Book sheds light on township’s early days

Never Give Up – Joyce's Story

Woombye Community and Business Association has pleasure in announcing the launch of Never Give Up – Joyce's Story, on Tuesday, 24 May, at 3pm at the Woombye Bowls Club.

Members of the public are invited to attend the launch which will take the form of an afternoon tea, book sales and readings.

Never Give Up – Joyce's Story throws a spotlight on the early days of the township of Woombye, seen through the eyes of a member of one of the district's pioneering families.

Members of the Woombye – Our Place, Our Story heritage group, a sub-committee of WCBA, worked for three years to transform Joyce Milligan's journal entries and other notes about her life into a book. 

“These are Joyce's words, lifted off thin, aged paper, hand-written or typed on an old typewriter many years ago, a meticulous depiction of life in the early to mid-twentieth century in Queensland,” said Team leader Margaret Woodrow. 

Editor Judith Bandidt said: “Never Give Up – Joyce's Story” tells of one woman's moral courage, determination and unconditional love for her family, her friends and her community. This is a compelling account of an ordinary, yet extraordinary life that will engage and entertain the reader.”

A pre-publication review by British writer Lyn Browne shows the broad appeal of this book: “My word, what a woman! I have been enthralled. Such hard work, such application – and such loyalty. Joyce was rightly proud of her family, did a fine job bringing them up, and I have been touched by her references to her own parents. Her memorial is the work she put in to get recognition for Pilot Jim Hocking, whose bravery and self-sacrifice saved the village of March.”

For further information on the book launch contact: Margaret Woodrow 5478 8956.

Excerpts from the book

“Top of my list of happy memories is our wonderfully happy carefree childhood in a loving family home with Mum, Dad and my brother, where we gained our right or wrong conscience with its strong self-discipline. Consequently, even with friends and neighbours some distance away, we were trusted to roam (singly or together), often passing ‘swaggies’ camping in their haunts – and there was no need of any ‘stranger danger’ fear in those days. Whereas in today’s society, these teachings have become a necessity!

“We could never forget the glorious environment of the Sunshine Coast and its hinterland. We swam in the large natural swimming hole in our Petrie Creek, or traipsed at leisure through scrub and bushland, across farms, and even collected clay to make clay marbles in our wood-stove oven.

“Every day we bucketed water from the tanks on low tank stands, up the twelve back stairs, for all the household needs, and in winter, bathed in the biggest of the galvanised laundry tubs set in front of the wood stove in the kitchen.

“Monday was always Mum’s weekly wash day. Just outside, downstairs, was the wood- burning copper boiler which Dad filled using buckets of tank water, as he also did the four varying sized galvanised wash-tubs on the long bench under the house. 

Then having stoked and set the fire burning under the copper, he was down at the farm well before 7am, leaving Mum ‘sorting the clothes’ on the verandah (There were no synthetic materials in those days – but a few silks or woollens which had to be gently hand washed were put aside for later). 

Everything else went into the copper boiler using the same water throughout. Therefore, large whites went in first (sheets, pillowcases, tablecloths etc.) for twenty minutes boiling. Next to go in were the white clothes, followed in turn by towels etc. through to ‘darks’ and lastly heavy work clothes – each lot at least twenty minutes (longer if very soiled).

“Tank water always had to be used conservatively, (there was no other available). In drought times, tank water levels became very low, so this water was restricted to ‘drinking water only’. 

This was when Dad harnessed the horse to the sled on which he strapped half a tank and went down to the creek to bucket half a load. 

This creek water, though discoloured, had to suffice for all other purposes – including the laundry. So when this had to be, Mum’s pride and joy in her ‘whites’ was shattered because even the ‘blue bag’ was helpless!

Pineapples grew everywhere when I was a youngster. They were both sides of Blackall Range Road, right from Goughs hill above the Railway bridge (now all houses), out to Menary Road – except for Suley’s property, (now Harvey’s) which was a dairy from about 1937 when all the lovely gum trees were knocked down.

“Redmond Road right up to opposite us, skirted pineapple farms – as well as from Woombye up to the school where all those houses are and lots of other roads too.

“Springs of lovely water abounded. Our gully down towards Petrie Creek was always wet and flowing, as was the spring that came out of our eastern dip, now camphor laurel trees, and gushed across Grimshaw’s dip in his track.”