NEBO IN THE 1940’s - The Day The Best Telegram in the World Came.
A telegram came to the post office that dad and two younger men, Carney and Robin Ney were coming home on leave; they had joined together and were posted to the same company. It was a wonderful day when dad arrived in his uniform – fully armed with 303rifle with bayonet attached, gas mask, steel helmet and all his webbing; He also had two kit bags and a bulging holdall. One thing I noticed was that dad and the other soldiers who arrived home had a yellow complexion. We learned later that this was from the malaria prevention medication all soldiers in New Guinea had to take.
Once home dad unpacked his bags; he had a grass skirt for mum! For us boys we had the pick of a small outrigger canoe, a Japanese bullet (it was a smaller calibre than a 303 and had a red band near the cartridge case – Dad said it was a tracer). Also there were tins of concentrated emergency rations – Dad said they would keep small boys alive for a fortnight if lost in the bush. He also brought necklaces and bangles for mum; these were made of Perspex from crashed aircraft…
Us kids tried on the helmet and gas mask – we soon found out you could suffocate the kid wearing the gas mask by bending the hose to cut off the air supply! Dad quickly returned it to its bag before one of us had a ‘near death experience’!
Our lighting at home consisted of hurricane lamps and one fancy light made mostly of glass with the only metal parts being the wick holder and four metal pins to hold the glass chimney in place. From new it had a fault – it would catch fire sometimes at the top of the glass kerosene container and mum would call at least two boys, each one on opposite sides of the lamp to blow it out then it would be OK for as long as it was in use on each occasion. (Sometime it would catch again when newly lit and the same procedure was called for, always with the same success!). Dad lit it on the first night home and it did it’s old trick of bursting into flame but before mum could call us boys dad hurled it out the kitchen window to smash on the hard ground in a big burst of fire – he was obviously too used to seeing bursts of fire and things blow up. The same night Chum busted the lamp he cleaned up all the possums that had been raiding the flour bag and sleeping in the rafters. Next morning we had a hole to dig to bury the possums and broken glass lamp.
Other Nebo soldiers came home at the same time so Nebo Shire put on a day rodeo to be followed by a dance that night. The ‘musical chairs’ was played by riding horses in a circle around a group of chairs with one chair less each time. With two riders left and only one chair dad won by being the quickest to dismount and run and claim it.
1/4
The bullock riding was the best ever seen, everyone was cheering for Robin Ney who kept riding until they ran out of bullocks. Although he was thrown many times he always managed too limp back for more! The biggest cheer went up on his last ride when he came out of the Shute riding backwards and holding the bullock’s tail for balance!
At the dance all the soldiers were welcomed back on their short ‘Leave Time’ and wished good luck and many prayers were offered for them as they soon would return to the battlefields on the Pacific Islands.
Colin Kingsbury made everyone laugh by doing his special acts from the Entertainment Unit in the Army. There were no fights that night and even Dave Mather behaved himself. Colin used to be a stockman with dad and had joined the Army in 1939.
Next day dad wanted to do some shooting practice as it was only a few days before they would leave for Mackay to catch the Troop Train to go south. I made a cardboard target for him and dad showed me how to load five bullets into a clip so they could be pushed into the magazine. We went across the road to the saleyard paddock, I nailed the target to a tree and Chum sighted his rifle in but said it would kick too much for me to use it.. The next few days went very quickly and it was time for Doug Fairburn Snr to pick us up for the trip to Mackay. We stayed at the Australian Hotel and Chum caught the Troop Train next day. Hundreds of soldiers were hanging out of the train windows as it came into the station and all happy to see their mates. As the train left some of he soldiers tried to grab the Station Master’s cap but he was too quick for them – He must have lost a cap before!
Mackay was busy and crowded with American soldiers and Airmen. Many great little Jeeps were parked in the streets – there were fighter aircraft flying over the city. The American MPs with their white helmets, belts and gaiters driving around in their jeeps looked formidable and quite impressive (but Chum said MP stood for Mother’s Pet.. – Somehow I didn’t think so!). The American soldiers and Airmen were good to kids and always had time to talk to you and give you belt buckles and badges.
Roddy McDonald and Vera had left Nebo and were running the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel in Walkerston and invited Mum and us three boys to stay for a few days on the was home to Nebo. Doug dropped us off in Walkerston and would pick us up later.
2/4
Next day we met a young soldier from Texas and as good luck would have it he was a cowboy! He said he could rope any critter alive. Never boys to miss an opportunity we got him some rope and with a couple of the McDonald kids went to the back of the hotel. He got his rope ready and quickly lassoed a slow old duck, which we tied up like a poddy calf. He then threw a loop over a big rooster, which made a terrible row and kept leaping into the air and trying to spike us with his spurs when we were trying to hogtie him. Someone must have told Vera, or she heard the commotion with all the poultry running around! She really went crook at us all and said we had upset the hens so badly they wouldn’t lay for at least a week! Most of the Americans were only about ten years older than us and were great fun to be with whereas most Australian Soldiers wouldn’t be bothered with kids, their questions and the games they wanted to play – I guess it showed how homesick the American boys were.
Whilst in Walkerston we Nebo kids were shown how to put a wallet in the middle of the road with a string attached, long enough to hide behind a bush then quickly pull it in when an unsuspecting driver pulled up. It wouldn’t work in Nebo as there were hardly any cars and Jackie Arnold would probably come along in his big wagon, see you from his high seat and give the bush you were hiding behind a good crack with his whip! Jackie Arnold with Snowy Burgess helping would be often seen in Nebo delivering water during the dry time to many houses and firewood all year round. They were especially busy before there droving trips and were very good at making sure everyone had wood and water. It was a great sight to see that big wagon arrive with four beautiful horses pulling it. Snowy still has the wagon in his shed at Nebo – it still looks as grand as ever with its big iron shod wooden wheels and high seat.
Our holiday was soon over and Doug pulled up outside in his dusty Diamond T and we all piled in for the hot and bumpy ride back to Nebo.
Marbles were the go at school, every kid has his/her bag of marbles stashed somewhere. All glass and agate marbles were highly prized and in the tin kerosene pump there was a beautiful little glass marble acting as a valve at the bottom of the pump. Most mums, including mine, threatened their kids with sure and sudden exposure to violence if you even looked at the bottom of the pump too long! The only chance to get one of these marbles was to search for an old pump at the dump, that’s if it wasn’t too near the nine stingers who had built more nests in old empty drums. A dink was a low class marble made of clay but ‘professionally manufactured’ (they had to be fired!) it could be ‘faked’ if you were game enough. One boy made a few and only sundried them before painting them with his little tin of water paint.
3/4
A big ring was drawn in the dirt and several boys could play; each boy put their marbles or dink in the ring; each player firing from the edge of the ring had to get his marble and the one he was trying to hit out of the ring before he could keep it. You were allowed to play from any part of the ring. Marbles or dinks close to the edge were easier to get out without losing your own marble. The fake dink broke in half when hit with a big tom bowler (an outsize marble) the big boys grabbed him, tipped out his marble bag and took one each of his best marbles. My fake dinks were from a patch of white clay near the cow yard and baked in Mum’s oven. I felt confident they wouldn’t break, but it was too big a risk to take especially with the big tom bowlers!
So it was back to school, chores and games to occupy our interests after the wonderful days of having our Nebo soldiers home with their families. Our dad was gone again and we were left with the increased longing that the war would soon end and he, along with all the others, would return home for good soon…
Ainslie McCall
Mackay, April 2011
4/4
