Not All Playgrounds are the Same

The tall sapless trees are scarred by the chiselled rings around their girths. They stand rotting in place, slowly drying out unable to pull any moisture from the soil. The ground is strewn with fallen branches snapped by the wind, leaving behind bony like protuberances.

Photographer Unknown, Cubby house building, Brucknell, Victoria Australia, circa 1939[b067]

Four children play in the remains of a huge tree, a single stump lying upended in a cleared patch of ground. The flatsawn surface of the trunk is partially rammed into the soil like a crashing rocket. The roots follow behind like tail fins, the loose bark pulled away, stubs are all that remain of its large roots. 

The stump has been transformed as the centrepiece of a fort. Split lengths of dried wood and sheaths of bark lean against either side of the upended stump to create lean-to rooms. Strewn in front are lengths of bark, a welcome mat that stretches across the front.

Holding the camera the photographer has arranged the children, in an effort to accomplish a sense of balance and harmony. Warrick on his haunches leans against the exterior of the fort wall, his head slightly tilted forward as he peers up at the camera. Sitting to his left an older boy, Jeff, leans back against the stump. He fills the makeshift rectangular doorway. His body facing Warrick but his head swivelled, as instructed, to face the camera. Judy, the only girl sits alone occupying the smaller triangular opening, her arms clasped around her knees. She squints at the photographer, waiting for the interruption to end so that work can continue on more important matters.

Sitting on top of the entire structure the last boy sits looking down from his vantage point as though commanding all that he can see.

This post is part of  Sepia Saturday 504 : Saturday 25 January 2020

Water Play in the Pigs Trough

Beyond the farmyard, as far as the eye can see, thin branchless ringbarked trees stand tall. Their blackened bark beginning to fall away revealing ghostly white trunks. Two large low stumps, mark the dividing no-man’s land between the farmhouse buildings and the farm grounds proper. It is blanketed with gently swaying native grasses that obscure the uneven land riddled with potholes beneath. A place where rabbits set their traps digging borrows in unseen places, easily snapping a horse or man’s leg should they not be paying attention to their footfall.

Photographer unknown, Water play in the pig’s trough, circa 1939, Brucknell, Victoria, Australia, Sandra Williamson’s private collection [T094]

Two children play in the foreground on the other side of no-man’s land near the house. Warrick, a boy of seven sits in an elevated metal feed trough with wooden legs facing forward. His arms raised to chin height are spread widely, hands flapping in delight as the cold stream of water hits his bare chest. He grins at his sister, Judy. She stands a few feet away facing Warrick in the metal laundry tub, dressed only in shorts. Her feet submerged, right foot securing the base of the portable pump beside her, her hand clasping the handle of its plunger. She pushes down deploying her entire weight, her thin wiry framed body swaying in response as she repeats the movement. Her left-hand holds the end of the pump’s long hose that winds behind her resting its middle section on the ground behind. She points the hose at her brother. The soft whoosh of the water finding its target causes her to squeal in delight.

The warm air swirls around them. A large and stocky pink sow with a distinctive large dark saddle-shaped patch on her back stands between the laundry tub and the currently occupied drinking trough. Standing chest height to the playing children she positions herself out of range of the water stream. She is double their combined weight, as are all the five pigs beside her that form a line from largest to smallest that stretches back to their enclosure through the open gate. Their large heads with their long snouts are bent down nudging the moistening soil, making deep guttural rumblings of satisfaction.

Unconcerned but at a respectable distance from both the children and the pigs are two white hens. Hearing the noise they move closer scratching in the short grassy uneven ground, fossicking for the insects aroused by the commotion and cool water.

Soon the tank water will be gone, a precious commodity that must be made to stretch the long summer months. Water play is a rare reprieve from the oppressive dry heat and a welcome distraction from the long summer days.

This post is part of  Sepia Saturday 503 : Saturday 18 January 2020

Sources

• Changing Landscapes – Farming and land clearing 
• Image Photographer unknown, Water play in the pig’s trough, circa 1939, Brucknell, Victoria, Australia, Sandra Williamson’s private collection [T094] (part of the Myrtle Sharp Collection)
• Interview, Mrs Judith Williamson by Sandra Williamson, 2015, Patterson Lakes, Victoria, Australia
• W. & B. Douglas (Firm). Illustrated Catalogue of Hand And Power Pumps, Hydrants, Etc. Edition: 1903. Middletown, Conn: [F.A. Bassette Co., 1903.]  accessed 19 January 2020

Down by Curdies River in country Victoria

Any reason was a good reason to go to the creek when the days were hot and dry. Everyone would meet up at Taylor’s farm. The air filled with anticipation and excitement, a break from the farm life. There was always a short delay after arriving at the farm, the formalities and greeting before they could begin their amble across the paddocks. Chatting, careful not to stand in any cow paddies, flicking the flies with their hands and scanning the ground careful not to stand on any snakes basking in the sun as they went. They knew they were close to the water when the descent into the gully began.

Figure 1 Photographer unknown, Judy and Warrick with friends standing on the gully crest of Curdies River, circa 1939, near Brucknell, Victoria, Australia, Sandra Williamson’s private collection [b077]

For special occasions Judy’s hair would be curled, a long process that began the day before. After dinner, the large cast iron tub would be placed in the kitchen and filled with warm water from the kettle, ready for the family to bathe. As the youngest Judy was last. With her fine hair still wet Myrtle tightly rolled sections around long strips of torn cloth. These would remain in place until the morning when all would be revealed as the cloth was untwirled, result unpredictably in either soft languid curls or a frizzy frenzy of tight corrugated wrinkles. 

No mind Judy’s hair would always return to its natural form within a few hours much to Myrtle's consternation. 

Figure 2 Photographer unknown, Group shot of a family picnic gathering at Curdies, circa 1939, Curdies River near Brucknell, Victoria, Australia, Sandra Williamson’s private collection. [b124]

The river water was always cool as the water made its way to the sea, shaded by the large overhanging trees it made a wonderful playground of mud, sticks and small creatures. A place to play tag and run around without worrying about “keeping quiet” as Myrtle would often remind Judy when she was inside at home

Figure 3 Photographer unknown, Children sitting on the river bank with Norm Crump, circa 1939, Curdies River near Brucknell, Victoria, Australia [b086]

 “To keep the children safe a big thick rope was tied around the children’s chests in turn while they played in the water and tied to a makeshift bridge across the river. The rope was large & prickly” 

People in Images

Figure 1 Judith Todman on the left, unidentified friends in the middle and Warrick Todman on the right.
Figure 2 Judith Todman second from the left, Warrick Todman sitting in the middle and [Uncle] Norm Crump standing at the back. (other children yet to be identified)
Figure 3 From the left: Standing- unidentified Girl, unidentified Boy, Warwick Todman; Sitting: unidentified Man 1, unidentified lady in a hat, Doris Carter (in a cloth turban), unidentified Man 2, Stuart Taylor, Myrtle Todman, Judy Todman

This post is part of the Sepia Saturday 502 : 11 January 2020 visit their site to learn more.

Sources

Interview, Mrs Judith Williamson by Sandra Williamson, 2015, Patterson Lakes, Victoria, Australia