Hard Times 2
“Isolation is a way to know ourselves. ”
As I write this most of us are in self isolation. While very challenging it may be, as Frank Kafka said, “a way to know ourselves.”
The members of the Oral History Group have responded to my call and sent me stories of their own experiences of isolation in their lives or of other challenging times through which they have lived.
Di Vivers grew up in Forbes but worked in London for two years at the Sydney Morning Herald office, so she became used to living in cities. She tells her story.
“We had been married for two years when my husband was promoted to sub-manager on an isolated property in south-west NSW. Our house was sixteen miles from the main homestead through twelve miles of black soil plains and eight gates once one left the main road.
“The staff on the stud had been reduced because of the drought so we had the outstation to ourselves. Tim was working away at the main homestead all day and I was completely alone.
“Our house was quite large, built of weatherboard and lined inside with ripple iron which dripped with condensation all winter and baked us in the summer. I had no children then so my constant companions were the baby wild pigs that had been orphaned in the paddocks. They accompanied me in my walks during the day and delighted in the fruit I picked in the orchard. I occupied myself learning to sew, reading and dabbling in paints to prevent myself giving in to loneliness. I would set the clock and perform a set task within a set time. In other words, I was playing a game with myself!
“We bought a little Volkswagen so I could drive to Deniliquin once a week to do the shopping. Once I had driven through the eight gates and reached the main road, I then had to drive fifty miles to Deniliquin. There was no car radio so I had plenty of time to reflect.
“The black soil and the gates were always a challenge whenever it rained. If we happened to be in town or at a neighbouring property and we heard a few drops of rain we would immediately say our goodbyes and rush for home. Often, by the time we reached the first gate, Tim would have to dig the car out of the mud.
“The only sound from the outside world was a plane flying over occasionally, so when my husband was away, my isolation was complete.
“One day a group of horsemen rode up to the homestead and called out to announce their visit. I was so startled at the sound of voices that I ran to hide. I realised then that I had become a recluse, so used to my own company and thoughts.”
Di found that she could survive the isolation of the life she was living by calling on her inner reserves as we are all doing during this crisis.
John faced an entirely different situation. He was not isolated but as a small boy he saw his parents and everyone around him trying to find the strength to survive a world war. Britain had been fighting the war for four weary years when the enemy launched almost unimaginable horror.
In June 1944, the Germans started sending V1 flying bombs over London. They were called doodle bugs which was really a bomb with wings. They made a sound like a lorry and flew until they ran out of fuel. Then they simply fell to the ground and exploded. Whenever there was a doodle bug, people would stand still until it had passed but if the noise stopped that was the time to worry.
Over 6000 people were killed and nearly 18000 injured.
John remembered:
“When I was five or six my job, when I came home from school, was to go into the garden and listen and look for doodle bugs. If I heard one, I then called my mother who called the neighbours, and everyone went to the air-raid shelter which was usually at the bottom of the garden. It was OK if you could hear them but when the engine stopped, you ducked for cover.”
In September 1944, the enemy began sending V2 rockets into London.
“It was more like a modern ballistic missile, much bigger and more dangerous but not as frightening to the population as a V1 because you didn’t hear it coming and would be dead when it hit you.
“When the V2s started we were evacuated to the country as they were much more dangerous. We were evacuated to Huntington, full of American soldiers and if you saw some you would rush up with the request ‘Got any gum, chum?’ It was the only way to get lollies and my mother was horrified when she found out.
“My father had a heart condition so could not join the armed-forces so he became an Air-Raid Warden. The Germans didn’t just drop bombs, they also dropped landmines, which were much more powerful and came down by parachute. My father told the story of being out one night and being aware of something close by. It being in the middle of a blackout, he couldn’t see much. But he was able to just make out a land-mine just over his head. The parachute holding it had caught in a tree!
It became a family joke because you would go mad if you took it all seriously.”
The Oral History Group has more stories to tell of how they faced and survived difficult times.
Copyright: Helen McAnulty. April 2020.