Disclaimer: In my writings here, I will be honest and very blunt about my impressions, in each of the parts in “Somebody I Use To Know”.
Having related to my paternal grandmother, now it’s time to write about my maternal grandmother. She was born in 1911. She was the youngest child of five. Her parents lived on a farm. (More on her parents another time.)
Memories.
I do have very fond memories of Granma.
She was a kind, thoughtful and easily approachable person. She came across as a very gentle soul who would give her last penny to someone in need.
When I arrived on the scene, she would have been around 45 years old. She lived on a farm with her husband who we called “Pop”. (More on him another time.) Like my paternal grandmother, the early days are lost in my memory.
Remember.
I have no real idea of any dates relating to the following memories:
- Going to the toilet by myself; Granma always said, “Use just four pieces of toilet paper.”
- Christmas time – homecooked food and more home-cooked food.
- Guinea fouls.
- Using an outside copper boiler to do washing and even cook the Christmas ham.
- Cinnamon or, was it nutmeg? – bread and butter pudding.
- Outside showers under a rain tank.
- Drinking rainwater from outside tanks.
- Taught how to milk a cow.
- Making cream and/or butter.
- Train travel – up to Townsville then across to Mount Isa.
- School holiday trips – Mount Isa rodeo.
- School cleaning – Granma use to clean at a small state school.
- Granma driving the blue Vauxhall ute. (Sometimes, us kids in the back.)
- Granma’s dogs.
- The “Jump-Up”.
- Yakapari 48 (Grandparents’ phone number via an operator.)
- Granma did have a “trigger” finger which appeared to hurt like hell! She always knew how to sort it out!
The House.
It is difficult to say or even describe the house. This will become evident shortly. The steps at the front of the house were high and never used! I remember being told that they were broken! We usually entered by a side door or through the back. The house layout was different. Entering from the back was a downstairs affair. A bathroom was added at some stage and was on the right. You walked left and there were a couple of box freezers (always full) on the left – wash tubs were on the right. Eventually, you got to a set of steps that led up into, what I would say was once a dining room. “Stuff” covered the tops of both tables, as well as the floor. Straight ahead was a hallway towards the front steps. Back to the dining room, to the left, a few steps on the left was the wooden-fired stove and kitchen. (No way out other than the way you came in.) The kitchen was full of every possible type of crockery. Back in the dining room, you pass through the door and were confronted with several tables along this veranda. This was the eating area – lots of different condiments everywhere.
About halfway along, the side door. A few steps down to a grassy area. At the end of this veranda was a couch where you could actually lie down.
The veranda rolled around to the right – a large chair made with canvas seating. It had two armrests and was on the left. There was a large corrugated iron shutter that could be propped open with a piece of wood. Opposite was another couch. The hallway would have cut the veranda in two but there were no walls. The large stairs were next – going down to another large grassy field.
Two single beds occupied the rest of the veranda each had mosquito netting. I remember the mozzies were bad when I was younger.
A bedroom was at the end of the veranda in an enclosed room – I remember this was where my Granma slept.
Back in the centre of the house was another large table – it was like a formal dining room with “proper” chairs. It too, was covered in “stuff”. A piano was on the opposite wall – we were always instructed not to touch it or else!! Looking toward the back entrance, there was another bedroom and then another where my Pop slept. His room was full of papers, including very old newspapers – if only I had taken more notice of what was there, I would have had a better understanding of the “News” of the day!! Or more of the past!! We were supposed to not go into this area but you all know we did…
Another House.
I don’t remember when the other house was dumped in front of this one – the set of steps disappeared and this house became another dumping ground for stuff!! All this history was destroyed but that’s another story…
Impressions.
As I have said, Granma was a very friendly and approachable person. She taught me a lot about life. We’d go walking in the bush with her dogs. The bush was part of their farm.
We would walk down to the railway station – Parapi. An aboriginal word meaning “creek”. We would have to cross the main highway (Bruce Highway.) Look left then right and then left again…
During these walks, we did walk past house stumps – I never thought to ask what had been built there. I have no idea why I didn’t ask. I now wonder if this was the original site of my great-grandparent’s house. The pathway went passed the milking bail and meandered through the tall trees – gum, ironbark, etc.) The path was well-worn.
Granma would tell us stories – mostly basic, general things but nothing in particular – maybe this is where I got my enquiring mind.
She never seemed to be cross about anything. She always wore her hair in a bun. I remember one time seeing her hair flowing right down her back and she combed it with precision before it ended up in a bun.
I do remember she used to teach sewing at a very small school. This is where she also cleaned. I do remember going with her on a few occasions to help her. It’s funny to think the smell from 1/2 eaten apple dumped in a bin, can be a memory.
I do remember she had some strange theories about being spied on. She seemed nervous about this especially when she came across a ribbon that was in the rubbish bin one time.
All the letters on the ribbon could easily be seen but in reverse – we all tried to make sense of it but got nowhere. It was only in later life; I knew it was an electric typewriter ribbon!!
Other lasting memories.
Every Friday, she would drive into town and pick up scraps from a hotel there. The scraps fed the dogs and the chickens – “chooks” as she used to say.
It was on one of these days – I had arrived back from an overseas trip in 1979. Granma was parked in her usual spot in the hotel car park. Her words will never be forgotten, “It is so good to have you home.” A week later she was dead.
She had supposedly slipped in the bath and hit her head and died. To this day, it still seems strange because I never remember her getting into a bath – she seemed to always just wash. I will never know the truth of her passing. She holds so many dear memories – so many, so many good times. I never saw her in her coffin – I wanted to remember her from the week prior.
When she was buried, she had a red rose placed between her hands. (I never knew this – will explain more in a moment.) My grandfather hated red roses, so I thought it strange when I found out.
A Vision.
I think it would have been about seven or eight years after her death, I had joined a meditation group. Granma appeared.
You know what she passed to me – yes, a red rose!
When I told my mum – she just cried – she had seen her in the coffin and knew of the red rose which I didn’t.
Connections.
I feel always connected to her – even as I write this, I sensed her presence – such an amazing person, so sadly missed to this day. I love you, so much Granma – oops, wet eyes!
She passed away on St. Valentine’s Day.
I am sure you can see all the connections.
Note: Other details about my maternal grandmother in another writing.
Accreditations.
Mount Isa Postcard:
The Leichhardt River at Mt. Isa, Qld. Colour Photographs by Bruce Wegner. Published by Sydney G. Hughes, 154 Arthur Street, New Farm, Brisbane
Typewriter Ribbon:
© Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Typewriter_ribbon_of_polymer_tape-4249.jpg
Ancestor Family 
Love this post, Rod! Brought back my own memories of my Nan.
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