Beth was born in a big city, one warm autumn day in 1921. She lived there with her Dad, Mother and two brothers until she was three, when they moved to a farm about 20 miles away. Beth didn’t remember anything of that, but was sure they must have been pleased to leave the city.1
On the farm Beth was happy playing with her dolls, the cats and farm dogs, and, as she got older, riding around on the sledge with other children and playing with the lambs and calves.
Dad had a quiet old horse he let Beth sit on, and she would stay there for hours, very happy, but not going far as she wasn’t strong enough to make him move if he didn’t want to. They were all very happy, in a big roomy house with lovely gardens and lawns, and a big patch of native bush at the back of the house.
When Beth turned five she had to start school, which was about three miles away. Most of the children rode ponies to school, so Beth had to be “doubled” by her brother. Her only real memories of that time were of riding to and fro, their frequent spills, and the times when someone would leave the gate to the horse paddock open and all the ponies would go home.
Those times were terrifying, because then all the children took a short cut home, which meant crossing a wide river that had an old swing bridge spanning it. Some of the older boys used to run across first and then shake it, while the smaller children crept over, crying and shaking with fear.
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One day, to Beth’s surprise, there was great activity as Dad, Mother and the boys started packing up all the furniture and other household things, and she was told that they were leaving to go away up north to their very own farm, where they were going to live, forever. Beth was wildly excited as this was a great adventure. She never knew what Dad thought about it as he was too busy getting ready to leave, but Mother didn’t seem very happy, and Beth saw her crying a little bit, once or twice. Perhaps, when you were older, it wasn’t quite such a wonderful adventure.
At last everything was packed and they were ready to leave. Dad, Mother and the boys were to travel up in their car, while all the furniture and boxes were to follow in a big truck. Beth was to stay with her Grandmother and go by train in a day or so. Beth had never been on a train, and as the time for them to leave got closer, she was sick with excitement. It was a four hour journey, and there were lots of tunnels to go through and bridges to cross on the way. Gran had Beth at the station in plenty of time. Beth had soon discovered that Gran was very fussy over all sorts of things, like noise, dirt and animals, but most of all, about being on time. Time had never mattered to Beth, and she couldn’t see why it was so important to some folk.
The train hissed and clanged around at the station for a while and then, with a piercing whistle, they were on their way. For a while it was fun, watching the houses and buildings, the paddocks and animals as they passed by, but Beth soon became sleepy. She curled up on the seat, and with her head on Gran’s lap, went to sleep, hoping that when she woke it would be to find Dad at the station to take her to their new farm.
Footnotes
- An experienced kauri bushman, Hugh married Vi in 1910, and Dorothy was their third child. Where they spent their first years together I don’t know, but, if Dorothy is right, at some stage they moved back to the city and remained there until about 1924. Her brother Ian thought they moved up to Taipuha, where these stories will play out, in about 1927, when Dorothy was six.
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