I remember when . . . .

[Duyz72]

From another thread, got me thinking we all have those "I remember when . . . ." sayings which now hold true for us. #

For example #. . . .

I remember when I could catch luderick off the jetties in front of the Grand Hotel in the Broadwater.

I also remember when I used to pay out on people who had sayings whcih began with 'I remember when" #;D ;D ;D

What's an 'I remember when' saying which now holds true for you?

[petelaska]

I remember when we used to catch mud crabs on handlines in the pine river we considered them a pest as we were trying to catch fish.
Pete

[blaze]

I remember when 20 tonnes of veggie waste floated down my local river every day
also when they dumped tonnes of fish waste off the end of the local wharf
At the time there were lots of fish because of the local constant supply of burley but
I like it better now that its cleaner
Some things are good when we "remember when" but we must also remember the bad old days where we as a nation have a lot to answer to
just some thoughts on remember when
cheers
blaze

[finga64]

I remember when there was a blood line at Byron Bay.
I remember carrying the thunderbox tin down the hill to empty it and laughing at my little brother when he tripped #:)
I remember carrying the hotwater in for a bath from a copper
I remember cutting the chips and wood for the copper
I remember lollies 3 for a cent
I remember a middy or pot of beer for 15c
I remember fuel at 23c/l
I remember not locking the front door...ever
I remember my dad buying a new HQ Holden
I remember no high rises at Noosa
I remember milk at school
I don't always remember what I had for lunch yesterday :-/
gees I'm an old bastard #:-[

[bidkev]

I remember when I was always bloody freezing but at least I caught a feed:

http://www.ausfish.com.au/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1085796273/0

..........I also remember when I contributed to declining fish stocks :'( and I also remember a copper entering the cell and saying, "you'll be older and wiser one day kid" :-[ ......don't think he was talking about me becoming conservation minded though ;D

kev

[rando]

I remember when you caught a barge to get to Bribie ,and the little fat guy who used to direct the cars onto the barge. (he was my uncle)

I remember a single lane bridge at coomera and 4 hour waits to cross in the summer heat and cars boiling their radiators on the sides of the road.

I remember when a party meant a 10 gallon keg (Wood) on the verandah and a butchers tub of prawns because that was the CHEAPEST way to feed a big crowd.

[favourite_whiting]

I remember when I was 8 years old (1982), fishing with my dad on
a wood boat......
When I caught something, I reel it up till my dad said "Oh yeah, you've caught a shovel nose shark" Which I thought it was a shark made me throw the rod/reel into water, my dad had to grab it and reel it up....... which was a shovel nose shark
I've not caught those sharks since 1982 till 2005 :D
2006 I've caught 3 shovel nose sharks & 2 babies sharks ::) :-[ ::)
Hopefully not happen in next those 23 years time of catching those sharks ;D
Happy life of fishing,
favourite_whiting ;)

[PinHead]

cripes..all a mob of old buggers on here...where are the young folk.

[marshy]

I remember when I had to hang around boat ramps to find out who was catching what & when & where. That was only last month before discovered ausfish. From a youngish bugger who doesent remember the good old days.

Marshy :)

[gunna]

I remember when I used to walk into the kill room at the Brisbane abattoirs and hold an empty tin can under the throat of whatever beast they just killed. Wait till the blood congealed then we would sit under the wharf at the front and fish for mullet with blood as bait.

I remember jagging for catties at the same spot with huge trebles on 80lb hand lines.

I remember catching eels in Bulimba Ck and cooking them over a fire in the back yard.

And for the real oldies - I remember walking home from Buranda Boys to Carina to save the 3d tram fare for lollies.

[rtranter]

I remember when there was a blood line at Byron Bay.
I remember carrying the thunderbox tin down the hill to empty it and laughing at my little brother when he tripped #:)
I remember carrying the hotwater in for a bath from a copper
I remember cutting the chips and wood for the copper
I remember lollies 3 for a cent
I remember a middy or pot of beer for 15c
I remember fuel at 23c/l
I remember not locking the front door...ever
I remember my dad buying a new HQ Holden
I remember no high rises at Noosa
I remember milk at school
I don't always remember what I had for lunch yesterday #:-/
gees I'm an old bastard #:-[
Not sure on the blood line at Byron but I remember the rest, except we laughed at the dunny man when he fell over with the full tin on his shoulder.
I remember when the bread was delivered by horse and cart.
I remember when mum shopped at the local news agent for our xmas gifts.
Iremember when milk was delivered with 1 inch thick cream on the top.
Fuel was 15c a litre
I must be a bit older ;) ;) :'( :'(
Rob 8-)

[Poodroo]

I remember when I had a full head of hair that didn't get burnt if I didn't where a hat when fishing. :-/
I remember when people would smile at you and ask "Ya catchin' anything?" Now they seem too afraid to ask or something.
I remember when SP fishing was never heard of.
I remember when a trip out on the water required going past Dave's boat hire on the sunshine coast.
I remember when my brother and I used to say "Wish we had a boat!"

I am glad I can still say "I remember when" because as I get older and the years fly past there will come a time when I say "I can't remember!"

Poodroo

[bidkev]

cripes..all a mob of old buggers on here...where are the young folk.

This is as young as it gets mate............

I remember............when I had hair ::) ;D

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b182/bidkev/Whenihadhair.jpg


I remember........when the deckie had legs ;D

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b182/bidkev/Whenshehadlegs.jpg

[marlinqld]

Nice deckie kingtin ;)

[PinHead]

I remember when I used to walk into the kill room at the Brisbane abattoirs and hold an empty tin can under the throat of whatever beast they just killed. #Wait till the blood congealed then we would sit under the wharf at the front and fish for mullet with blood as bait.

I remember jagging for catties at the same spot with huge trebles on 80lb hand lines.

I remember catching eels in Bulimba Ck and cooking them over a fire in the back yard.

And for the real oldies - I remember walking home from Buranda Boys to Carina to save the 3d tram fare for lollies.

LOL gunna..the trams..we used to get the last tram home from the speedway..have no money left for the fare..look which end the conductor was at..get on the other end...then get off at the next stop and run to other end and get back on again...took the conductor a stop to get from one end to the other...we were fit by the time we got back to Carina.

[marlinqld]

I remember when i was 9....1967. Dad and 4 other uncles went out on another uncles old 45ft timber boat off Jervis Bay to the Joseoh banks. They came back with 2000lb of kingfish. Thats what i call a big haul...... ;D ;D ;D

Try and do that these days....... you would probably get hung if you could catch that many and brought them back to the ramp .................. ::)

Mike

[Camo]

I remember when I had to hang around boat ramps to find out who was catching what & when & where. That was only last month before discovered ausfish. From a youngish bugger who doesent remember the good old days.

Marshy

Marshy mate guess what. You're living in the old days. In twenty to thirty years you'll be able to say, "I remember back in the old days around 06, when you used to be allowed to go fishing."

Camo

[gawby]

I remember when i went to school with 3 pennies for lunch and got that many chips and scollops i fed about three of us.
I remember buying that many lollies for a penny you couldn't eat them.
I remember the copper in the back yard and the thunder box as well.
I remember every one had chooks and fed them scraps and got eggs from them. You couldn't afford to buy them.
I remember going to school in bare feet cause my parents couldn't afford to buy any shoes.
I remember my parents so well because they brought me up through hard times and went without a lot to keep us kids. I love to remember.
Graeme ;)

[tunaman]

I remember when I was young and handsome and couldnt see my mattress from all the chicks. ;D ;D ;D

SO WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED. ;D




signed tunaman

[bidkev]

<snip>
I remember my parents so well because they brought me up through hard times and went without a lot to keep us kids. I love to remember
Graeme ;)



That's the nicest thing I've read in a long time....thanks Graeme

kev

[marshy]

Camo, you could be right, maybe this is the good old days. Lets hope common sense prevails & we are still fishing in 20 or 30 years. Think optomistically.

Marshy :) :)

[Idletime]

I remember the leads into Manly being a couple of 44gal drums.
I remember crabbing Tingalpa creek from the unfinished Rickets road bridge.
I remember when a lot more beacon's looked like Myora.
I remember chucking my homework on our way to Cleveland Jetty for a afternoon fish.
I remember my Dad sinking into the mud at Doboy creek to get more worms.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Those were the days...

[mowerman]

I too remember the old copper and blisters from the axe.

I remember selling petrol for 13cents a litre at the Golden Fleece in wynnum after school.

I remember when Redland Bay road was gravel.

I remember putting 3 three foot sharks into the Wynnum wading pool. They were still kicking.

[Graham_N_Roberts]

I remember the dunny man, the copper boiler, home grown chooks.
I remember the only way to get to Rocky was by train.
I remember fishing the Dawson with Mum and Dad. The Dawson was clean and clear, Mum and we kids caught fish, Dad read a book while his line stayed motionless.
I remember catching #plenty of bream, flatties, whiting, etc from any flamin' place you droped a line at Capricorn Coast.
I remember my first tank of petrol 70 cents a gallon, my first pack of cigs 50 cents.


Now....

Water closets and polution, hot water systems .... and more polution, no chooks due to noise polution (winging neighbours). :-?
No train
Dirty Dawson and few fish as a result. >:(
Less habitat and fewer fish at Yeppoon/EmuPark :(
Fuel .... what more can you say. :(
Don't smoke now..... more money for more tackle to catch less fish. :D

[finga64]

I can't wait for T.O.L's I can remembers..... ;)

[aussiefool]

I can remember most of the above, using newspaper ripped up into squares for the out side dunny because dad had been on strike for mth and mths. Mum stayed at home, sitting aroung and listering to the radio ( NO telly), B&W tv.then watching the colour test pattern on when the tv can on. as a family standing for the National anthem in our own lounge room when telly finished for the night...........

[el_carpo]

I remember when my state (Illinois) had farmland and I had access to fishing at nearly any lake. Now, the farms are paved with suburban homes and mini-malls and the lakes are all posted "Private property." >:( Grrrrrrrrrr.

But, like Blaze said, some things are better. Most fishermen are way more conservation minded. I don't see quite as much garbage being left behind by fishermen (still too much) and people don't keep everything they catch anymore (most anyway).

50/50. :-/

[Grand_Marlin]

I remember having to get up to change the channel on the TV.

I remember when you had to cook your toast in the toaster ... it didnt cook itself. It was an art form to get perfect toast ;D

I remember when you had to listen for the jug to boil so you could switch it off..... I also remember Dad cursing when he had to replace the element on a few occasions 'cos the jug had boiled dry.

I remember when you were allowed to go camping.....

I remember Eskimo Pies and Hazlenut Rolls (gee I wish you could still buy these)

I remember my Nan saying "Make sure you get a good education, or you will end up on a pick & shovel like your Father" .... should have listened ;D

I remember being able to play safely wherever we wanted ... no one had to watch to make sure we were ok or werent being abducted .... we just had to make sure we were home before the street lights came on :)

Cheers

Pete

[griz066]

I remember they used to put lead in paint.
I remember they used asbestos roofing in schools.
I remember chemical companies dumping there waste in bushland.
I remember the government relocating the fraser island dingos in the dunmore forestry.
I remember when we in Qld said NO to daylight saving.
I never remember everything I forget ;D
I never forget anything I remember ;D

[charleville]

I remember when the shops closed at 11.30am on Saturdays and did not open again until Monday morning and how the weekend traffic was calm on Saturday afternoons and Sundays and the kids were all able to play sport on the weekends rather than working as casuals for the retail and fast food businesses.

I remember when the Salvation Army held Boys League nights #that all the kids in Charlevile used to attend on Friday nights and they held paper chases wherein the Salvo Lietenant drove his motor scooter all over Charleville with a kid on the back (neither with a safety helmet) tossing out torn up bits of paper for the rest of us kids to track down all over town, without any concern fror our personal safety on a Friday night nor laws about refuse.

I remember when the kids at school used to tell those stories about certain clergy and certain teachers and we did not believe them.

I remember when the only place that you could buy after-hours petrol in Brisbane was at Barnes Auto at the quiet end of Adelaide Street. #You had to drive into their garage which appeared like a cave from the outside and then do a u-turn in tight space to get to the pump on the way out.

Like Finga, I also remember carrying hot water from the copper in a #bucket for the bath. #What I also remember was how every now and then some leaves would fall into the boiling water in the copper and how that made the bathwater wonderfully aromatic with smells of eucalyptus especially. #I also remember that the buckets were plastic and that everynow and then they would slip off their handle and I would end up with hot water on my legs.

I remember when labour was cheap and electrical things were expensive and people used to repair things, even the humble toaster. #Today you can buy them for $8.

I remember kids at school getting polio.

I remember when petrol was $1.35 a litre. # #:(


Oops! #That was not so long ago. #;D

[harry_h01]

I remember:

- panda chips
- fishing in the Nth Pine river and catching fish
- walking along the railway lines home, and not being run down by an electric train
- sitting under the train bridges holding my ears and feeling the vibrations as the trains went over
- catching my first fish at Sandgate (near the highway overpass now)
- riding to school without a bike helmet
- doing a paper run
- catching yabbies in the old cow paddocks down the back of Petrie

[gunna]

I remember when the only place that you could buy after-hours petrol in Brisbane was at Barnes Auto at the quiet end of Adelaide Street. #You had to drive into their garage which appeared like a cave from the outside and then do a u-turn in tight space to get to the pump on the way out.



Jeez I had forgotten that place Charleville. Thats a long way back. And then the garages bought in the coin machines. We used to scrape together a dozen or so 2 bobs and that would give us enough petrol in the FC to shoot down to the Gold Coast and back on a Friday night.

[Al_Macka]

# #
# #I REMEMBER

- No depth sounders
- No #G.P.S
- Leaving tall necks in outhouse @ Xmas 4 THUNDER BOX MAN
- Launching boat @ Lennox wif some times trusty ol Tractor
- Kings corner
- The old Top pub in Byron
- Liv'n in da shack on Lennox beach
- Banana flavored milk in the square sided glass bottles
- Being able 2 drive onbeaches #
- Fisning in areas NOW GREEN ZONES
- Deadly Ernest TV show on friday nites
- The MUNSTERS
- The ADAMS FAMILY
8-)
# #

[staddie_local]

i remember when, i used to be able to see the bay from my house and dident need a tide guide.. but now the trees in the way. :'(
les.. ;)

[Hot_Snappa]

I remember when you could go to Fraser Island and not have to put up with lunatics destroying everything they encountered, leaving rubbish everywhere and driving like maniacs on the beach......it was actually a pleasant place to visit!
As a famous Australian group once sang...Living in the Seventies!!!!

Cheers

Dave

[gogecko]

I dont remember much at all these days. :-? :-? Am I the only one with memory problems? The hippy movement has a lot to answer for.

If you can remember the 60s, then you werent really there man
:-X :-X :-X

Andrew

[geoff72]

i remember when there was a drive in where the west burleigh shopping centre is
i remember when you could walk down to the shop as a little tacker,6yrs old and not have to worry about being taken.
i remember buying samboy chips for 45c
i remember Bombay Rock in Surfers but to young to go.
i remember jumping off the pipe at burleigh beach to surf
i remember walking down the concrete footpath infront of the burleigh surf club to get to the beach.
I rember going down the waterslides at Grundies in surfers.
How things change. cant show my own kids some of things and places i used to go on the gold coast now cause they are knocking them down.

[Duyz72]

I remember my Mum giving me money to go down the shops and buy her a couple of packs of Alpines and it was OK for it to happen.

I also remember sticking bits of sparklers down inside the smokes to help her give up smoking!!!
Funny to hear the reactions when it happens though ;D ;D
Mum never did think it was funny though >:( >:(

[Al_Macka]

I remember CRACKER NITE ... Doulbe penny & penny BUNGERS
WOT A NITE.... Wonder y im a bit deaf now
;D 8-)

[Dirtysanchez]

I remember Cracker night too, why did they have to cann that ? >:(

I remember pre decimal currency and dunnies outside 8-)
Also remember my brother knocking the handbrake on mums car out after which the car ran into the outhouse & sent it flying ;D

I remember prawning in Tuggerah lakes in NSW where we caught so many prawns dad took off his overalls, tied the arms and legs and filled them up ::)

And I remember in the same lake we would drift along in the row boat and you could SEE the flathead on the bottom.. ahhh :D

[PinHead]

I remember Cracker night too, why did they have to cann that ? >:( probably cos of little buggers putting threepenny bungers in peoples letterboxes..not that I did that.I remember pre decimal currency and dunnies outside #8-)
Also remember my brother knocking the handbrake on mums car out after which the car ran into the outhouse & sent it flying #;D

I remember prawning in Tuggerah lakes in NSW where we caught so many prawns dad took off his overalls, tied the arms and legs and filled them up #::)

And I remember in the same lake we would drift along in the row boat and you could SEE the flathead on the bottom.. ahhh # :D

I can also remember the neighbour getting her new Hills hoist....dunny man...can on the shoulder..about 4am in winter...hits the hoist...contents of can all over him..I can remember being woken by his most colourful language,.

[aussie_true_blue]

I remember when ................................................?
what is this thread about?????


Bob :'(

[major-defect]

I remember when we had a cop who used to do his beat on horse back.I remember going to the sawmill for a bucket of sawdust for the dunny.I remember catching chooks from the pen and sticking them in the dunny with the lid down{poor mum}.I remember when there was still big green frogs in Brissie.

[GAFYM]

I remember ALL OF THE ABOVE.
Now i feel bloody morose.
Think i will go fishing and remember when i could catch one.

:'( :'( :'(

[spearobeaver]

I remember when we could fish and spear flat rock, and hendos.

:'( :'( :'(

[Duyz72]

Major-defect, yeah I miss those big big big tree frogs too! They would pee on you when you pick 'em up.
We used to always get one come up through the S bend and be sitting on the dunny seat, or still in the water LOL would scare me Mum
"David, come in here and get rid of this frog!!!!"

Now I am busy killing toads whenever I see them.

Apparently there is a gropu here in Brissy which you can help breed Aussie Frogs in a pond at your home.
I know it is illegal to remove tadpoles or such from ponds but I think they give you some permit or such etc etc

If I find out which it is I will post on this site for reference.

I also remember when Michael Jackson was black!

[Freeeedom]

I remember....

- lighting the candle in the outside dunny, throwing the match in the can and setting fire to the sawdust (which had a bit of kero in it to stop maggots growing). Luckily I had a full bladder and a major conflagration was avoided
- driving from northern NSW to Brisbane on holidays while the "PACIFIC HIGHWAY" between Harwood and Woodburn was still a dirt road and you crossed the Clarence River by ferry
- sharing the bathwater with three siblings and both parents in case the tanks ran dry
- going camping in school holidays at Yamba - four kids in a tent and no parents. There was never a thought on any danger in doing this at the time. As someone else has mentioned the doors to houses were never locked
- when if you didn't catch at least 100 bream on a winters night it was a poor trip
- and all the other things already mentioned (although we always remember the "dunny man" with a can on his shoulder and an ice cream cone in his hand).
Cheers Freeeedom

[theoldlegend]

Yeah, I can remember all of the aforesaid, including:

Throwing a couple of double bungers into the office of the station mistress at Clayfield railway station when it was a level crossing across Sandgate road; and copping a number 12 in the bum from the sergeant for our efforts;

Selling the Telegraph to drivers on the way home when they were stopped at the aforesaid level crossing waiting for the train to cross the road;

Cutting nearly all the way through the rope in the bell tower at St Columban's church at Clayfield on Sandgate Road. The minister used to give the rope an almighty pull to summon the faithful, only to see it fall all around him;

The only place in Brisbane where you could get a beer on a Sunday was at Brisbane Airport, on production of an airline ticket. They never seemed to check if the ticket was used or not;

Catching the train with the old man to Pinkenba, walk about 100 miles to Myrtletown, fill half a sugar bag with whiting, bream and flathead and catch the train back to Eagle Junction;

Mowing the whole yard with an old Pope hand mower that had cast iron wheels, a hardwood handle and a canvas catcher so I could go to the matinee of a Saturday arvo at the Savoy theatre at Clayfield. I used to get the equivalent of 12 cents, 8 to get in and 4 to get some potato scallops for tea on the way home;

I'd better stop. I can't remember why I'm typing this.


TOL

[moondancer]

I can't remember what I was going to say?????

[snapperm8]

I remember having to get up to change the channel on the TV.

I still have to get up to change the channel on my tv ;D ;D

I remeber going out with my old man into the bay and coming back with 2 eskies both full with whiting he never let us catch more then 300 coz he hated filiting them. ;D ;D

[webby]

Listening to Dad and Dave on the radio
Getting our first black and white tv
The dunny man hitting the outhouse
Cutting chooks heads off and watchng them run around the yard headless
The milko turning up with his horse and cart
or walking to the mild depot with a pale to get our milk
The road from Bowen to Brisbane being dirt, especially the St Lawerance stretch
Using only wooden reel handlines to reef fish
Buying my first rod when i came south
Trolling for mackerel with bamboo outriggers
Catching my first Barra in Arnhem land (east alligator) before Kakadoo was even though of.
Driving to ayers rock when it was a dirt road
fishing the bay in a plywood boat and there were some island at the mouth
fishing Mud island before the coral dredgeing started
travelling in a steam train to brisbane
riding in the dicky seat in a humber
flying in a Dc 3
blowing up neighbours letter boxes with threepiney bungers
having a guyfox man in the back yard on cracker night
that enough im old enough now. ;D

[charleville]

Driving to ayers rock when it was a dirt road

Hey, I did that. I even remember being fit enough to climb it! ;D

I also remember when the main road into Charleville from Brisbane was a corrugated red dirt road and when the Nullabor still had 300 miles of dirt road. I remember that especially because I blew my hydrolastic suspension on it and had no suspension at all - a bloody rough trip! ;D

[charleville]

Back to fishin', i remember fishing for yella belly, cod and catfish in the Warrego River with fishing line made of green string.

[barfly]

I can remeber going to the drive in with my father and going home with my mother. by the way for all those young ones thats a big screen that you watched from your car,.cheers barfly.

[Poodroo]

Okay for fear of making myself sound really old I just remembered some more "I remembers"

I remember when there was nothing but black and white TV and how school stopped and forced us all to watch man walking on the moon for the first time.

I remember living at Archerfield during the 1974 floods and watching all the boats zooming around rescuing people from their submerging houses around us (But our house was spared)

I remember the Robert Miller nearly causing chaos in the Brisbane river during the floods.(Wonder how many remember that one?)

I remember the times of TV innocence when an Ad revealing women standing in underwear would have been considered obscene and pornographic.

I remember when dad pulled into fuel stations and cracked up about having to pay .10 cents per litre to fill the Holden EJ Wagon which included checking under the hood and cleaning the windscreen while they fueled the car up.

I remember most importantly where all my fishing addiction started with casting lessons from dad, uncles, and grandfather and watching younger brother do his first smooth cast and catching his first ear. (Grandad should never have stood so close with back turned) #:-/ ;D

Poodroo

[PinHead]

Major-defect, yeah I miss those big big big tree frogs too! #They would pee on you when you pick 'em up.
We used to always get one come up through the S bend and be sitting on the dunny seat, or still in the water LOL would scare me Mum
"David, come in here and get rid of this frog!!!!"

Now I am busy killing toads whenever I see them.

Apparently there is a gropu here in Brissy which you can help breed Aussie Frogs in a pond at your home.
I know it is illegal to remove tadpoles or such from ponds but I think they give you some permit or such etc etc
If I find out which it is I will post on this site for reference.

I also remember when Michael Jackson was black!

OMG..don't get me started on ponds and a native frog...you would not believe the dramas it has caused here..police visits etc and still ongoing.

[PinHead]

"and we used to live in cardboard box in middle of road..tell the young ones that these days and they just won't believe ya"

Now who can remember that quote????

[SunnyCoastMark]

I grew up in Port Adelaide, so I Remember:-

Tim Evans kicking 10 goals for The Pies (Port Adelaide)

Gary Gilmour bowling a hat trick at the Alberton Oval v (West Indies I think)

Using Mince meat with semolina to catch Mullet, Gar tommy ruffs and bream off the Port Adelaide Wharves.

My parents bringing home their brand new 1968 VW Beetle. ;D - We used to ride/sleep in the luggage space at the back.

Catching 20 5 kilo plus Salmon on Watpinga Beach

When the TV remote control was on a cord

When Countdown rocked

When Molly was straight. ::) :-X

Catching Jewfish (Mulloway) off the Wheat Silo wharves on White bait dipped in fish oil.

Golden Gaytimes were 20 cents.

The Brady Bunch seemed really cool :P

I had a crush on Marsha :-/

When Jerry Lewis was funny.

etc. etc. etc.

Mark

[BilgeBoy]

Arrgghhh the good old days hey!!!

I remember being 7 watching me old man hook into Spanish Mac at Point Lookout
I remember burning my $#se off on the EJ Bench seat
I remember evenings of cricket in the street with the neighbors kids
I remember the Cain
I remember getting 1 christmas present and being REALLY HAPPY!!
I remember stew every night of the week

Everyone who has posted here....YOU WILL NEVER SEE THESE TIMES AGAIN. Cherish these thoughts that you have shared. Hold them close and know that you are the last generation to have lived these glorious times.

Megsy

[wanttofish]

there is some great memories a lot of them i'd forgotton about till you bought them up

but then again i am older than most of you so the memories are fading like the sands of time.

pinhead that wouldn't be marsh frogs you are referring to would they, we have heaps of them and i often

wonder how loud they are in the neigbour houses they can get pretty loud but we still sleep,

but sometimes the tv has to get louder.

[DazSamFishing]

I remember when;

- Balmain Tigers lost to the Canberra Raiders in the NRL grand final 1989!!! (I was 3)

- A sea lion was on a stretch of beach in Tuncurry NSW

- I didn't have to work

- When you could buy several lollies for 5cents

- When my fingers got caught inside a 10lb tailors mouth

- The majority of men had a mullet

the list goes on...

Daz

[Al_Macka]

ABRGAIL......... In number 96
THE BOX . ON tv

[jackash]

I remember when... and I'm 18.... you could go out on the rockwall at Mooloolaba, at night in the middle of winter (nice and cold), and could catch up to up to 40 or 50 bream on a good night with many of them going 1-2lb.
These days I'm hapy with 5 size bream. Seem to do a bit better with softies now, but with the bait it doesnt seem that good. Shows the pressure on the fishery if i can notice such a significant change at my age.
Cheers
JAckash

[choppa]

I'd better stop. #I can't remember why I'm typing this.


TOL

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D,,,,,i don't know whats funnier,,,, you selling papers and cutting church bell ropes,,, or you remembering that you did it ;D ;D ;D ;D

hope alls well on the home front ya old bugger,,,, haven't heard from ya in a while,,,

cutting church bell ropes,,,, :D :D,,there definitely got a few things to say to you at the pearly gates mate,,,

choppa

[wanttofish]

i also remember getting the mouth washed out with soap

if i said something i shouldn't have, you'd never see that now.

i remember when we used to talk to the neighbors, now the houses

change hands to often and we rely on chat rooms to talk to

people. also songs that you could understand the words, but i still love

the current music as well. and when there was plenty of time in the day

to get things done where does it go.(now i'm late for work )

[Duyz72]

SunnyCoastMark - I remember sleeping up on the parcel shelf too! Now I look at them and think "Damm was I ever that small?" It really makes me look at my kids in a different way (Girl 3 and Boy 1) knowing full well that they will remember things from their age when they are older too!

I remember sitting/sleeping in the back of my Uncles F100 on a trip from Rocky to Brisbane with my Cousins. Also opening up the back when it was too hot to cool things down during the day. Hanging arms etc out the back window was just fine too.

[Hot_Snappa]

I grew up in Port Adelaide, so I Remember:-


When Molly was straight. ::) :-X


etc. etc. etc.

Mark




Hey Mark, you've got a good memory!! lol I didn't think Molly was ever straight!

Dave

[Dirtysanchez]

I remember when you never had to have a permit to 4wd on any beach and we would drive for hours up and down, beach combing while Dad fished.. I remember mullet schools so thick as a boy my brother and I used to joke that we could walk on top of them

Hey, I just remembered I have a brother, thanks Ausfish !

I don't remember much of the early 80's though.. early 20's and mad enough to try most things :-?

[bidkev]

i also remember getting the mouth washed out with soap

if i said something i shouldn't have, you'd never see that now.



I wondered when that one would come up.

The overall impression that I get from this thread is that most folk look back on time with fondness. That seems strange to me, as despite the strong sense of family and community back then, times were pretty tough. I sometimes wonder if we tend to "gloss over" just how tough it really was, and although my circumstances may have been out of the ordinary, I am sure that there are many "ordinary folk" who must look back and think things weren't so rosy. I don't want to sound depressing here but I recently saw a movie that was about the pommy orphan kids that were sent here after the war to Catholic missions and who were put to work building roads out bush..........pissed me off for days :'(

Anyway, I digress. I grew up in Northern England which was a light year away from the South back then and most of my childhhood was spent in institutional care. It doesn't bother me (now) to revisit it, as I recall what a Child safety officer told me when I first started working with kids.......it was along the lines of it not mattering how deprived (or abused) one person was, if they had the opportunity at a later date to look back and view another person as a significant other ie if a person was influenced by one other person in a positive way, then there would be a good chance of "survival" for that person. It may be a total stranger, but as long as there was some "warmth" emitted from that person then there was hope that the deprived could be "reconciled with life".

Anyway, these are some of my memories.......excerpts taken from an autobigraphy that I haven't yet decided whether to turn into a novel based on fact........I hope it leaves you with a "positive" feeling as it is not my intention to upset or annoy. I just feel like I would like to post here as Ausfishers somehow remind me of "significant others" I hope this is appropriate. :-/ :-/ I'm one of the lucky ones as I had a few significant others........I think that I have written before of the old guys with dew drops on their noses who introduced me to fishing...without doubt, fishing kept me busy when I would otherwise have ended up in the pokey.

"My mother and I lived in a wooden extension (chicken shack), tagged on to my grandmother’s (dad’s mum’s), boarding house. I was not allowed in the boarding house and was left alone in the hut whilst my mother was forced to work for her mother in law. It had a stove and my mother cooked her own food. There was a raised pallet? Which we used as a bed and there was very little space to move around. There were pots and pans hung from hooks on the ceiling and my mother used to sometimes cook in a big pan and carry it through to the boarding house"

"I used to somehow escape from this shack and find my way to Blackpool promenade. I remember very clearly, how I used to obtain money from the holidaymakers by begging. “Please sir have you got a penny for the toilet – I need to go badly”. I remember a family saying of, “here comes Kevin, with his pockets full of pennies and his pants full of shit”, (the money was never used for it’s supposedly intended purpose)! Family members used to sing it in a na-na-na-na-na type fashion, almost endearingly, and funnily enough, I can not remember anyone ever relieving me of my ill gotten gains – honour amongst thieves I suppose! I also, clearly remember, scraping chewing gum off the pavements to eat, even though I had plenty of “pooh money”. I still get goose pimples, even now, as I imagine those little gritty bits of tarmac grating against my teeth, like a fork."

"The Salvos band used to play on the beach opposite Woolworths. They gathered round a big square carpet laid on the sand and people used to throw money onto it. I learned to crawl between the legs of bystanders as they watched, and I would reach out and take money from near the edges of the carpet. I would push some of the money immediately into my pockets, as I reversed out, on all fours between the legs, but I was clever enough to retain some in my hand. If I was apprehended I just opened my palm and that money was taken off me. I still retained most of my gains (in my pocket), and I can not recall one occasion when I was abused in this situation, in fact I vaguely remember that most people would give me a knowing friendly sort of look, or pat my head or some such"

"My first recollection of the orphanage is of being taken around a rock factory where my mother worked and being shown to all the other workers. They were all dressed in white overalls and were wearing white turbans. My mother was telling everybody that she was being forced to give me up to an orphanage, and I sense at this moment that there was an air of martyrdom and attention seeking on her behalf. I was given a display box of polo mints and put in a car with a man in white overalls and driven to the orphanage. To my recollection I had never been in a car before, and I can not recall if the fear I was feeling was due to recognition of my circumstance or a fear of the car. I was handed over on the steps of the orphanage, the matron taking the polo mints off me and I never saw them again. I do not recall any emotion from my mother and she never looked back as she got into the car. She was in white overalls also, so I assume that she was returning to work. The two iron grills either side of the front door, at ground level are clear in my memory, and these were the grills above the cellar, where the inmates were incarcerated whenever the matron was displeased by their behaviour. The spider’s webs down there, and my fear of them, are strong in my memory also."

"I can not see the face of the matron, but even now I can feel the fear as I type the word matron. As I type this now a thought comes to mind of the regimented daily procedure, for taking our doses of cod liver oil. We were all lined up, and the matron started at one end of the line with a desert spoon in her hand. She would hold out the spoon and one of the inmates would pour a dose onto the spoon, which was then administered to another inmate. If the “duty pourer” spilt any, they were clipped round the ear and verbally abused. The matron and “pourer” worked their way along the line and because I always gagged on the cod liver oil, I was always struck on the head with the spoon prior to my dose, with the comment, “that’s for before you start”. By the time the ritual had come to an end, the “duty pourer” was invariably sobbing uncontrollably with very red ears. We also had to take a daily dose of malt and this was thick black"

"I remember: always being ill - constantly covered in sties and boils (which are caused by poor hygiene, diet deficiencies and low resistance) At one stage I was taken to Devonshire Rd Sanatorium with Mumps and it was discovered that I had dysentery.

"As I recall, we were all covered in boils, sties, and verrucas (warts on the feet, which hurt when you walked, and had to be cut out). I can smile now, as I think of us all painted brown with iodine, or purple on the feet with the verruca treatment, but God, we were a sorry looking bunch. What a bloody miserable existence! It seems like all I ever knew was pain, but what overwhelms me as I type is the sense of poverty, filth, hopelessness and injustice. The physical pain is secondary. I can only describe the feeling as grey and miserable – an image of an English winter’s day, when the clouds are black and threatening and the nights draw in early."

"During this time, I became friendly with a girl at school named Margaret. She used to take me to her home during school dinnertime and occasionally I would meet her when we were allowed out to play. To the best of my knowledge, I never talked of my plight but she knew that I lived in the orphanage. Her mum seemed to take pity on me and would give me treats of “jam butties” and the like. I adored this lady and was in love with Margaret, as she had brought me some happiness. She used to talk me into returning to the orphanage when I was “down” saying “it’s all for the best, and we’ll always be here for you”"

"I remember well, a certain winter during my spell in the orphanage, when icicles seemed to stretch from the roofing gutters to the ground. It must have been a particularly bad winter and I can remember that when I walked to school, we were actually up to our shoulders in snow in some parts of the street. We sought out these huge drifts and then suffered all day at school ‘cause we were soaking wet through. I remember putting my hands on the radiators, and the excruciating pain as the circulation returned. Matron gave us hell for coming home so wet. My reward was to have a blanket removed from my bed! The orange juice that we used to knick from people’s doorsteps was frozen in the bottles. I can’t imagine how it was delivered. It strikes me at this moment, that no matter how hard I try to think about it, I can’t remember any period of snow before or after this till I was about 14yrs old. I think of that winter as wondrous, although I remember very little other than the fantastic shapes of the icicles."

"I am thinking now of my mother working in a big fish and chip restaurant on Talbot Road. She was working at the time, and I was with her. I think that I may have been on a day out from the orphanage, and it was illumination time. There was a lot of excitement in the restaurant, all the staff strike me as excitable young girls, my mother included – something like Beetlemania turned out to be. A group of people, who were dining were being treated as celebrities and there was a lot of those old fashioned flash-bulbs going off. The people were very “posh” and this guy picked me up and put me on his shoulders. The lady with him was beautiful and gave me a big kiss on the cheek. That’s all I remember, but I do remember that it was Mickey Hargitay (I think he was Mr Universe), and the lady was his wife, Jayne Mansfield."

"There was a toffee factory that we used to walk past on our way to school. It nearly always had a huge tanker parked outside and some kind of thick syrup was pumped directly into the factory via a system of pipes. These pipes used to drip this syrup and one of our greatest joys was to find a tanker driver who wouldn’t shoo us away when we wiped this syrup off with our grubby little fingers and stuffed it into our hungry mouths. I was nearly always hungry, except on Sundays or those days when I ran away"

"Sunday was church day, and this was the worst day of the week for matron’s mood swings. We went to church in the morning, returned for lunch, and then went to Sunday School in the afternoon. I looked forward to Church, purely because we were given a penny each for the collection. I don’t recall if the matron attended or not, but I don’t remember her being there. The collection plate was sent down the row, and as we all sat together, there was nobody close enough to observe what took place. I had schooled some of the others into how to rattle the money so that it sounded like you were dropping money into the plate. In reality, money was palmed, not dropped, and if you were really lucky you got a sixpence, if you got a shilling, you were in heaven. Considering that there were 16 of us in the orphanage, I reckon that plate was considerably lighter when it left our row."

"Across the road from the church was a grocers that doubled as a tuck shop and a couple of doors away a bakers. The church was on a crossroad and the shops serviced the school that we attended, as well as the local community. This school was opposite the church. The shops are still there at the time of writing but the bakery is a tailors now. All our toffees were bought at the grocers and the bakery used to sell little individual brown Hovis loaves for a halfpenny. The loaves we bought Monday to Friday, and we used the grocers to provide us with toffees on Sundays. The toffee bought was nearly always liquorice or a sherbet tube with a liquorice straw for sucking up the sherbet. Despite Sunday being a “day of plenty”, I can still never admit to enjoying these activities, as the fear of our return to the orphanage was all-pervasive. I cannot recall if other kids got the same treatment, I cannot visualise the circumstances, but I remember that Sundays was the day when I got the brass rod on the back of my knees. I was also inspected for open wounds and got the “salt treatment on this day. As we used to play on the way to and from church, and we used to climb trees in the church grounds during Sunday-School break, I nearly always had grazes on my knees, so I knew what to expect on my return."

On return to my parents age 12

“At this time, we lived in a bed-sit on Whitegate Drive. We lived in one room, sharing a communal toilet and kitchen with the other residents. I used to go across the road to the Belle Vue pub if I wanted to use the toilet, as the one provided was horrifically filthy. Mother was always whingeing that she wasn’t going to clean up after other “filthy bastards”, and I can remember many arguments taking place in the kitchen, between my mother and others. If dad intervened the whole house listened, he was a real hard nut, but as gentle as a lamb with the other kids there. I recall coming home from school one day and he was throwing buckets of water over a huge amount of blood in the back yard, at the foot of some wooden stairs, which acted as an outside access to the upper floor (fire escape). A very fat lady lived upstairs and apparently she had slipped on the iced up steps and fallen to her death (she had hit her head and bled to death before she was discovered.
There was a German shepherd dog that lived in an out-house in the back yard, belonging to one of the residents and dad was trying to brush the blood and water away whilst pushing backwards with his foot to stop the dog licking at the blood. Dad was getting frustrated and he called out words to the effect “that if you don’t come and shift this dog, I’ll rub your bloody face in the shit that it’s left all over the place”. I was leaning out of an upstairs window and I plainly saw the owner of the dog appear from the kitchen door in a rush. Dad turned to face him, and head butted him all in one "ballet type” movement. The guy just crumpled at the knees and fell in a sitting position with his back against the wall. I have this “beautiful image” of my dad placing the brush in the guy’s hand then looking up at me and winking. He pats the dog’s head whilst the dog is licking the guy’s face! Why should I find pleasure in this incident? Was it my dad’s strength, his gentleness with the dog, or what? Most guys would have stuck the boot in, but there appeared to be no animosity involved, on his part. He’d just completed his business, did what needed to be done, matter-of-factly, it’s finished. That’s it. It’s over. If you know what I mean?”

On another occasion, the same guy was caught stealing coal from our coalbunker. Each resident had a coalbunker in the back yard. Our coal wasn’t lasting as long as it used to and dad had been questioning the coal man and knew him personally, so he didn’t think that he had been giving us short thrift. The coal man had told dad, that this guy had not had coal delivered for a while and it was a bloody cold winter so he’d been getting it from somewhere.
I have a memory here of dad giving me money for cleaning the grate (each room had it’s own coal fire). Anyway I remember that dad used to jump up every time he heard someone filling a coal bucket in the yard and look out the window. On this occasion he ran down the stairs to the yard and stopped this guy at the back door. He was jabbing the guy in the chest with his finger as the voices got louder and louder and as the guy threw his bucket of coal to the floor. dad immediately threw a punch. It must have been fast, and it must have been an uppercut, cause this guy literally, left the floor. The guy had his back to the kitchen door and it was one of those half glass ones and as he flew back the glass shattered. I remember the other residents cheering from their windows, and I have a sense that perhaps this guy was a bit of a bully and a load mouth and my dad had been the only one who could handle him. Anyway, everyone seemed happy about it. Yet again, the guy was out like a light, and dad just placed the upturned coalscuttle on the guy’s chest and gave him a pat.
Dad went out for a while and came back with a sheet of plywood, which he nailed over the broken door. The guy was still there on the floor and dad just stepped over him. I remember the guy and his family leaving the following morning and, people were lining the path and jeering. I felt sorry for their little girl who was crying but her mum was defiant and throwing V-signs. The guy was stood on the kerb and all their possessions were on a handcart."

I do remember that there was a little dirty, scruffy, wizened guy with a bald head who just had black curls at the side. He seemed a bit simple and had about 7 kids (all in one room)! I made friends with one of his boys and I asked him where his dad went with the handcart in the early morning. He invited me to go with them, and even today, I consider that expedition to be one of the most exciting times of my life. We went round all the bakeries and markets in Blackpool collecting all the damaged goods! This guy seemed to be known and tolerated by all the shop owners, some of them even had a cup of tea waiting for him! Everyone asked who I was, and when told, the reply was the likes of “Noooo, not Louie Dickinson’s boy”. Everyone seemed to know my dad except me, but boy, did I feel special that day! We collected loaves, cakes, vegies and fruit. It was all damaged. For example, the outer leaves of cabbage, bruised fruit, bent loaves, and my favourite, cream buns and the like with the cream smudged over the bun, or jam oozing out where they had been squashed. The man himself said very little and never smiled, but he certainly provided for his kids.

"I went with them on one other occasion when we hitched his cart to the back of a horse drawn cart. It was a rag and bone man who gave us a lift and I never saw this strange man talk so much, although he still didn’t smile. I found out from the boy later that the rag and bone man was his uncle and that he had his leg blown off in the war. I’d never noticed his legs ‘cause the rag carts in Backpool were flat backs, and the driver rode “side saddle” with his legs hanging over the side. Anyway, the rag and bone man gave me a goldfish,"

[staddie_local]

^^omg wow, my eyes hurt now after reading that WHOLE entire post.... :-[
les........ ;)

[PinHead]

as far as I am concerned the so called "good" old days are happening right now...I don't look back...just memories there. I grew up in the late 50's and 60's...would not want to go back there for anything...the present is the best time.

[theoldlegend]

I suppose i should apologise for misreading the intent of the post. It said "I remember when".

I posted things about what I did, and not necessarily about how things were.

My apologies. I used to be a public servant in my working life, you know. No technical skills, no social skills. No nothing.


TOL

[sooty]

Kingtin,
I thought us kids had it rough with an alco dad little money ina hostile home.
I'm very tough on the outside but a real softie when you get thru the hide.
Your story (I read every word) bought a tear and made me realize I wasn't so bad off.

I remember the milkman delivering milk,still warm in is churns from the back of his EH ute. Go out with the milk billy and get a pint, quart or whatever mum wanted. Was great on the breakfast porrage or cereal.

Was married his daughter for a couple of years. Didn't work out can't remember why.
"OH YEA THATS RIGHT SMALL UDDERS. NOT A MILKER ;D

Kev

[Grand_Marlin]

Geez Kev,

I am speechless ....... :o

[bidkev]

Kingtin,
I thought us kids had it rough with an alco dad little money ina hostile home.
I'm very tough on the outside but a real softie when you get thru the hide.
Your story (I read every word) bought a tear and made me realize I wasn't so bad off.

<snip>

Kev


Geez Kev,

I am speechless ....... :o

Sorry fellers, that wasn't my intent. After saying that I didn't think the "old days" were all that rosy, I was trying to show that even when things are pretty miserable and that even through that gloom, there was often someone who was a significant other like Margaret and her mother, or even the old guy who took me out on his "food runs" as a treat.....the old guys with the dew drops on their noses (they always seemed to have gloves with no fingers in 'em) ;D who taught me to fish when I used to run away......they were all folk who made my life bearable. They weren't even family, but they cared.........an illustration of how fond memories can negate miserable ones.

The illustration is, I hope, showing that we can make a difference in some way even when times are tough...........a kind word, a smile, or even encouraging someone to go fishing may well make you a 'significant other" in the life of someone who is less fortunate. We can do that without really trying, by just being "human".

kev

[Grand_Marlin]

G'day Kev,

I understood your intent (as you stated it before you began your story) but it is so hard to look past the overall sad story and just concentrate on the highlights.

Especially when you put it into context with most peoples lives.
ie. A highlight of your life was going around collecting second grade food, where most people wouldnt even consider doing that ... let alone call it a highlight.

I think the underlying thing is - it doesnt matter what your background, social status or wealth is - everybody appreciates kindness.

Cheers

Pete

ps - what happened to your quotes Kev??

[Grand_Marlin]

Why is it that everybody (me included) looks back on past times as being the "good old days"?

These days we have more money, more toys, easy access to travel, food & clothes are plentiful ... and yet we arent generally happy as a society?

You would think we would look back and say "no way - never going back there"

And we wouldn't.

No one would trade todays luxurious lifestyle for the good old days again - it just wouldnt happen.

But we still look back on these times as being some of the best times in our lives.

Why is that?

Maybe because times were simpler then (compared to now) and we didnt have all the rules and regulations and restrictions and environmental concerns....

Maybe because money and luxuries were scarce, so we had to make our own fun, make do with what we had, and "play" in our own backyard without going on holidays thousands of k's away.

Maybe it is because we were younger and didnt have the worries and responsibilities we have now .. a lot of the posts refer to times when we were kids.

Maybe because we had stronger family and community ties then, whereas today is very much a "loner" and lonely society.
We all used to know what was happening to anyone in the town or neighbourhood we lived in ... whereas today you are lucky if you know your neighbour.....

Anyway - what are your thoughts?


I remember when cartoons used to be funny.

I remember when terrorism was chasing your sister with a spider ;D

I remember when most things were made of steel, not plastic.

Cheers

Pete

[Grand_Marlin]

I also remember when I didnt have to work on Saturdays >:(

;D ;D ;D

[el_carpo]

Kevin,

I'm going to take a page from your play-book and post up a quote that came to mind as I read your and the other guys' posts describing the tough times you and they faced while growing up.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

Helen Keller

It's so true. Every person of high quality that I've met in life have faced and conquered fierce hardships. One of my grandpas was on his own at 12 and had to raise his two younger siblings by himself. The other one was abandoned by his father after his mom had died and grew up in an orphanage (where he met and became friends with Al Capone but that's another story- no, he wasn't a gangster at the time;D.) My Dad and his two brothers and parents had one small can of soup to share all day during the great depression.

My life was no cake walk but by comparison, my woes aren't even worth mentioning. Also, by comparison to them, I'm an ant.

I'll bet you're a much better person than you might have otherwise been for having gone through the tough times.

Thanks for posting your stories. It's good to remember just how good we have it now and how important it is to look out for eachother.

[Bream_Reaper01]

Great thread and got me wandering back over memories.

I remember when;
A quater in aussie rules was 25min not 20.

When a spear tackle was sort of allowed and head high shots were accepted as part of league.

The first state of origin game.

When you got money back for empty coke bottles.

When arvo entertainment was footty with mates in local park or swimming in Brissie river.

Video games were all science fiction.

Visiting uncle and working on his dairy farm at Maleny.

Growing up minus 1 grandfather cause he died in WW2.

Fishing with dad in any river on Gold Coast and actually getting a feed.


I'm sure there are hundreds more i could put in here but please lets all remember it's Armistace day and lets spare a thought for all those that didn't make it through wars.Without their sacrifice this whole thread may not exist because things may have been so much different.

[bidkev]

<snip>

please lets all remember it's Armistace day and lets spare a thought for all those that didn't make it through wars.Without their sacrifice this whole thread may not exist because things may have been so much different.



Too true mate, and sadly, France's oldest veteran aged 111 died yesterday. God bless 'em all.

kev

[bidkev]

G'day Kev,

I understood your intent (as you stated it before you began your story) but it is so hard to look past the overall sad story and just concentrate on the highlights.



Then I've stuffed up ::) ;D.....I didn't include enough hopeful episides I guess. I also left out the most horrific abuse that occured at that "orphanage" aka asylum in deference to the readers.

I want/need to write a book about hope triumphing over despair and good shining through evil IYKWIM. Something that can give people hope or encourage those with "good lives" to be more fully aware of how easy it is to bring light into someone's life with even the simplest of charitable gesture.

There were plenty of highlights in my childhood...sometimes neglect can also bring freedom to do as one wishes and I realise now that although I look back on some episodes with fondness and a sense of achievement, that my actions were wrong.

I really don't know for sure if the problems we have today are in some way related to how I felt when I was writing.....a sense of achievement at my young criminality. The fact that I could survive by stealing and scamming :-/ :-/ Is today's juvenile criminality based in the breakdown of family....I think so..........is the sense of "putting one over" on adults/society/others really all they have to obtain self -esteem? :-/ :-/ I don't know.

I've had quite a few encouraging pm's so here's a bit more highlighting what I mean about the above para:

“Where’s all the money coming from, for these expeditions you may ask? Well I was good, bloody good. The Artful Dodger was a bloody amateur compared to me. I had so much money I gave it away. I always had money for food, I had the best fishing tackle, I could go to the Pleasure beach when it suited me, and not once, did my parents ever ask me, how, where, or why?

I had learned a lot of my scams before the age of four. I used to collect all the empty pop bottles from the waste bins on the Golden Mile, and take them back to the shops for the deposits. Now, at this age (12), pop bottles were kid’s stuff. I knew of an off licence (bottle shop) that kept empty soda syphons in the yard and I used to scale the wall and nick two at a time (I couldn’t carry more). This was good pickings, because I’d take them to other “offies” and get the deposit of 2 bob each. That was good money in those days.
This offie was near the Pleasure Beach, and if there were no syphons in the yard, I would make my way to the fun house. The exit had a large revolving, barred gate that turned one way only, but I could squeeze under it, and gain access to the outward bound corridor that had a Marilyn Monroe “blowy thing” that blew up the girl’s dresses as they were leaving. Once inside I would make my way to the “barrel”. This, as the name suggests, was a huge revolving barrel, placed on its side. The fun was in the accessing of it, and then trying to remain in an upright position. You had to judge its speed, jump in, and keep running at the same speed as the barrel. If you misjudged, you were thrown to the floor and it was practically impossible to get back into an upright position. All that was left, was to worm your way to the end of the barrel, whilst it’s revolving motion carried you to the top where the wonder of gravity would then dump you on to the floor. I had become adept at “riding” the barrel and only fell when it suited me, that is when the money fell out of some guy’s pocket. We would all roll around together in the great big mixing bowl, them half drunk and laughing, and me, delirious with the feeling of being able to “put one over” on “grown ups”.

"Back to the money. I used to look for any lady who had a purse lying on top of her shopping bag and follow her. Marks and Sparks was the best place, the shoppers in there always had a few bob, and were a bit complacent to boot. Whilst they were leaning over the counter inspecting an item, I would just walk past and dip into the bag, and it could be ages before they ever noticed it missing. I was never caught, and not once did I even arouse suspicion. Can you imagine what all this money felt like to a 12 year-old in those days?

I was also making money by “scraping”. This entailed using a thin strip of metal to scrape under the cash doors of the slot machines, thereby pulling the money to the front, and out from under the gap, (there were no drawers, the money just dropped to the bottom of the machines). This occupation was a bit more hair-raising as you had to look out for the attendant. Some kids worked in pairs, having one act as lookout, but I preferred to work alone, I didn’t like sharing out. Funny that, because I was always generous, and would easily give things away, if asked. Perhaps because I knew I could always get some more. I got caught on a number of occasions on this scam, but always managed to wriggle away from the attendant. I’d scream blue bloody murder the moment one laid hands on me and it stunned them into relaxing their grip."



<snip>

I think the underlying thing is - it doesnt matter what your background, social status or wealth is - everybody appreciates kindness.



True (in the main) but I fear, that some of today's dissilusioned youth would bite the hand that feeds 'em. I had one kid who was with me for 5 yrs who walked with all the deckie's jewellry. No insurance cover 'cause he was "invited" into our home. 5 yrs couldn't negate the damage done to him prior to him coming here. I was angry at first but then I thought he was no different to how I was. I think (from my experience) that is how it's always been and all this talk of "the good old days" simply glosses over that fact. As I keep emphasising, if later in life he sees my family, or someone else as a significant other, then sometimes that's all we can give.........a kind word can make a world of difference, even if it doesn't have an *immediate* impact.

There are many kind words here. That is why it is so successful and addictive. We all need to belong, and even if our lives are 'rosy" there is still a need in most folk to affirm that humans/societies are generally good, kind and charitable. I think the nature of this site lends itself to that affirmation.

[quote author=Grand_Marlin link=1162957969/75#75 date=1163187473

<snip>
ps - what happened to your quotes Kev??[/quote]

They've been on holiday ;D

The farther backwards you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see. (Winston Churchill)

[bidkev]

<snip>

Maybe because we had stronger family and community ties then, whereas today is very much a "loner" and lonely society.
We all used to know what was happening to anyone in the town or neighbourhood we lived in ... whereas today you are lucky if you know your neighbour.....

Anyway - what are your thoughts?

<snip>
I remember when cartoons used to be funny.

Cheers

Pete



All your points were valid Pete, but these two in particular. Again I say, that this is why sites such as this are successful........it fills a void and gives a feeling of community although it's sad (I'm guessing) that this feeling doesn't occur for most folk in real life :-/

Could this be evolution? Will our kids look back in future years on this kind of communication with the same fondness that we now look back, and with the same sadness at it's demise? How will they communicate in the future if we seem to becoming isolated from community now?

Does that toughness of life back then give us a sense of satisfaction that we came through it? Is that why we view it with fondness? Is it because folk were "harder" back then...discipline tougher.......bullying.......do we really not want to admit to those things as they were perpetrated by folk we knew, and we have an inbuilt desire as a "social animal" to simply accept/deny these things within our past social circle? If so, why is it not acceptable now? Because we only want to see what we want to see as we get older? That these acts are only perpetrated by "unsocial" beings ie those who'se social circle we now no longer have a need to belong to?

All these questions can be simply answered simply by watching "Today, Tonight" ;D ;D

AS for cartoons. I believe that the likes of South Park and The Simpsons simply encourage kids to view family and community with cynicism and derision. I am no "fuddy duddy" but if these kind of programs were aired back in the days of Vietnam the pollies would've been looking for reds under the beds and conclude that the programmes were a commie conspiracy to undermine our family values. I can joke with the best of 'em and I'm pretty liberal, but I see absolutely no humour in the themes portrayed on those shows......yes it's satire......but how many kids understand that, and they are the main audience.

kev

The funny thing about common sense is it ain't all that common.

[bidkev]

<snip>

I'll bet you're a much better person than you might have otherwise been for having gone through the tough times.



I'm a better person than I might otherwise have been, if I had not joined the forces. The forces gave me a sense of belonging and kept me on the straight and narrow as far as the law was concerned, but it still didn't fill the void.

The "tough times" only produced an angry, anti-social young man which led to me hurting a lot of people along the way. It was only when I met my beloved deckie that I came to appreciate how I had hurt others (and myself)...........she was my major significant other who taught me to look back and seek others in my early life who had been good to me. At that time, I was seeing only the bad, whereas, as this thread has shown, most view the past with fondness, despite the fact that (statistically) most must have expeienced trauma of some sort. Only goes to show the resilence of the human spirit :D

kev

[eve]

I also remember when I didnt have to work on Saturdays #>:(

;D ;D ;D

Grand Marlin I related to all the things in your previous post about us being a rich generation and not being grateful or happy. I get annoyed by the homebuyers who complain about affordability when it's because they want the brand new house at the beach with everything not the 20year old 3 bedroom house 5kms away for half the price.

Anyway about working Saturdays... isn't that exactly the challenge? How can you simplify your life to such a degree that you don't have to work Saturdays anymore????

Here's to Saturdays as fishing days....

[gawby]

I remember the Capital Theater and the Regal thearter in Coolingatta.

I rememeber Dance Land, K Js Cafe, the fun parlour

I remember Sgt Jack Tapsul at the old police station

I remember The chief officer of the Coolingatta Fire Station Jim WINDLE and one of his Deputys being Fireman Ken WINDLE. There are my Grandfather and Father who were pioneers of the first firestation in Coolingatta along with a handful of other local identities.

I don't remember a lot when i was on the drink as i had a problem with alcohol and it made me forget some things.

I like to rememeber back in the past but i like to look to the future now and enjoy every day as it comes. You never now whats around the corner.

This has been an excellent thread and has been full of joy and no bad vibes have come out of it. What a pleasure.

I did remember the fallen today as i do each year and thank those who gave their lives so as we can enjoy our free life today.

And i did remember the way home today in my truck. I hate my truck and carn't wait to get rid of it.

Graeme ;)

[Black_Rat]

I remember when a serve of mimimum chips cost me $1 now it is at least double the cost ! >:(

[Grand_Marlin]

Speaking of chips ... I remember when Tomato Sauce was free :D

[PinHead]

amazing reading these posts...other than Kev's posts (cos I was not in England), most of the other items I can remember.

I have a question...why does everyone seem to make out that they were "good" times?

The 60's and 70's..I cannot think of one single day there that I would want to go back to...I had an easy childhood but still would not want to go back to any of it. Looking back, kinda makes me think how "primitive" those days were compared to now....Lots more people died in the work place then...we were expected to be pack horses with what we had to carry and move...cars were s*** boxes compared to now....TV..what advances we have had in home entertainment...no need to ever go to the movies now..all in house.

Fishing...I would never want to go back to rowing a 12' foot dinghy around the Pin ever again...lots more comforts on boats these days...better cars to tow them with etc etc.

THESE ARE THE GOOD TIMES.

[blaze]

Yeh dont know pinhead
Back then we could walk around town with our hunting gear, kids spent most of the time outside persuing a healthier life style, we could have bacon and eggs for breakie and it wasnt going to kill you. Maybe there is a lot to be said for lifestyles of today
but
there is no respect for elders, other peoples property, the law and we cant eat any thing cause it will kill us.
It may have been a lot tougher back then but we were a country of people that were able to survive, dont know if we have that ability today
cheers
blaze

[blaze]

and just to add
people had families without thinking of themselves and saying we cant afford kids.
cheers
blaze
ps
I would happily go back 50 years

[bidkev]

<snip>I have a question...why does everyone seem to make out that they were "good" times?

<snip>

Looking back, kinda makes me think how "primitive" those days were compared to now....Lots more people died in the work place then

THESE ARE THE GOOD TIMES.

My opinion too mate. I've seen some nasty industrial accidents that would never occur nowadays.

I can remember a lot of kids getting near thrashed to death by teachers........edges of rulers over their knuckles etc and some getting sent to juvenile detention where they got the crap kicked out of them. Adults with treatable mental problems simply locked away or given (without consent) ECT as I was.

If you were different in any way, your life was a misery. In retrospect, and having an autistic kid myself, I recognise some of those kids as having Aspergers Syndrome or some learning difficulty which went unrecognised by folk who simply thought a good hiding would sort them out. That is not to criticise those who handed out the thrashings..........it simply goes to illustrate, as you say, that things were primitive back then and most of those folk genuinely thought that they could "sort the kid" with a thrashing..........I think most of the older folk here will have experienced that and I find it strange that many in my age group (folk that I am familiar with anyway), recognise that sort of discipline as "primitive" whilst those who are older, in their 70's/80's, would almost to a man reply, "a good thrashing never did me any harm". I can only assume that "baby boomers" were in some way influenced by the 60's and are more liberal thinkers. Perhaps the older folk *need* to gloss over the past and look back with fondness as they subconciously think that there is little future to look forward to....I dunno :-/

Apart from the soap in the mouth stuff mentioned, I find it strange that hardly anyone has mentioned bullying or anything else that made them miserable.........perhaps it didn't happen in Oz and despite you all being "convict class" :D you are actually more civilised than Pomms ;D ;D

Nearly all the working class kids back then (in the UK anyway) suffered from styes, boils, verrucas and worse.........they experienced pain on a daily basis and accepted it as part of life, and I think we need to recognise, that despite it's failings, and contrary to what the media indoctrinates us with, the health service (considering the pressures put on it by a much bigger population) goes from strength to strength. One of the things I love about Oz is the lack of "class division" although I don't doubt it is there to some degree and is creeping in via health care and home ownership affordability........if you were lower socio-economic class in the UK you had absolutely no access to private school or Uni back in the 50's/60's and even the national health service, hailed as a saviour, debarred many from access.

Yes, these are the good times.........no doubt about it, for me anyway.........and even if I hadn't met someone who straightened me out, and I didn't have wonderful kids, a whittley or a tinnie, I would still have a handline and my own company under the stars to fish to my hearts content...........until the coppers picked me up, that is ;D ;D

kev

[bidkev]

Yeh dont know pinhead
Back then we could walk around town with our hunting gear, kids spent most of the time outside persuing a healthier life style, we could have bacon and eggs for breakie and it wasnt going to kill you. Maybe there is a lot to be said for lifestyles of today
but
there is no respect for elders, other peoples property, the law and we cant eat any thing cause it will kill us.
It may have been a lot tougher back then but we were a country of people that were able to survive, dont know if we have that ability today
cheers
blaze

I can relate to that Blaze, in the context of a rural lifestyle.......urban now was probably rural then, and I can't speak for life in Oz or anywhere else but in late 50's early 60's Northern UK you *had to* go mob handed or you'd get the shit kicked out of you. First it was the teddy Boys with their drainpipe trousers and brothel creeper shoes ;D and then it was mods and rockers and later the ska and reggae beat generation. The ska were particularly nasty and spawned neo nazi organisations that saw coloureds as nothing more than someone to wipe their shoes on, preferably around the head. It seems to me that everyone back then belonged to one or the other and was in constant conflict. We think of the 60's as all peace and love but mods were kicking rocker's heads or vice versa.....us guys in the army.....even boy soldiers aged 15 like me, actively sought out "hippy trash" to give a good kicking to.........a particularly nasty era in my opinion, the only difference to today being that at least magistrates handed out sentences that deterred.

I'm with you on the family stuff............if nature gave us a sex drive to ensure survival of the population then what does the future hold if more and more folk deny that? The family is the nucleus of society as a whole and if there is less family does that equate to less nurturing and expressions of love? Without children do we (eventually) forget how to nurture and love (express emotion) and will that eventually lead to a cold, heartless, future society?...........or is it already creeping upon us......... who knows?

kev

[Grand_Marlin]

.... or you'd get the shit kicked out of you. First it was the teddy Boys with their drainpipe trousers and brothel creeper shoes #;D and then it was mods ....

kev


I know some mods like that ;D ;D ;D ;D

Cheers

Pete

[bidkev]

.... or you'd get the shit kicked out of you. First it was the teddy Boys with their drainpipe trousers and brothel creeper shoes ;D and then it was mods ....

kev


I know some mods like that ;D ;D ;D ;D

Cheers

Pete


;D ;D ;D LMOA Pete ;D ;D ;D

kev

[dogsbody]

I remember when my dad and uncle towed the corrogated iron an wood to make the hut at slipping sands after the old one got washed in.
I remember my dad teaching me how to fish.
I remember my gran calling me her little surfy boy.
I remember the old out house at harvey bay when we used to stay there. Throwing saw dust in the crapper when you were done.
I remember jelly tips.
I remember real hamburgers.
I remember when sex was safe and trucks were dangerous.
I look forward to having kids and seeing what they will remember.

Dave.

[Al_Macka]

WOT EVER HAPPENED 2 MULLBERRY TREES.. :o :o

[griz066]

WOT EVER HAPPENED 2 MULLBERRY #TREES.. :o :o

Got one in my back yard 8-)

[charleville]

Looking back, kinda makes me think how "primitive" those days were compared to now....Lots more people died in the work place then

Yep - My Mum came from a mining family and used to tell me that when she was a kid there was not a single day in her mining town near Cloncurry in NW Qld when there was not a fatality in the mines. That town no longer exists - not even the slightest sign of it on the landscape.





Apart from the soap in the mouth stuff mentioned, I find it strange that hardly anyone has mentioned bullying or anything else that made them miserable.........perhaps it didn't happen in Oz and despite you all being "convict class" #:D you are actually more civilised than Pomms #;D ;D


Well there is no doubt about that latter comment. ;D ;D ;D

However, bullying was alive and well in my youth. I never liked being bullied when I was a kid, especially when I was a teenager, so I was in a fight at school every week. I was not much of a fighter except that I did not have much fear in that regard, nor a lot of sense either. ;D


Nah - I agree with you, Kev, this is a golden age. We all live richer than any member of royalty ever could two hundred years ago and we can do it anonymously which makes us richer than modern day royalty as well.
:)

[jimbo59]

I remember the old wrestlers; killer karl cox, dirty dick bulldog brower,mario milano,spiros arian,king kurtis,and brother ted.
combat starring vic morrow,the fbi with efram zimplist junior,disneyland with walt disney as host.
Hot chips 12cents rolled up in newspaper
big boy lemonade 25 cents for a big bottle
petrol 15 cents a gallon
never saw a chinese untill i was 10
jims corner the local wog shop

And what my dad looked like :'(

[sandbankmagnet]

I remember when England held the Ashes......... ;D ;D ;D

[fishingjew]

Are crackers I remember staying at my grandfathers one weekend and the dog being on heat and being woken at 4am to the dog barking then an almighty bang and my grandfather yelling out now p*ss off you monrgel and then a crash and breaking class looked out the window to see the milkman jumping over the fence and running for his life when asked what that was all about he said he thought it was another dog at her a lobed a penny bunger out the window poor milkman ;D

[megan]

I remember playing outside until the street lights came on.

I remember eating sunny boys on a hot summers day.

I remember Mars Bars for 40c.

I remember fire cracker night and the big bon fires.

[Noelm]

I say you should make the most of RIGHT NOW, 'cause in 15 years time, this will be the "good old days" when petrol was ONLY $1-00 something a litre etc.

[cuzzamundi]

I remember my folks always providing for us no matter how tight things got

I remember fishing cabbage tree ck as a kid in the 80's and catching something other than rays and eels

I remember when you could scrap after being provoked and not get in trouble

I remember when girls didn't taunt you for being a 'cruel' fisho

I remember when grown men seemed fair and true

I remember when sports were stil played for the love and heart of it with no money involved

I remember when qld actually had a summer

I remember getting the strap and the cain and learning a bloody quick lesson

I rememebr being bullied and doing my best to stand up to em all

i remember when winny blues costed 2.50 as a teen

I remember when it all seemed possible

I remember when i discovered the true love of my life - FISHING!!!

cuzza

[maxwellson]

well.. all i can say is i CANT remember a better thread.....


cheers and beers guys and gals and a happy time for you all at this time of year


Maxi

[GrahameA]

I remember when...

I use to buy Daiwa "Killer" lures because I couldn't afford Abu Killers - and they worked just as well after have new trebles fitted.

[marlinqld]

I remember when I used to outfish my wife ;D

But that was in the olden days :'(

I havent outfished her for yonks


Mike

[sharkbait]

i remember fishing at flat rock :'(

[bidkev]

i remember fishing at flat rock :'(

I'm *that* old, it wasn't flat when I fished it. ;D

kev

[spiderbite]

I remember as a 7 year old filling the old wash tubs with yellows from the Parroo river

I remember climbing down 200 ft cliffs at Jervis Bay on a shitty old rope to catch a few pigs (God were we really that silly)

I remember my old Quinne fishabout going out to the peak :o

I remember Kings and Tuna Schools that thick under the old Gladesville bridge, you could gaff them from the jetties.

I remember thick schools of Kings under the wreck on the Stockton breakwall.

I remember watching B/W tv outside the local electrical shop on school nights.

I remember doing maths at school without a calculator ;D

And so on and so on, ahh the memories

Cheers Warren

[gotya]

I remember buying 1/2 a pound of green prawns for bait for 1 bob at the bait shop at Tom Uglys bridge at Blakehurst. That was 40 odd yrs ago ;)

[bidkev]

Rather current this one: ::) ::) ;D

I remember when you didn't have to spend at least 500 bucks a kid, just to pile prezzies for the kids under the tree.

I remember when an orange or mandarin in your stocking was enough to put a smile on your face and terry's chocolate oranges were unheard of.

I remember when hams went down in price at Xmas, not up.

I remember when you could find sixpences in your xmas pud...........now they're individual puddings and you can't get the bloody lid off the things!

I remember Xmas capons that were as big as bloody turkeys and better tasting.

and one for kingcobe............I remember when the kids took the Chrizzy baloons and rubbed 'em and stuck 'em to their hair and arms and didn't use 'em for water bombing ;D

I remember feeling stuffed for days after eating on Xmas day............just as I feel now ;D

I remember making ham and lentil soup, turkey and vegetable soup, and pork patties from all the leftovers...........nowadays i just can't be arsed and the dog has a big smile on his face ;D

kev

[robersl]

I remember when there was a blood line at Byron Bay.
I remember carrying the thunderbox tin down the hill to empty it and laughing at my little brother when he tripped #:)
I remember carrying the hotwater in for a bath from a copper
I remember cutting the chips and wood for the copper
I remember lollies 3 for a cent
I remember a middy or pot of beer for 15c
I remember fuel at 23c/l
I remember not locking the front door...ever
I remember my dad buying a new HQ Holden
I remember no high rises at Noosa
love it i must be about the same age as i remebmber all that o lol but fuel was 8 c a litre when i went with me dad to fill up
I remember milk at school
I don't always remember what I had for lunch yesterday #:-/
gees I'm an old bastard #:-[

[wanttofish]

hi kingtin

you should have been at my place on wed

being a cooler day and a ham bone in the

fridge, you guessed it pea and ham soup

was made for dinner, unheard of in the

middle of summer

cheers

[insane]

;D I remember when you didnt have to que to put your boat in at the local ramp or pay high prices for fuel or bait
maybe im just gettin old or older

[bidkev]

hi kingtin

you should have been at my place on wed

being a cooler day and a ham bone in the

fridge, you guessed it pea and ham soup

was made for dinner, unheard of in the

middle of summer

cheers


Mate, I had a 10 kilo pork leg, a turkey (first time since coming to Oz), and a ham. Everybody here loves pork and as they'd not had turkey before, these two took a hammering...........the ham was practically untouched ::) Spent all this morning making pea and ham soup. With a full ham to go at I've got the meatiest 20 litres of soup I've ever made and you can stand a spoon up in it. It's just a pity I didn't check the freezer first.............nowhere to put it, so it seems we're on soup every day for the next week ::) ::) Reckon it's gonna be a bit windy down our way ;D ;D

kev

[gawby]

I remember going to Melbourne 3 weeks ago for the first time in 4 years

My truck broke down 3 times in a week. $$$$$$$$$$$$$ later and i now

remember why i wont be going back there again. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Graeme ;)