Life on the West Island - The Days of Our Lives

The start of a new year is often a time for reflection. Here at Life on the West Island, we got to thinking about years past, and the special days in each month of the year which we anticipated with excitement or even dread.

January

Although the first month of the year was usually very hot, with lots of opportunities for swimming, tennis and cricket, it rapidly degenerated into a time of dread. Shortly after New Year’s Day, the back-to-school advertisements began to appear in the daily newspapers. Then the wireless airwaves were filled with reminders to buy up pens, pencils and exercise books for the dreaded resumption of school late in the month. We had to buy up rolls of brown paper to cover text and lesson books, all carefully labelled with our names and class numbers. Australia Day was unheard of in our state, so we desperately swam and played sports in the hope that the dreaded day of school’s return might never come...

February

…But of course it did, and the shortest month of the year was a time for knuckling down to reading new text books and acclimatising to a new teacher. Our overcrowded and non-airconditioned classrooms did not provide ideal learning environments, but at least we could ride our bikes across to the cooling waters of the swimming pool after lessons.

March

The cooler beginning of autumn was also a time for self-denial in our religious little valley town, where Lent was taken very seriously. The picture theatre was closed, there were no town dances and residents temporarily refrained from town dances and playing cards. The pubs were all but deserted and many food retailers closed early.

April

Easter usually fell in April, bringing a great outburst of celebration of Christ’s resurrection with huge communal feasts. As children, our greatest joy was to anticipate the forthcoming sweet delights of marshmallow kokettes, chocolate and sugar eggs, along with Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday. Our parents had a general store in the main street, with a whole shop window lined with paper straw nests of various sized eggs, together with Easter caskets and chocolate animals including dogs, chickens and rabbits. We kids would hover on the footpath outside, cunningly extolling the virtues of these delights to passing pedestrians. Easter Saturday, the official end of Lent, was the biggest trading day of the year as sugar-deprived locals bought up big.

May

In May, the autumn leaves were at their peak, and we took Sunday family drives among the vineyards and orchards to try to spot the scarlet glory vines among the sea of yellow leaves. Every second year, May also included the Vintage Festival after the harvest was brought in, when the town’s main street turned into a carnival of stalls and sideshows. We loved the cheapjack and magic shows, but never succeeded in sneaking into the adults-only boxing tent. Term 1 finished, so of course we all sat for end of term exams, marked out of 500. May 24 was Empire Day, when we solemnly reaffirmed our allegiance to the Queen and all things British.

June

Back at school for Term 2 in cold classrooms. “Prune in June” was the axiom, so that is what we did when it was not raining.

July

The coldest month of the year, so we put out bowls of tapwater in the garden to see if a layer of ice would settle. Winter sports were well underway, and we vigorously supported our local basketball and football teams as they battled surrounding towns.

August

Time for more end-of-term exams. Any marks less than 495 out of 500 brought recriminations from teachers and parents.

September

Spring at last! A time for exciting sporting finals and preparing the ground for vegetable and herb plantings. And the local picture theatre ran an all-day school holiday programme of a repeated loop of newsreels, serials, cartoons and travelogues. You could stay as long as you liked for just a shilling.

October

School began to become really serious, as the end of year promotion exams approached. If you were in Year 7, you needed an aggregate over three terms of more than 1400 out of 1500 marks to gain entrance to high school.

November

One of the great highlights of any year was Guy Fawkes Night, when the whole town turned out for a massed display of sparklers, Catherine Wheels, bangers and skyrockets. All the birds around town deserted their nests as rockets shot all around them. For the only time each year, our terrified pet cattle dog was allowed inside, as he shook and whined at the smells and sounds of the crackers. Even the limp fizz of a tiny penny rocket was enough to send him scrambling for cover. November also brought the Melbourne Cup, when we were locked in our classrooms while the teachers gathered around the wireless set in the staff room to listen to the Race Which Stops the Lessons.

December

So, the year drew to a close as Term 3 ended with the school swimming carnival, final exam results and the annual concert. Then it was into the annual Christmas celebrations, with once-living native pines tied around each shop‘s verandah posts and festoons of coloured lights over the main street. On the Friday before Christmas, there was a colourful parade of decorated floats, brass bands and carol singers, topped off by the arrival of Father Christmas with a sleigh full of free fruit and small gifts for all children. On Christmas Eve, there were large family worship services, followed by the opening of Christmas presents. On Christmas Day, we had a big family feast including rare foods such as roast chicken and steamed fruit pudding. In our corner of the West Island, Boxing Day was a trading day, so it was back to work in the shop. And just around the corner were those dreaded back-to-school advertisements….