| When my Dad first went to Meckering he soon received a visit from his superior officer in Northam. He brought him up from the Office to meet Mum. Watering the new garden being developed, she turned off the hose to greet our honured guest.
My young brother, Brian, must have wanted some water. He turned the hose on. Mum was still holding the spray end in her hand. Embarrasing spraying Dad and the Inspector.
One evening a farmer pulled into the police station yard. he said he'd hit a fox just out of town….and thrown it in the back of the station wagon…..as he drove he felt a draught on his neck….the fox had revived ! He drove the next few miles into Meckering….one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding a rolled paper to fend off the unhappy fox.
With Dad's help they were able to get the animal from the car. It had driven its claws deep into the seat. Grabbing its tail, Dad pulled it through a hole in a bag. He had to cosh it with his police truncheon and remove the claws with a pair of pliers.
Another happy customer but dead fox !
One day Dad came into the house quite upset. he'd been informed he was to go to Perth and be part of the security for the visit of the Queen and Duke of Edinburough.
At the appointed time, Dad went to Perth and ended standing directing traffic on a railway crossing not far from where the Burswood Casino now stands. He said that when the car carrying the Royal couple sped through…he forgot about his irate approach to this matter and felt very proud.
When the earthquake hit Meckering and dad saw the news he recognized many farmers who we knew well.
One was working in his paddock when the quake struck….he ran towards his beautiful family home…..that had been in the family for several generations….the farmer, Mr Sullivan, saw the large white columns, supporting the verandah, crash to the earth covering his lovely brand new car!
Guy Fawkes Night
Unfortunately the tradition of Guy fawkes Night and the 'crackers' (fireworks) has disappeared with the advent of bushfire dangers. It was a wonderful, creative occasion that we shared on our Meckering Police Station block.
In a carefree area, my brother and I had 'acres' to play. There were huge trees that sheltered rather barren soil but we built imaginary towns in a our space. The Gee cities were connected by road and highways and we had fun.
The advent of fireworks night added to this fun. We saved our pocket money diligently and went down the main street to vsiit the co-op or Mr Silbert's shop. Here we bought penny bombs, tom thumbs, volcanoes or rockets…a varied treasure of things to look forward to.
Then came the creative building of our bonfire. It was competitive in a way, in that we wanted our bonfire and the effigy we made of a man to be burnt on the bonfire (Guy Fawkes) to be the best. maybe at school we did learn briefly about Guy Fawkes , but is wasn't till 2004 on my visit to England that I learnt the actual background through a documentary on a BBC TV Channel.
We scavanged the neighbourhood for old tyres, bits of fallen branches, old planks and whatever we could find to pile and make our bonfire on the block. Before Bonfire night we carefully placed our armanent of fireworks in small boxes that in the darkness we could find them. It was also important to get some bottle ready as launching pads for our rockets.
One Guy fawkes night that stands in my memory is there for two reasons. Firstly someone threw a cracker into my sister, Margaret's box of crackers and set the whole lot off in a catastrophic explosion. My sister had tucked her box away under a wooden seat nd so it was lucky the burning result didn't burn her legs.
Secondly I was setting up rockets in bottles when one tipped over as I lit the blue paper under the rocket head. The rocket took off skirting just above the ground, and crossed the road and disappeared amongst the drums of fuel stacked near the power station. The power station was run by the Forsythe family and once I had a run in with David their son who attacked in a bullying way my brother Brian.
Fortunately the wayward rocket never set any drums of fuel off…..if it had happened, I would not be here to tell you this story.
SPORTS
Mum and Dad were great sports people. many a day I would sit outside the bowling club and peer over the low tea tree bordering hedge and watch Dad play bowls. He had just started to learn but was I marvelled at how regularly he could put a bowl so close to that small white ball they called a 'kitty'.
Dad's consistency paid off when he became the Club's singles champion. I remember him saying he came within an inch of being Singles Champion the following year.
Mum played tennis very well. Mum and dad had played tennis together when courting and in their early years of marriage. Mum became tennis champion when she beat a much younger local girl.
Dad became a champion in another strange sphere. He entered scones, he cooked, in the Agricultural Show and unbelievably won over many farmers wives who had cooked scones for years.
It was in Meckering I first attended cubs and this was a great experience.
Our time in Meckering came to end when Dad was transferred to Donnybrook, a place I'd never heard of. But it was going to be a place that lived in my memory and at various times figured in my sporting pursuits. |
