Reminiscing....Houses which I have lived in.
I have been going through photo albums and found a lot of family history which has stirred my own memories. There are gaps when I didn't have a camera as photography was expensive to process prior to this digital age.
My parents started off with nothing, so relied on teacher housing which was very basic by today's standards. I was born in Alexandra, Victoria as a twin., in 1956. Mum and Dad moved to Alexandra from Terang where my 2 older brothers were born. Mum was a doctor in the small community and Dad taught at the High School. This photo doesn't show how delapidated the house actually was, no hot water, heating and many broken floor boards, great for snakes.
Alexandra
The bitter cold and damp winters didn't agree with Dad's lungs and once he achieved a promotion and Mum was ready to establish her own medical practice. They moved to a new suburb being established in eastern Melbourne. It was all bush, mud roads and a few farm houses. They were able to buy land and build a basic house with a supplement mortgage provided by the government for Dad's service in the war.
This home in Mooroolbark is where I grew up and spent 18 years there, from 2 years old. It was a big house for the time and has since been renovated into a bigger more modern home.
2 Harley Crescent, Mooroolbark
From Mooroolbark I moved with Mum and Dad to a house opposite Greythorn Primary School. It had many structural faults so Mum and Dad sold it after 3 years. I only lived there for a couple of years while finishing my teaching degree.
12 Reading Avenue, Greythorn
Once I finished my teaching Degree, I was sent to Maffra HIgh School to complete the compulsory 3 years country service, as the government had paid me to become a teacher. No HECS debt in those days. I loved my days in the country and made many friends and found a lot of Nobles, some related.
I moved into Heyfield and actually boarded with a lovely woman who was also a Noble but not related.
We got along well and remained friends until she died aged 100 last year. I lived there for 3 years before going to PNG.
5 Harbeck St, Heyfield
I use to travel home to Melbourne to stay with Mum and Dad at Balwyn usually every second weekend, but it was a 3 hour drive back then.This was a cute house which they extended and I stayed in whenever in Melbourne, later with the family.. However now it has been replaced with a big townhouse complex.
After teaching in Maffra for 3 years I went to PNG as a volunteer with Australian Volunteers' Abroad, it was an eye opening experience for a naive girl like me.Looking back it was fraught with danger from the beginning and I don't know how I survived the poor conditions put upon me.I stayed at the school campus in Mt Hagen and later shared a house with my future husband and now ex husband in the town precinct..
Whilst living in PNG we moved at least10 times for various reasons, quite often because we had no money.I have a bad memory of some of the moves due to the events happening at the time.
I was kept in the dark about the actual circumstances and debts that were incurred.We ended up in the Rainbow village in the out skirts of Pt Moresby in a new housing estate, still with basic ammenities, no telephone or hot water. The children started their schooling in Pt Moresby, except for Hazel.
Once we moved to Cairns in 1994, we rented at first in Richardson St, Edge Hill, and later moved into a house in Jensen St, also in Edge Hill. it was quite a good house with a pool and 4 bedrooms which was a great home at the time.This house Mum and Dad bought for us as we had no income except a small amount from my relief teaching.
105 Jensen St, Edge Hill. Cairns
When I finally left Cairns in 2002,only with Jason and Hazel at that stage. I rented an old house almost next to Mum and Dad's so I could help them as Dad was not well and mum found it hard to cope . I too needed support having finally left my marriageand bereft at having left Philip and Michael behind.
I needed more space so in 2004 we moved to Narrak rd, Balwyn . Jason, Hazel and Haydn, my nephew, went to Camberwell High School and Michael began TAFE, Box Hill. Philip moved in with Mum after Dad died in 2005..
15 Narrak Rd Balwyn
After Mum died and I inherited some money, and was also in a relationship with Greg my husband, now, I was ready to find a new permanent home. This place I had looked at initially as it was a little bit quirky but was deemed too expensive. The owners took it off the market but when approached a second time negotiated an affordable price.At that stage I had all the kids with me except Philip plus Jason's now fiance.
We have been here 11 years.
Greg and I are on our own here now and love it. The house we have made our home and it is where we will be til the end.
Also worth mentioning , Mum and Dad bought a piece of land vastly overgrown at Blairgowrie, only 100m from the beach.After many weekends clearing the land , Dad built a 2 bedroom kit home with only the basic ammenities. We spent most holidays at the beach. In 1987 it was sold for a mere
$57,000. Now converted into a luxury beach house.
