Early Munglinup - Pete Standish

A terrific story of starting out at Munglinup by Pete Standish and compiled by his wife Lu.

Early Munglinup Pete and Lu Standish

When Pete Standish decided to “Go West, Young Man”, he had already met the girl he eventually married, so this is his story, (with excerpts from his letters to her over the next 6 years) which tell of his experiences of the very early days of settlement in the Munglinup region (1957-1963).

When I left Melbourne in April 1957 for W.A., I already had three years experience as a jackaroo in the Western District of Victoria and in Queensland, working with cattle and sheep. A potential job was offered to me before I left, working as a tractor driver for the Esperance Construction Company, known locally as “ESCO”. I hitched a ride on a truck to Port Augusta, then caught the train to Perth.

Arriving in Perth, I confirmed that the job was still available and made my way down to Esperance via Kalgoorlie on the train, getting a lift out east to Condingup the next day. I was immediately put on night shift, carting super and seed out to the three Challenger crawler tractors that were pulling 2 chamberlain ploughs with seed boxes fitted behind.

4^th June, 1957 “We are camped on a plain, almost treeless, about 50 miles east of Esperance. The country all around us is ploughed (50,000 acres of it) and we are now seeding with various clovers and ryegrasses. The only sign of life is the few paperbark trees under which we are camped, and of course the sound of the tractors, which are going non- stop.”

6^th August,1957 “We are camped at the foot of Mt Condingup, which I climbed this afternoon. You can see right to the Duke of Orleans Bay and for about twenty miles all around. It was well worth the climb. Unfortunately, the results of seeding have so far been very disappointing, the clover starts well, but burns off after a week or so. My pet theory is that the super is being sown too deeply while the seed is still on the surface. I guess they will learn soon enough, but 10,000 acres is a lot of country to make a mistake on.”

1^st September,1957 “ Esco has decided that it will have to make some staff cuts, or go broke. All who had holidays owing were put off (including their best tractor driver) as well as “old timers”, like me. We had just finished a 36hr shift with only 4 hrs sleep, after 4 weeks without a day off, just to help finish the seeding. After a good night’s sleep, the news started to sink in, so I packed up (not a long job, as most of my clothes had been worn out by the super).”

I headed into town, and fortunately managed to pick up a job almost straight away, fencing on a farm west of Esperance.

7^th September,1957 “ I am now out digging post holes for seven miles of fencing on his block. The conditions and hours are as good as a holiday, You can have no idea what a hot shower and a cement floor means every night. One morning I was dragged out of the cot and bundled into the back of a ute. After a few tactful enquiries I found out that I was to be a shedhand/presser for the next week or so. Wages were about twice what I had been getting, so I have gone on to the next shed with the shearing contractor.”

This gave me a better look at other more developed farms, including Young River. I heard of a Queensland grazier, John Kelman, who had bought the large next door property, and made myself known to the acting caretaker. Meanwhile, I was back onto the fencing.

23^rd January, 1958 “ Life is hectic in Esperance at this time of the year. It is the holiday resort for the Goldfields and there are several parties every week. Mostly they are grog shows. God knows what the visiting women must think! Some good beach parties too, as the beaches around here are certainly the best I have ever seen in my wanderings. Some good, quiet ones, (ideal for hangovers), a couple of good surfing ones, good rock fishing and a lot of spear fishing too. Beautiful white sand and the bluest water, even when overcaste.

NEW JOB: “TORRADUP” “ I am on the move again. This time about halfway between Esperance and Ravensthorpe, for a bloke called Kelman. He sold his Qld property and has brought his entire shorthorn cattle stud with him. All he said was “When can you start?” No nonsense. The wages for driving a crawler tractor are twice as good as now, but the job also has quite a bit of responsibility with it, and should last at least 6 months.”

In February, 1958 I moved onto the Kelman property and started my 25 year association with the Munglinup district. Although I started as a tractor driver, I was keen to be involved with the livestock.

8^th March,1958 “Have been working pretty hard and living like a vegetable. Just work and sleep. However, Kelman leaves us alone, so long as the job gets done. He is having three cottages built on the property at present, and in the last 6 weeks we have ploughed 1,500 acres, and logged a further 1,000, prior to burning and ploughing.”

12^th April, 1958 “After a wild Easter in town, we have started seeding. At the moment Kelman plans to do 6,000 acres, so we will be busy for at least another 3 months. When you consider it took 20 men at least 5 months to seed 12,000 acres of Chase

country last year (plus the 2 super carters), plans to seed 6,000 acres in 3 months with just the two of us makes you sweat a bit!”

19^th June, 1958 “We want rain badly. Less than 1” in the last 2 months. If the year follows last year’s pattern, Kelman could lose the lot, like Chase. The drought seems to be Australia wide.”

The season broke eventually, and by spring everything was looking very optimistic again.

13^th September, 1958 “I have been having a shower and the evening meal with the Kelmans...you can have no idea the difference it makes. The place is bright with wildflowers and it is quite a sight to see. I went into town a few days ago, in the middle of the week and met up with a few fellows. It always amazes me the number of machines that break down whenever there is a Field Day (read free beer).”

27^th November, 1958 “The Kelmans are striking all sorts of problems at present. The current one relates to naming the paddocks. The Torradup River runs through the property and there has been much subdivision into smaller paddocks. While naming of horses usually involves the name of sire and/or dam, they have used the same principle, so that “Torradup” has now become “Pretty Torradup” and “Plain Torradup”. With further subdivision, we now have “Little T”, “Big T”, “North T” and now “N.B.T.A.” (No Bloody Torradup at All).”

Conditional Purchase (C.P.) blocks were being opened up for selection between what is now known as Fuss Rd and the Munglinup River, and also along the south of Springdale Rd to the Oldfield River. John Kelman asked me why I hadn’t applied for a block, and I replied that I had no dough. This was dismissed as “irrelevant”, and as a further selection of blocks was planned for release west of the Munglinup River, I was encouraged to apply. He volunteered to write a letter to accompany my application, stating that he would help with plant, and offering me a paid job whenever I needed it.

22^nd January, 1959 “ It was great to see you again and hard to leave, but I just had to get back to see about a block. As it turned out, the surveyors hadn’t even started yet. I have now moved into the office in the shed with such comforts as a bed, electric light, a desk and chairs with backs, a daily shower, use of a washing machine and three meals a day. Oh, the luxury of it all!”

8^th February,1959 “The Kelmans are due to start shearing tomorrow, and in preparation, Tom K. and I drove 4,000 odd sheep about 20 miles to a neighbour’s shed (Young River).

As soon as the surveys came out, I was able to explore the country and identify the block that I would like, and then apply for it.

1^st March, 1959 “I have just spent the weekend looking over the area with the new blocks. By driving and walking over some 6,000 acres with a post hole shovel, I have been looking for “soil”. The main problem is trying to find out where the block boundaries are. At great risk, I went up to the surveyor’s camp and talked to one of the blokes, asking him to leave the plans on a certain table, and to go for a short walk. I quickly copied their rough plans, and, feeling like a spy, I crept out of the camp and was later able to pick out a piece of ground with a fair imitation of soil on it. It is rolling ground, with a hill in the middle which overlooks most of the 2000 acres. Its main advantage should be its easy working.”

15^th March, 1959 “All the thrill and expectation of waiting for the block have turned into powerless frustration. I must bide my time till the coves in the Lands Dept finish their yawn, scratch, turn around three times and work their way through a mountain of applications. They might read mine, or they may cull it on the handwriting.”

1^st May, 1959 “ I have bought a new Fordson Tractor in shares with another cove (John Moor) and plan to share farm 150 acres with Mr Kelman, in return for use of his crawler. I should stand to make £500 on this deal, but if the crop is a failure, I should still be able to break even with tax deductions, now that I can claim as a share farmer. I am scheduled to go before the Land Board on May 20^th. I am sorry all this seems so dull, but farming is all I think, eat and breathe.”

At the Land Court hearings held in Esperance, I perhaps stretched the truth a little as to my financial position, but together with Kelman’s letter and the fact that I had already worked on the sand plain for two years, it was enough for me to be allocated my first choice of block.

2^nd June 1959 “ I come with glad tidings, my friend. I heard over the State News that I had been allocated a block, and another two days to learn that it was the one I applied for. The Lands Board invited me to lunch with them, then talked about the many failures in the district. I left town most discouraged and with little hope. Now you couldn’t find a happier and more excited man in Australia!

I worked out a development plan and how I was going to finance it. A fire had gone through my area only two years before, so the regrowth was only light. I planned to choose 500acres of land, and plough it in the first

year using the Torradup crawler tractor. This in theory would give me some sort of security for the bank. If one of the trading banks refused a loan, then you were eligible to apply for a loan with the newly formed Commonwealth Development Bank. I signed the bottom of an empty application form and left it with my bank manager in Esperance to fill in. When my copy arrived in the mail, I was certain that it would not be passed, so I flew to Perth and got permission to take out the application over the weekend (they bookmarked my position in this huge stack of applications). I rewrote the entire application over the weekend, and returned it first thing on Monday morning. After an inspection, partial approval was given, and further applications would be considered. My plan was to get 1200 acres under pasture, dams constructed, fenced and stocked with sheep within the next 3 years.

2^nd June 1959 “Time just isn’t my own any more. I have been put in charge of seeding and for the last month I have hardly been sat on a tractor. It took me a week to do four hours work on the drills. We have four casual men on the tractors and they are really hard on machinery. They come in at all hours of the night or day wanting some piece fixed, or to be pulled out of a bog.”

13^th July, 1959 “I was lucky enough to buy an old bus, converted to a caravan, very cheaply from a broke dam sinker. It has a fine kitchen and has room for a workshop in the back end. The Kelmans were down on Sunday for lunch, and in my absence christened the place “Buggerup” (“up” is a WA native suffix meaning “the place of”). I was not consulted, and have declared it unofficial, and not to be used!”

11^th August, 1959: “We should make a very interesting sight tomorrow as we take off for the block. The Fordson will be pulling a 30’ trailer loaded with fuel and oil, and my house (the old bus with a trailer hitch). All in all it will be a 75’ train!! This will be followed by the new crawler and the plough.”

1^st November, 1959: ““It must be months since I last wrote, but we have been flat out making sileage, ploughing, crutching and preparing for harvest. This “flat out” business is getting monotonous but the season is holding on wonderfully. The clover is 2 feet high and old Kelman is very happy. He got down and rolled back and forth in it the other day. “Come on” he yelled ”This is really rolling in clover.”

1^st November, 1959: “Our programme on Torradup for the next three months consists of ploughing 3,000 acres, cutting another 100 acres of sileage, harvesting first the barley, then the oats, about 400 acres of phalaris, 300 acres of clover and possibly some strawberry clover. This should keep us busy until shearing and super spreading. In the meantime, I must plough my 500 acres again, log down another 500 acres of scrub, build a dam and do some fencing. I have bought a truck, an old PMG wagon with seats front and back and a tray.”

20^th November, 1959: “We are taking advantage of the lull before harvest to loaf and dream. The Kelmans hired a launch yesterday and we went for a cruise out around the islands of Esperance Bay, catching many fish and dreaming of building a suitable boat ourselves.”

12^th December, 1959: “For the harvest Kelman has bought a monstrous £1800 header. (Claas) It stands 13’ off the ground and takes a 10’ blade. It even has a hay baler attached to press the straw. It is a wonderful gadget, but my God it keeps you busy. We are working half day shifts on it and half a day is plenty. I’m so delighted that you are coming to visit with a friend in January. Anyway, Happy Christmas, and I’ll see you very soon.”

22^nd January, 1960: “Something has happened to me in the last month which is more than just plain loneliness or self pity. I feel very happy, yet impatient at the commonsense that stops us living together. I want you to share in the excitement I feel about the sand plain and about my block. What to plant, where to build, what to call the place. If only you could be closer in miles.”

1^st March, 1960: “For the next 7 or 8 years mine is a very humble lot. I have money now , but if all goes well with the block, I will be using bankers capital in 2 years and for heaven knows how long. You must accept my “pumpkin shell” or tell me, for otherwise I must choose between my ambition to be an independent farmer, or you with a nice secure job with wages. Mostly my thoughts are directed to where to put that dam or fence or what to sow, but at times I look ahead and see a house and garden, both big and trim with fresh paint, green trees and lawns, flower beds with cow manure and straw sticking out amongst the flowers. But where is everybody? “

29^th March, 1960: “ I am on my way to the Compagnoni’s tonight for a Farmer’s Union meeting. They are a blasted nuisance, these meetings, but they are the only united voice the community of Munglinup has. Tonight it is likely to keep me out of bed till 2am. The Munglinup School is on its way up. Last Saturday and Sunday we all went down and gave a hand. It is a shed 16’ x 12’. As Tom said “We can’t fill it up yet!” Two more busy bees and it should be finished.”

8^th April, 1960: “ I have just finished carting 2000 fence posts and 100 odd strainers onto the block. They make an impressive stack and I am really lucky getting them so cheaply at £4 per 100. They are really good posts. I have spent one day logging on the east side of the fallow and have four days to finish it. Then I intend to work back the fallow with a chisel plough on the contour before I go back to Torradup.”

Tomorrow a working bee has been organised to build the Munglinup School. The whole school is about ten feet square with iron walls and roof. “Not enough wives and children” wails Mrs Compagnoni. “Come on Pete, she is a beautiful girl and we all like her. Hurry up and get married!” How I wish it were possible right now!”

25^th May, 1960: I can’t help patting myself on the back in getting the block when I did. The new minimum capital is now £10,000, while when I got mine it was £7,000 and I could only show half of that.”

16^th June,1960: . “I now plan to put up a super and machinery shed, about 20 x 30 feet and totally enclosed with a skillion roof of timber and iron. The pine trees are pinus pinaster and I will use them as a plantation windbreak on top of the hill along the edge of the fallow, about 8 or 10 deep and fence along the inside of them, as well as fencing the fallow.”

22^nd July: 1960 “As predicted, the weather has changed to fine for a few days, so I went on night shift, to allow me to plant my 2,000 pines that had arrived, but this means I have been very short of sleep and time to write letters . Phil Doyle and his wife have just completed a cottage on their block and should move down in the next couple of days. They have been living with the Compagnonis for the last 4 months. I am off to Kalgoorlie tomorrow for the dentist and the pub, then back on Monday. I broke a tooth a month ago and it has been aching on and off since then.”

10^th August, 1960 “All this wet weather has left us begging for jobs at Torradup, so I have taken time off and started to build a drill to fit on the chisel plough. I picked up an old IHC drill for £15, and by a rather complicated system of wires and pullies I am arranging a semi mounted drill with castor wheels behind. The idea is to avoid the whole weight of the drill on the back of the tractor, while still being able to lift the plough. It is really working out quite well. I feel incompetent to name my block and feel I should be advised by a woman. There are some very fine aboriginal names, but it is hard to pick out a suitable, pretty one. What about “Merri Merri” after your family farm when I met you?”

19^th August, 1960: “ This must be a very short note for we had a big meeting last night, and I didn’t get to bed till after 2am.The meeting was to discuss a woolshed ball to be held in the Kelman’s new woolshed and run in aid of the Munglinup P&C, now formally constituted. The women departed into the kitchen, while we discussed the starting of a Farmer’s Union branch, and the formation of a Fire Brigade. The Ball sounds like a good thing. The date is not definite, but should be in October. With beer, band, big supper and more beer it should be a good show. We hope to attract about 150 people.”

20^th September, 1960: “ A very short note as I am off to town to see the doctor with a large lump on the side of my face. I think it started as an insect bite, but I am unrecognisable now. We got the first of the NSW sheep home after 36 hours without sleep when a truck and trailer turned over near Dalyup. JT and Tom are off to Kalgoorlie to take delivery of the last 1400. A total of about 3200 stud ewes.”

14^th October, 1960: “ The forage harvester broke down last week and we are still awaiting parts. In the meantime I am trying to get away to the block, and stay there till next May, depending on how the dough hangs out. I will probably have to come up to Torradup for harvesting and shearing. I went up to the Munglinup Reserve (10 miles north of the Esperance Ravensthorpe Rd) and cut some posts for my shed the other day. I borrowed Kelman’s truck which involved carting two loads of rails for him and a load of cattle for Jack Compagnoni, so you see how it is a slow business trying to get favours to save money. I am off to town tomorrow for the Esperance Research Station Field Day, and maybe for the Show on Saturday. I then hope to borrow Kelman’s dozer on Sunday to level a site for a shed on the block.”

20^th October,1960: “I spent last week cutting posts for the shed, carting all the shed materials onto the block, and borrowing JTs dozer to level off the shed site. I have made it on the slope of the hill and cut it in to make a loading ramp. I am so excited at moving down to the block long term.”

27^th October,1960: “I have been down on the block for a week now working with Phil Doyle. The first three days were spent fixing his plough with a working bee on Sunday on my shed. We got the uprights standing and the rest of this week has been spent putting the roof timbers and squaring everything up. Phil and his wife have been very kind and often invite me over for a meal. Their house is only a mile or so away. It is a very pleasant cottage, small, but comfortable. They have no furniture as yet, so we eat off a tea chest with an embroidered table cloth, and fruit box seats. Mrs is a wonderful woman with a little boy just over twelve months and another one on the way. They are a terrible pair of match makers, as I think, for her sake, they would like married neighbours. Phil is the worst. The other night he produced a couple of little plastic boxes which must have held their engagement and wedding rings, and suggested I get a refill for use at Christmas! They are far worse than the Kelmans and the Compagnonis!!!”

28^th October, 1960: “I have little money. What I do have I am putting into my land. In a few years time it should begin to return handsomely, but that is of little importance to the pleasure that I get from actually constructing the farm. Until the money is available, we must live in cramped quarters and wait to build the house. I don’t like the word “build”. To me it means a mob of highly efficient “tradesmen” whipping up a house in a couple of weeks. A house should “grow”. It should develop a character of its own, and each room should be built to suit the needs and characters of the owners.”

11^th November,1960: Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, Knew a very handsome belle Wanted very much to keep her, But couldn’t buy super as well!

17^th November,1960: “The Ball was a great success with about 120 people rolling up They danced and drank their way through 28 gallons of beer, plus whiskey and gin, and ate about 4 turkeys. All told we made about £90 for the P&C. My job was to decorate the hall and I was told I have an untapped talent for floral decorations! I also acted as barman, a job which requires fast thinking and calculations, steady nerves and a strong head (most important). The shed was decked out with wildflowers (mostly smokebush) and blackboys, with all the usual streamers, balloons etc. Got to bed about 5am, a complete wreck.”

10^th March: 1961 “A fire went through the block last weekend, burning most of the remaining turkey bush and all the river country, including the yate swamp .It is a great pity, however, having 700 ac logged, means I have lost nothing except a pretty view. I am now busy chisel ploughing and have the fallow completed in a couple of weeks, leaving me time to finish the shed, and pick up the mallee roots before seeding. Fencing will have to wait.”

25^th March: 1961 “Autumn would be the finest season of the year. The heat of summer is off, to be replaced by the fresher days with the air clean from smoke and dust. It is the time to prepare for sowing. The men work the fallow and the women talk about gardens, and even get about doing a bit of digging. It is such a peaceful time when we dream about a good season and bumper crops.”

14^th April, 1961: “John Moor and I have just come into town in the Compagnoni’s truck bringing in some wool, and giving me the opportunity to bring some clover seed out. I have the shed almost complete with only the doors on one end to hang and to finish the small retaining wall in dry piled rock (Later) We have finished up at Gibson Soak cleaning clover and wheat seed, and in fact, we are still here next morning. We had arrived at about 9pm last night, very cold and hungry, and decided that we couldn’t go any further. They had a barbeque going and sold us a pond of steak each and the party kept going till 1 am. so we slept the night here. We have had an inch of rain this morning, so may need to spend some more time here as it is showing no sign of easing. There is a cook here aged 22 (very homely), a fine young English barmaid, a surveyor who is supposed to be surveying the Munglinup townsite, John Moor and myself. It looks as though it could be a good party all day!”

19^th April, 1961: “I came to Perth last Tuesday for an interview with the bank. It was quite friendly, but I am not at all hopeful. The feeling I gained, though not said, was that I had applied a little too soon, and had perhaps had asked for too much. It will take a few months for the application to work its way around the bank. I could get a refusal notice tomorrow, but the longer it takes to go through, the more hopeful I am.“

29^th May, 1961: “The thought of you coming over again soon leaves me very excited. To have you here amongst the people I know well and understand, and when the clover is at its best, to be able to show you the block, with a view to making it a home, is a wonderful thought.”

16^th June, 1961: “I had the bank bloke out a few days ago, and things went a lot better than I expected. He is the head valuer for the Commonwelth Trading Bank, so should carry some weight. He seems to think I will get some money, but maybe not all that I want.”

12^th July, 1961: “I have had a real battle finishing the seeding, with the ground on the point of saturation, the roads chopped up, and I now have a poisoned arm. However, I did manage to finish three days ago by using Kelman’s crawler on the last boggy bit. No more news from the bank. It has been a long wait but I haven’t lost all hope, and feel that they are on my side at least some of the way. My next job is fencing and I hope to start in a week or so as I couldn’t bear to see the kangaroos eat all the little bit of green just starting to show.”

15^th September: 1961 “ I have had further news from the bank listing terms and conditions. These are quite good and I have 12 years to repay the loan, but they expect me to carry out the same program, but to economise, or earn an extra £2000 from outside, or by putting in a bigger crop. This loan should cover the first two years’ program (61-62), with a further loan approved for 1963. I shall be “favourably” considered when the time comes. In this second program is an amount of £2000 set aside for a house, so while I do not have this money yet, I have a fair chance of getting it.”

5^th October, 1961: “It is now 2pm and I have only just woken up and can’t think very clearly. Last night we had a P & C meeting to discuss the Ball, and have driven the tractor from about midnight to 7.30am. The day before was the Torradup Field Day which was a wonderful success with people coming in from all over the state. They seemed to be very impressed, all the rams sold and most of the bulls.”

12^th October, 1961: “We now have the temporary bulk handling equipment for Esperance Wharf. You may have heard a little of Mr Kelman’s work in presenting the case to the government. This will allow all our grain to leave Esperance by boat, and will speed up the development of a new port and permanent facility.”

2^nd December, 1961: “I attended a fire on Thursday night which threatened to cross the main road and wipe out the few settlers there, but the wind changed and sent it full speed to Kal.”

7^th February,1962: “I spent a lousy day today, for the first time since all the excitement of our engagement. It suddenly hit me that I won’t be seeing you again for a whole year, so I feel sad and lonely, and not at all like working. Things on the block however, look quite well, with not too much eaten. The caravan looks beaut since you painted it.”

16^th February, 1962: “Yesterday however a bank inspector came out and brain washed me, leaving me with the impression that I should sow no new land this year, and go find myself a job. I expect his report will not be at all favourable, and I will have to do just that. This is all very sad because it will mean either putting off getting married for another year (I certainly don’t like this idea) or finding a married couple’s job, which is unfair on you, and a very poor start to a happy marriage.”

23^rd March,1962: “I am bursting to tell you that I have the extra dough OK. Anyway, I am going ahead and preparing 700acres of fallow for reseeding. If all is well, I will transfer the loan over to the Development Bank as a long term loan. Although I haven’t approached the bank manager about it, I may be able to borrow the money to start the house about September, if Dad can provide the security. I plan to sow only clover and grass, no crop this year, and pray for a good season.The stock firm are very anxious to buy me some sheep to put on this winter, so I may be stocked by September.”

21^st April, 1962: “I have been sewing wheat bags all this week, hence the very shaky hand. I also have many blisters and a blank mind. Things have been very slow on the block with the ploughing well behind schedule. One third of the super has arrived and has been stacked so badly that it has taken up two thirds of the space. I shall have to restack all of this before the next lot arrives...25 tons to be moved all told. The newly appointed C of E minister for Esperance has held two services at Newleigh this week. I believe that the evening one was full house, with people standing down the hallway. For various reasons, I was unable to attend either and stand soundly abused by Mrs Comp.”

23^rd May,1962: “We are working an 18 hour day, two shifts each of five hours, and two shifts of four. This allows us enough time to cook and mix the seed. By bank orders, the seed has to be lime pelleted. To do this you have to mix the clover bacteria with skim milk powder and add some glue mix , add the clover seed, then some powdered lime, stir well, and finally sow. Never has such thought and care been put into a “Christmas cake”. I use a cement mixer as a mixmaster.”

23^rd June,1962: “I have received your lovely long letter re wedding and honeymoon ideas. All sounds fine, but I am however very money conscious and these last few days I have just spent doing the books and budgets.”

28^th June,1962: “Yesterday we attended the opening of the Bulk Grain loading setup. It was also attended by the Premier and other big boys. I spent a couple of hours with the bank manager and discussed various means of raising money to build a house with. He was not at all hopeful, but suggested a scheme whereby I spent £1,000 this year, and next year got £1,000 of Development money. To do this, I would need to go to Perth with full details of guarantors, house plans etc. Costing everything down to the last nail. Then, they MAY consider it.”

4^th July, 1962: “ I started again on the fence this morning, taking the posts out to the line This is a slow job to do on your own. I need a wife to drive the truck.

The new school is nearing completion and is a vast improvement on the old one. The house looks big enough to house the teacher, his spouse and enough children to half fill the pupil quota! I expect the P&C at the meeting tonight will want to spend the proceeds of the woolshed Balls, and discuss a date for the next one.”

26^th July,1962: “ I spent quite a long time with the bank discussing this year’s results and program so far and managed to convince them that I am still on my feet, and not too far behind with the program. Then I brought up the idea of building a house and getting married. He became very quiet and suggested that I held off and did nothing about formally applying for a loan until this present loan has been fully approved and paid out. All this money has already been spent and it is only due to the kindness of my parents in acting as a guarantor for my overdraft, and the foresight of my creditors that I have been able to keep going.”

19^th August, 1962: “The new Munglinup School was opened unofficially last Friday. With all the children and members of the Ravensthorpe Council, there were 82 people in attendance. Mrs Compagnoni cut cut a ribbon, and the headmaster, Mr Briggs, the Kelmans and the Compagnoni’s all making short speeches. We had planned a barbeque at the old school in the evening, but it rained, so we all went up to Newleigh and drank much beer. The new school is very modern with a large classroom, a storeroom and a porch. I think it would be full with about 40 children, but there has been provision made for an extension. The school house is plain, with little to recommend it, except it has a beautiful view. The school and house are right on the brow of the hill to the west of the old school.”

23^rd August,1962: “We spent this morning branding calves at Torradup. They certainly provided a fine morning’s entertainment. They are from herd cows, cast for age from Young River. We branded 100 calves from 140 cows, and they are still calving, so were good buying.”

20^th September,1962: ““What a wonderful holiday I have had but just not enough time. Everything turned out just so well. We have not only decided to get married, but have finally set a date. I am counting the days till January 9^th.

24^th October,1962: “I have been working on an idea that could solve most of our problems for next year. If I was to work on Torradup for most of the year, just spending time on the block during off periods. We could live in the bus, parked beside the shearer’s quarters. I still need to speak with the Kelmans about this.”

29^th October,1962: “I also talked with the banker this morning about housing, and he seems to think that we should have no problems in getting money for a house in 1964, using the block as security. In his extremely conservative estimate, the property should have a value between £14,000 and £15,000, with an estimated income of £5,000. Expenses will be in the order of £3,000 so we should have a further £2,000 to reduce the bank and stockfirm debts.”

23^rd November, 1962 “Another week has passed and there are only 41 sleeps to go. I am told that my nerves are playing up and that I am becoming really crabby. Not so, says I. I feel well, though tired with all the hay carting, but we should finish tomorrow. A grand total of 19,000 bales in two stacks.

I wrote to your father, telling him something of our plans to work at Torradup, and giving him a rough idea of my very unfinancial state. He probably will not approve of my statements that I can’t avoid borrowing money next year for super. He will no doubt feel that I should seek further funding to start on the house

4^th December,1962 “I don’t yet know what time I can get over to Melbourne. I need to: 1) finish the fencing 2) get the sheep down here and settled in, and try to get another 4 to 500 or so to join them 3)arrange and complete the harvesting and sale of the oats 4) do enough work on the bus to make it habitable for man and

14^th December,1962: “ Last night Tom organised a keg and bucks party for self. At the moment my head is very thick and throbbing. We got the first of the NSW sheep home after 36 hours without sleep when a truck and trailer turned over near Dalyup. JT and Tom are off to Kalgoorlie to take delivery of the last 1400. A total of about 3200 stud ewes. With all the work still to be done, I don’t think that I can get to Melbourne before December 28^th.”

17^th December, 1962: “I have had all the spare Torradup men down fencing on the block this last ten days. We have one big day left to do, with a 4.30am start tomorrow. Then there are only the gates to do. Phil Doyle is harvesting the oats which is going quite well. He has agreed to finish harvesting and organise transport of the grain in my absence, but I can’t let the sheep go yet, and I would still like to do something in the bus. I will fly across. Please forgive me and don’t think that I don’t want to be with you as much as possible, or that my resolve to marry is any the less. I will certainly be there for the ninth of January, and hope to make it for New Year, as well. I wish you a very Happy Christmas, darling.” And that, more or less, is what happened!

Continuing on from Pete’s story, here is a further offering from Lu Standish, writing a little bit about some of the important community events that occurred in the first decade of their marriage.

· Perhaps the establishment of the weekly services of our much loved mailman, Norm Allen, was amongst the greatest blessings in those early days. With no phone or internet, and sometimes unreliable vehicles or impassable roads, it was the arrival of the mail that meant so much. Letters, papers, parcels, groceries, machinery parts and sometimes even visitors. Even melted chocolate frogs sent to the grandchildren inside rolled up magazines, were all received with great joy.

· Connection to the party-line phone system. After endless months of lobbying, hours of working bees, and the payment of a rather large sum of money, we finally had this wonderful daylight service, with Jean Murison up at the road house operating the exchange, but often going beyond regulated hours when there was an emergency, or some exciting family event.

· Fundraising events for local amenities such as the Hall, the Church, the School, the sports grounds and facilities etc. These would include concerts, woolshed balls, golfing days in neighbours’ paddocks, working bees to collect “dead wool” or mallee roots for onselling, agisting livestock, or even film nights in the school or later in the Hall where sometimes the panoramic films were shown in normal projection resulting in some very amusing images.

· Swimming lessons were held at Munglinup Reef every January. Official instructors were paid by the Education department, so all the children had the opportunity to learn to swim. Usually the beach at the Reef would also be the scene of many other family outings, as younger children played happily on the sand or in the shallows, while elder children and adults would swim out to the reef, or dive from the tower set up in the deeper water.

· Sporting Clubs were established...mostly thanks to the enthusiasm and very hard work of the locals (including managers and non block owners who actually had time at weekends to organise working bees etc). The Golf Club was probably the most ambitious, but also the ovals for football and cricket, the courts for tennis and netball, and the grounds for the Bushmen and the Pony Club. I was most involved with the Pony Club, and together with Henrietta Mackenzie, established the official Munglinup Club, having been inspired by the earlier efforts of Neil & Dawn Peterson. The basic problem was being able to have a float to transport the ponies up to a central

point...either to club grounds, or to the “Reserve” for our Cross Country events, or to Ned’s Corner for the annual camp. Several river rides were held from the bottom of our property along the banks of the Oldfield River down to the Munglinup Reef beach.

· Other, not so energetic, activities took place, with meetings for many different groups being held on a monthly basis. In addition to all the sporting groups there were also the P & C, the Farmer’s Union, the C.W.A., the Munglinup Progress Association and the Church. Church services were conducted on a fairly regular basis, with several weddings and christenings taking place. The annual Christmas carol singing evening always resulted in a good attendance. A library service was also available in the Hall, once a week.

· While the very first few years were probably rather isolated, and living conditions were certainly very basic, the community developed into a very lively “happening” place with a great spirit. Working bees were held frequently for one cause or another, neighbours continued to pool resources re farm machinery and manpower , families exchanged baby sitting favours to accommodate trips to Perth etc. Almost without exception everyone had a great sense of purpose and pride in what they were doing and in their community. Any child who attended Munglinup School in those early years was given a great start in developing lifetime skills of co-operation, work ethics and resilience.

· Overall, I consider that it was a privileged time to be part of the Munglinup Community.