

  Dulcie

  22nd August 1962

  Dear Fran,

  Belated birthday greetings. I knew your birthday was in August but I had an idea it was August 30th. Must be confusing it with someone else. You were lucky not really feeling any older.

  The other day when I was talking to my mother I happened to mention something about my age. I thought I was 24 but mother said 25. When I thought about it for a while I realised she’s right. I felt older straight away. Silly isn’t it?

  We went home for three days last weekend (Len cut on the previous Saturday and Sunday so we could have a long weekend the following week). Everything looked lovely and we hated coming back here.