Page 38 - CR

Phyllis met her future husband Bert Harris
at the South Yarra Regent, where he was the
assistant projectionist. Bert transferred to the
city Regent, and he was in the bio-box as
one of the assistant projectionists on opening
night. (Bert’s anecdote about a misadventure
with sound at the Collins Street Regent is in
CR#59, page 12.)

"I had to suffer the embarrassment of (my
future mother-in-law) taking me into town and
buying me a complete outfit of clothes - even
underwear. We weren't even engaged then. It
was awful, but I had to have something to wear.”
I asked her why she didn't leave home so her Melbourne Regent with original (pre-fire) rounded proscenium.
father could get the dole and she said, “I wanted
to, but everyone was so upset, I couldn’t. Dad hessian for which they paid 12/6 ($44) a When war was declared families left Donald
d
used to be such a happy witty man - he was just week rent. Two years later I was born and to be near men-folk in barracks and to work
demoralized when he couldn’t get a job, but he they rented a new house for 25/- ($88), which in ammunition factories. There were 55
didn’t want me to go.” had a bath-heater. empty houses in this small Wimmera town,
so the picture business continued to suffer.
For the house in Sandringham, the family My father had become a travelling picture- Japanese planes were seen over Melbourne
paid 35/- rent ($123), later lowered to 27/6 show-man setting up equipment in towns and Japanese submarines known to be in
($97). "Mum owed money at the butchers at for one night-stands. He came home Bass Strait.
Sandy and paid a bit off the bill when she at weekends to show in Maryborough,
could - it all got paid in the end." then went off on ‘circuit’ which included When Darwin was bombed in 1942, people
Tarnagulla, Talbot, Newstead, Wedderburn, fled back to the country for safety. Practically
In 1929 younger sister Florence left school Korong-Vale, Donald and Dunolly. The overnight there were no houses vacant. Their
but couldn't find a job. Florence eventually equipment was on hire-purchase and he had business began to prosper. My father was in a
found employment minding a Judge’s to pay £28 ($1,975) per month. A hotel bed protected industry, helping to keep up morale
children from 9am -7pm, seven days a week. each night cost 2/- ($7). on the home-front.
For this effort she was paid 15/- a week ($53).
After eighteen months, and at the age of 16, Like thousands of others, my mother bore the
Florence went to work at the Semco factory scars of the Depression: the stress of holding
in Black Rock, inspecting cottons. She down her job, lack of money and clothing,
walked to and from work. She stayed there continual worry over her family's welfare,
until war broke out, when she went to work loneliness and sometimes hunger.
in an ammunition factory in Queensland.
For the rest of her life Phyllis was cautious about
Phyllis's younger brother Norman could not spending, and continued to ‘make do.’ She was
find work. "There were great queues for any job always afraid of losing her security. One of
vacancies, and if he was lucky enough to get to her favourite sayings was "Money is your best
the office, the first thing they said to him was, friend." She hoarded the gifts I gave her.
"Are you a returned soldier?" He was born in
1912, so of course he had no hope." She had an almost fetish compulsion to
polish her shoes, a habit formed in the
In 1931 he finally got a job helping Business was poor, and he relied on a Janet Depression. Having shiny shoes was one
an auctioneer who bought all kinds of Gaynor or Shirley Temple movie each small source of pride when her clothes
household goods from a factory in Flinders month to be able to pay his commitments. were of necessity, shabby. She made
Lane. Norman was employed to hold up each Phyllis had £1 per week ($70) to pay all sacrifices to educate me further than most
article as the bidding proceeded. For this he household expenses, and only had proper people considered necessary for girls.
was paid £3 a week, ($211) and when the meals at weekends when Dad came home.
boss gave it up, Norman got an auctioneer's She was alone and hungry. At that time Intermediate standard was the
licence and continued with enough success highest level offered at Donald, and was
to get married. My paternal grand-father offered to considered adequate. She deliberately limited
give them a home and give Dad his job her family to one child so that I could have a
In 1934 my parents married and moved to in Melbourne, but they decided to make good education which she saw as the means
Maryborough Victoria where they lived in a Donald the home-base for the circuit and to the security she didn't attain.
sub-standard cottage lined with paper and keep trying.
She urged me to return to the work-force when
The impressive (1936) Shire Hall at Donald my boys started school at a time when there was
still some stigma attached to working mothers.
All these attitudes were the products of her
experiences, but through my prosperity and
security, her efforts were vindicated. H

*Reserve Bank Inflation Calculator (Webpage)

Photographs from the collections of
Margaret Curnow and Kevin Adams.

38 2012 CINEM AREC ORD