Carmody family. Carmody family. Carmody family. Carmody family. Carmody family. Carmody family. Carmody family.
1966 -1968
The Carmody Family arrived in Nyabing in January 1966 with Ron to take up a three year appointment at the Nyabing Primary School. With Dot expecting Jayne in February, and so remaining in Bunbury until after her arrival, Ron, with the help of Bill Treasure, unloaded the furniture from the back of the flat top truck driven by Gordon Mills after it had arrived by rail at the Nyabing siding.
School House – mid 1960’s
It was the typical Government School house with a front and back verandah, two bedrooms either side of a passage, kitchen, lounge room with plough disc open fireplace, bathroom and wash trough on the back verandah. BUT we had one of the few flushing toilets in the township as water was pumped by windmill from the nearby school. Such a luxury and ideal for a new baby but alas, no electricity!
So ingenuity prevailed and we connected a 44 gallon (200 litre) drum of kerosene through the kitchen wall for the kerosene fridge, made great use of the two-burner Primus gas stove and pressure cooker, and together with Aladdin and Tilly lamps, Metters wood stove and petrol iron, we were comfortable.
Nappies, boiling the copper, nappies, bunk bed for the boys, nappies, and the daily ritual of pumping water to the overhead tank, filling the lamps, having kindling wood on hand, apart from the marvellous mallee root pile, soon saw our young family firmly established in comfort.
But fortune favours the brave because towards the end of 1966 we bought a second hand 32 volt lighting plant from a clearing sale. After draping the electric cable through the roof trusses a 32 volt washing machine, vacuum cleaner, HMV mantle radio and black and white TV and lights followed in quick succession. The Education Department added an enclosed front verandah bedroom later and we were set for country life.
School Principle Ron Carmody
at the start of the school year – 1966
The single staff at the school boarded with Mrs Bell who was something of a legend for her cooking and warm hospitality.
Our nearest neighbours were Mr and Mrs Coates with their younger daughter Diane, who became a most welcome friend especially with our toddler daughter, Jayne. Del and Bill Treasure’s children, Richard, Liz and Greg were also close playmates and friends and we are still in contact with their parents. We also keep in regular touch with Judy and Ernie Batt who keep us informed of Nyabing news from time to time.
Our family was made most welcome in Nyabing and the family grew with the addition of a stray kelpie dog, Laddie, and a one legged magpie named Hoppy. They often followed us across the road to the new church and had to be quietly removed from the doorway by the boys from time to time. Both pets were frequent travellers in our Holden station wagon when we journeyed to Bunbury for school holidays.
Both our boys, Alan and Daryl, started their school life in Nyabing making family friends with classmates, teachers and local families. They still recall push carts, sports, making cubby houses, visits to farms, and watching the wheat train steam in and out of town.
They were also inducted to “sleeping” in the back of the station wagon as did other country kids when we played badminton around the district from Woodanilling to Broomehill, Katanning and Pingrup and when we went to the occasional dance such as the Nyabing Ball.
The involved parents would regularly check the cars on an informal roster system. A far cry from today’s child care or baby-sitting practices! But one could do this in a small country community as there was a real sense of responsible community which was readily identifiable – these were all “our” children and the opportunity to grow up and live in such a country community was a privilege and a fulfilling experience that shaped one’s family life for the future.
Nyabing Main Street – mid 1960’s
Country communities have a ‘special thing’ going for them and Nyabing was no exception as we reflect on the support, friendship, learning and valued life experiences including good seasons, poor seasons, fire hazards, Girl Guides, sport, social events, the agricultural show, marron in the dams, wildlife, family visits, meetings, district development like town water system, new model cars in town and the fascination of shopping at the general store such as Bulla Stephens’ where one could buy or order anything from A to Z . Or get a cold drink and ice cream at Del and Bill Treasures roadhouse and service station.
People had time to stop and talk, pick up the mail, drop something off or pick something up for a neighbour, enquire after your health or pass on a recipe, invite you to a BBQ or participate in a Busy Bee at the school, or prepare for the Show or decorate the hall and dress the floor for the Nyabing Ball.
Catching up with these very people in later years, whether on holiday breaks, reunions or special gatherings such as this forthcoming Centenary of a Community, is the very essence of friendship that these shared experiences have given us and enriched our lives. That friendly handshake and hug is a most humbling and rewarding feeling when we catch up.
Involvement with the School at Nyabing was a most rewarding and enjoyable experience for our family. At the professional level we had an excellent staff, including Les Hammill, Moya Rogers (now Hammill), Lesley Langley, Joy Sharp, Vivienne Lehmann (now Marshall), Clyde Selby, Rita Tognini, and Faye Tuffley who was the school cleaner.
One morning Faye and I moved a whole mallee root heap because some children had seen a snake go in to the pile. We used to hang No .8 fencing wire whips at strategic points around the school just in case. We gingerly moved the last root and lo and behold there was no snake, just a hole in the ground. A minute later the snake emerged from the hole and slithered towards the concrete floor of the boys’ toilet. Two quick whips with the wire as it mounted the concrete and its back was broken and we were able to finish it off with a spade. School was able to resume again.
Every time I see a mallee root heap I get a sympathetic ache in my back, not withstanding the corrugations on my shins once I’d been taught how to split a mallee root by Colin Manuel. On the same topic of snakes, Bill Treasure always had a length of dog chain near the gear stick on his old school bus just in case there was one near the student’s bus stop or shelter. Then Bill bought a new Mercedes school bus and I’m not sure whether the chain was then kept in the “glove box”!
I recall that at home time on the first school day of the year, it was interesting to see some of the then young men of the district come in their utes to ‘survey/welcome’ the new young teachers who were at the school. One could imagine this also happening at many other small schools around the country and indeed, from such humble beginnings, some relationships blossomed to the extent that some of the newly appointed female teachers became the future wives and mothers and staunch members of their various country districts and communities.
School classes ranged from Year 1 to Year 7 during our time, with students such as Neil Hobley, Ross Mills and Cheryl Goodchild being post primary students completing their studies for the Junior Certificate assisted by correspondence lessons. Other family members followed in later years while the majority of students went away to complete their secondary schooling.
The School P & C Association was a most important part of any country school and Nyabing was no exception. Wise counsel, experience, support and cooperative leadership with the school staff, were key factors in the development and support of the school programme. Colin Manuel, as President, together with fellow P & C Members, made us welcome and helped the staff settle in and help the school facilitate its important role and special focus within the community. We were also able to fraternise with fellow school staff from Pingrup such as Geoff and Kay Ruscoe and the Caddy family when they travelled through or came to Church Services.
Sport was an integral part of community life. On the day of the Interschool Sport the running lanes on the oval had been mown with a rotary mower. Farmers brought their trucks complete with stock crates and tarps to provide shaded bays for the children between the trucks, volunteer judges, refreshments, sand pit jump attendants, keen spectators and friendly rivalry encouraged the children to do their best on the day. Tired, but happy and with place ribbons adorning their chests, our schoolchildren were Olympic Stars for a day. Well done to all with many happy memories, as the district came together as one.
A short while later the P &C, in conjunction with the Shire and Education Department developed a new school oval opposite the school to replace the sloping downhill playground-cum-oval that had served the school for many years. The country people got things done.
Still on sport, I recall the men’s football team stopping at half time and having a cup of tea, sandwich and scones provided by the ladies and then resuming the match in earnest. Very sporting and very sociable. They would then work along side one and other around the farms and work places next day as highlights and friendly jibes about the game were exchanged at odd times. Tennis, bowls, football, rifle-shooting, badminton, and golf were other sports that featured at various times throughout the year – one could never be accused of being bored when living in the country.
Our Nyabing experience has been a valued part of our family life and we are the richer for having shared it with a wonderful community whose children are now The Community.
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