Helen Fischer (Hender) YHS 1967 wrote an article: Jottings of Yallourn
Wasn’t everyone who lived in Yallourn part of Scouts, Guides, Cubs or Brownies? We used to wear our uniforms to school, as Brownies was straight after at 4.00pm. Our Brown Owl was Joy Long (who lived up the road from us) and Mrs MacRae was Tawny. I will never forget some of the jamborees we went to - must have been a Saturday afternoon. Walked there with next door neighbour Cub, Chris Beaver. The Scouts built a flying fox which was fun. Everyone played catch with an old paint tin lid as a frisbee (before frisbees were invented). I got hit on the forehead (big lump) then simultaneously bitten on each foot by large bullants – OUCH!! Then about 6 of us went down to explore the old air raid shelters. I lost my shoe under some wood and we could not find it so they all left me there in the semi dark while they went to get a torch. We ate sausages in bread and a huge bonfire was lit where we all sat around and sang songs and naturally Yallourn being a safe place, we all walked home in the dark by ourselves.
Mrs Turner lived over the back fence from the Tilson’s. Her father used to live with her and always had a pocket full of jubes which he used to share with us so naturally he was called the “jujube man”. Mrs Turner gave us flavoured ice blocks in the small, square wafer cones.
My brothers, especially Ross, were right into building billy carts using ball bearings as wheels. I thought it was weird when I saw other kids carts with normal wheels as I used to love the noise of the steel ball bearing wheels used to make on the concrete paths - you could hear them coming a mile away. I used to accompany him to collect beer bottles from the neighbours for pocket money (funny I never used to see any of it).
Taddying at the old brick works was a good pastime, but disappointing when the taddies turned into frogs and jumped away.
Mrs Fitzgerald used to perm mum’s hair – had some perming solution left over and they talked me into using it – me thinking I would have Shirley Temple curls – WRONG. I went to school the next day and Jenny Watkinson just pointed at my head and laughed so much – I thought I was beautiful (that’s what my mum told me). Needless to say, I had this vile perm for my sister Lorraine’s 21st birthday party which was held at the Yallourn RSL hall.
I used to ride my 2-wheeler bike all over town after school. Used to ride up near the Kindergarten where we used to have a lovely teacher, Mrs McLaren. One night, my chain came off and a lovely gentleman walking home from work fixed it for me. When I got home, I told mum and she was horrified that I was riding my bike so far from home.
Every Saturday afternoon we would go to the matinee (mostly winter). The Sandilands family moved in to the corner of Southway and the Angles (opposite Bradbury’s), their father used to run the theatre at that time. I was friends with Anne and Gaye who showed me all around the theatre, projectionist room etc. They were a great family. Anne & Gaye both built cubbies in their backyard, both had little fire grates in them where they actually lit fires. They had an old pot and we used to cut up potatoes and cook chips over these little fires - chips never tasted so good!
The Byrnes used to live in the Angles before they moved to Jeeralang Crescent. I remember one Sunday after Sunday School, Robyn brought her new kittens next door to Richard Tilson’s to show us. I held one and it pooed all over my good red velvet dress. I was not popular with my mother when I went home.
My brother Ross used to do tap dancing with Mrs Huddy. Trixie Spicer used to play the piano. I have a photo of a concert at the St John’s Church hall with the boys dancing as soldiers. Ross tap-danced at my Aunty’s 21st birthday in Werribee and also danced on the Happy Hammond
Show Channel 9. It was very exciting as I got to meet Happy Hammond, Ron Blasket and Gerry Gee at the end of the show. Sadly no photos or mementos left of this.
I used to love listening to my mother with stories about all the mischief my older brothers and sister used to get up to when they were kids. (They were 8, 10 and 12 years older than me). There is a park near Strzelecki Rd that had a concrete thing on one of the banks. Mum said the boys used to slide down it and wear the backside out of their shorts I found this hard to believe as how could you wear out your pants. Well when we moved to Moe in November 1965 I was able to finish out Grade 5 at Yallourn. I used to go to Kerry Setches’ place with her after school and my brother would pick me up when he finished work. We just happened to be at that park one night and I told her the story. I said I didn’t believe it and slid down it – needless to say the back of my nylon undies just disappeared. I had a bare bum. We just looked at each other and laughed, then I panicked having to go home with the bum out of my undies.
The Goss family in Southway were one of the first families to get a TV. We used to go over and watch some shows, I think it was the Jackie Gleeson show which adults loved but made our eyes glaze over and we ended up going off and playing. I remember when we got our first TV, still have a photo of it in the lounge at 36 Railway Avenue.
We used to play in the park all the time in Railway Avenue, plus the one over the road where the big trees were (later to become the Ambulance Station). We used to play over the road in the huge pine/cypress trees trying to make cubbies but getting stabbed by the pointy branches. We used to sit under the bridge when a steam train came along, it blew grey smoke all around us like a thick fog. Don’t know whether this was poisonous or not but we enjoyed it.