Just a few random photos

Paul , Julie , Brian and myself.....by the side of the road after

we had been taken to see the flood waters. Not sure of what year that is.

.

The flood waters in which we swam beside the side of the road. along with leeches and

the occasional dead animal. cars were packed with picnic food  for an evening meal

and we went as far as we could on the road and stopped for the kids to swim.

obviously no one thought it was unhealthy......which is pretty amazing when u think of it.
Us kids went to our parents to have them kill the leeches on our legs with their lit cigarettes

This is a photo I took sometime after 1956 from the top of the water tower.

We were allowed to climb there and look around so long as we were careful!!!

Wallanthry Weir which had a tiny bit of sandy beach

and was a favourite picnic spot on New Years day

The White Bridge........now gone

Someones truck making it along the Lake Cargellico Road

1956 I guess

Me hanging around on the the bridge. We did stuff like that

Old photos of the town

The movie theatre and  the fire station, which later became "the old machinery shed"
My father worked there for a while after the power station was taken over my a new owner .
 The right side is the wall Nall Jacksons....along with

the local fire brigade

What was a butcher shop but later became the paper shop.

 The office that was later "The Spectator" and then

the shop that later became the dry cleaning shop.

With fire engines and watchers. I don't know what was going on.

2/09/19...Dave Clark has told me that the Butcher shop pictured belonged to his grandfather Walter Webb. It was later moved to opposite the movie theatre and was owned by his father F H Clark and Son.

The Hillston Power Station

We grew up in the house next door to the power station with the sound of the engines  implanted in our ears day and night. This is a photo of the station from the front . It shows the engine room at the back with someone standing at the door. Taken by me around 1956 .

This was the the power station truck that was used to by the men
 to mend lines and put

in new light bulbs in the street lights.

This is back of the station looking from the railway line.

 The water cooling tower is clearly seen.

 

A view of the station looking toward what later became the

RSL club . It shows the main shed where offices were, where my fathers car was kept 

and where small electrical appliance were repaired.

A man called Freddie Apthorpe lived in a loft under the roof

for as long as i recall and helped out generally.

The first three photos were taken by me around 1956

The last one has been taken from some height and appears to have been taken from the Station water cooling tower at some earlier time by my father Phil Holdsworth

Days at "Ace of Hearts"

A day out at Mt Hope for a picnic by the looks of it.

These photos seem to date from the late 1920s early 1930s.

I cant identify the people in them tho I have a few ideas.

I dont know who owns this house or quite remember where it is..

but I think as a child I was there. Edited....27/12/2020...I now believe that this house was that of Flo Carr and the property was "Wilga" . Flo ran the property herself after her husband died. She was friends of my parents.

I dont know what this building is but it looks like a one teacher school somewhere. Edited 27/12/2020......I now believe that this is a school room that was in the grounds of the State school in the 1950s. Both photos are in my possession  as hard copy.

-------------------------------------------------

 My father went from Longernong to "Ace of Hearts" at Hillston, with his friend Bill Gamble

They were share farming for the owner Mr Thomas MacFarlane.

I was a hard time and they had to leave in the end.

Bill went on to successfully own a farm near Melbourne .

My father took over the running of the new local power station that supplied power for the town.

The power station was also owned by Mr MacFarlane

These photos are various ones from the property and include a sort of caravan that I suppose

they must have lived in. All i recall is that my father said the times were hard with drought and also

the great depression

Longernong College

                               I think  that is my father driving the machine

The College as the staging post for my fathers journey to Hillston, from Melbourne.

My father studied at Dookie Agricultural College and then went to Longerong where he taught and did some work with the late H.V Mackay who invented the harvester.

Whether some of that work is part of what is shown in these photos  I dont know for sure.........I seem to recall being told they were

A young man, Charles MacFarlane, a student, was instrumental in having my father and his great friend Bill Gamble move to Hillston to share farm at "Ace of Hearts" which was owed by Charles's father Thomas.  Sadly they did not succeed in beating  both drought and the great depression. 

It looks like people knew how to work hard (dressed in a suit)and to enjoy a picnic and relax with some very ancient cars. .