The Sausage Tree Read Free Page B

carrying Dad, Geoff and all our possessions.
    Not long after the furniture van had gone we heard a “yoo-hoo” at the back verandah and in walked Mrs Brooks our landlady. She was a small lady and carried an enormous tray that held cups, a big pot of tea, sugar, scones and cake and a big jug of milk for us children. The look of appreciation on Mum’s face will never be forgotten. Mum and Mrs Brooks became lifelong friends calling one another Johnnie and Brookie and that “yoo-hoo” was their greeting as they opened each other’s door on a visit.
    We children in later years disrespectfully called her Old Mother Brooks because she always seemed to be on the lookout to catch us misbehaving. When we heard her rapping on her kitchen window we knew we were in trouble because she would waste no time hurrying along a well worn track between the two houses to report us to Mum. This resulted in us being thrashed and we still think she must have been a sadistic person. Who else would instigate the dreadful punishments we received? It was just as well she never had children of her own. They would have had a miserable life. We will never understand how the same woman could be so concerned as to ring the RSPCA about a local farmer who regularly whipped his draught horses until they screamed in pain and fear. The noise was frightening to hear. Apparently working horses meant more to Old Mother Brooks than children being treated in a similar way.
    We were again quarantined for six weeks because the infantile paralysis epidemic had spread to Tasmania and we had moved from Launceston which had been proclaimed an infected area. When the new baby arrived she was named Wilma for Mum’s father William, and the chosen second name was Merle after Auntie Merle who had been so verygood to Mum. Mum stayed three extra weeks in Launceston when Wilma was born because due to the paralysis epidemic all bus and train transport had been suspended.

    The three older children missed a lot of schooling during 1936-37, but, as young folk most often do, we soon caught up on the lessons. As time went by this proved to be true with us as we were all high achievers at school. When we finally went to our new school we thought we were special. We’d come a long way, travelled in a big ship, lived in Launceston and had such a lot of holidays. All the other children hadn’t come from anywhere; they’d always been there. In reality the first three years at that school were horrible. The other children used to beat us up and many times we went home with our clothes torn, sometimes almost irreparable. As a result we were once again in trouble at home. Mum was quite sure that we were the instigators of the fights.
    Our early years at Lilydale school are remembered as an ongoing fight with the local children. We soon learnt to fight back with the same unfair tactics of scratching, kicking and hair pulling, but the advantage was always to the other side who had numerous allies, whereas we were one against many because we were too busy defending ourselves to go to the aid of our brother or sisters. Perhaps the fights were initially because we were new kids but we sometimes think it turned out to be just another pastime. However, when Wilma and Peter started school they were accepted as locals and so escaped the “ganging up” and the resultant bashings from their schoolmates.
    Although we later became friendly with everyone, only Barbara and Wilma made a lifelong friend from school.
    One particular event that we remember very wellinvolved a rather unpleasant twelve year old girl who lived with her grandmother and travelled to school on the school bus. One day at recess time she announced that her grandmother had given her some special sandwiches to share with her friends (which she didn’t have). The six girls involved enjoyed the treat and were then told that they had just eaten mashed snail sandwiches. Joan promptly threw up