Sepia Saturday: Glorious hair

The theme photo this week's Sepia Saturday is of a woman with long hair, very long hair. She has been posed so that the full glory of her hair can be seen to best advantage. That particular pose is not unusual in the old photos. It must have been every young girl's dream to have beautiful long hair.

Phil's great grandmother Maggie was a young teenager when this photo was taken. Her waist-length hair is smoothly tied into several bows but I imagine she wore it in plaits most of the time ...

Margaret McKernan

...like my mother when she was young. There she is at left in a school photo. Her older sister, Betty, is second from the right. All five girls have their hair in plaits. And all the boys have dirty knees! (Lawler is a small rural community east of Minyip in Victoria's Wimmera area and this is the entire school.)

Lawler School, 1934

There is a family story that when Betty and Mavis were very young Betty cut Mavis's plaits off for some reason. In this photo Mavis has short hair so maybe the story is true.

Mavis and Betty Smith

And finally, just for fun, here's a photo from the Genealogical Society of Victoria's collection. It was taken in the 1920s and is of a lady using a garden hose to wash her long hair.

Unknown lady washing her hair in a garden. {GSV collection]

Trove Tuesday: In which George labours on the line

Part five. The diary of George Smith continues. It's May 1889 and George is still working as a labourer on the Great Southern Railway that was being constructed between Albany and Beverley in Western Australia.

Men using timber sleepers to construct the 

Uralla Railway Line west of Roma, ca. 1918 [QldPics, bonzle.com]

1/5 Weather very showery, cold at nights with inclination to freeze. Very much amused at my mate giving me some reminiscences of old Ireland and some ballads.
2/5 Plate layers in camp fixing line and lifting siding to ballast pit.
3/5 Dressing & trimming formation. Visited by inspector of repairs.
4/5 One month on repairs 8-6-0 due. Beautiful day. Went to next camp for mutton. Weight of sheep 28 lbs. Longing to see a Christian.
5/5 Usual routine, usual work.
7/5 Loaf of bread stole from Ned McGuinnes's tent attributed to two travelling hawkers.
9/5 Usual work. Michael Courtney's tent robbed, loaf of bread stone. My tent robbed, piece of bacon & some mutton stolen.
10/5 Jack McCarthy put on. Went to Taylors in the afternoon.
11/5 Ten pound of pork stole from McCarthy's tent, suspicions on Bobby Hunter.
12/5 Shifted two tents & erected two chimneys.
13/5 Lifting and pulling the line.
14/5 Burning off scrub.
15/5 Pay day. Paid 8-6-6 twenty two and a half days. Loading rails and crossings with the next gang.
16/5 Went to Narrogin with McCarthy on the trolley, distance 16 miles, for stores. Could get no fresh meat so have to do without it. Wrote home.
17/5 Cleaning drains
18/5 Heavy showers. Miller went along the line inspecting.
19/5 Lang ramble into the bush, reading etc.
20/5 Working on the line. Evening listening to ballads and ghost stories.
21/5 Got word from Inspector Reardon that we would have to shift in a day or two on account of the length being made longer a mile being put on to each of them.
22/5 Thinking of leaving the repairs and going to Glentromie. The line has to be opened on June 1st and intend then to go down to Albany and see about it.
23/5 Shifting camp six miles near Beverley. Made two trips of it, shifting three frame tents. Pushing them up on a one in sixty grade on the trolley hard work.
24/5 Morning fixing up camp, afternoon went to Taylors with trolley 12 miles for meat, got half sheep 11 lb. First saw the notorious Fanny Flay.
25/5 Working close to next gang. One of them had his bed clothes pulled off him and took outside, the door of his tent being closed. Rainy day washing, baking the food, fixing tent. Living with Ned in a twelve by two.
27/5 Dispute between the ganger and Ned McGuinness. hasty words. the dispute arose out of which of the two owned a certain kerosene tine bucket. Ned stopped in all day, went out next day.
28/5 Saw a regular overland troop going east, six niggers and a gin all mounted on three pack horses & a white man. Rather a drool looking lot.
29/5 The inspector came along and altered our length us to shift a second time to our annoyance. Ganger received news from his wife. She said she was coming over.
30/5 Up at daybreak packing up. Shifted to the 66 and a half. At it all day. I vexed the ganger very much in wanting to let the trolley run down a steep grade.
31/5 Went to Taylors got 12 lb pork, half pound of tea, 6 sugar.
1/6 On clay banks the line sinking working hard. Afternoon fetched a load of boxes on trolley from the old camp.
2/6 Putting floor in tent.
3/6 Lifting the rails on each of the bridges one inch high. Three hours rain, stopped in tent. Line opened from the ninety to Beverley, a train through & back once each day.

West Australian, 31 May 1889

4/6 The boss and old Ned at it again about packing the sleepers. Sam Diver with us for a night. He had been on a spree for a fortnight and was in the horrors.
5/6 Climies Cart came with the stores. Fetched letters and newspapers. Was glad to hear that all was well at home.
6/6 Bought 16 shillings worth of Ned's stores. He left with the cart down to the one hundred and nineteen. He left the tent. While we were away took six lb onions from my tent & dish and some bags from Courtney.
7/6 Visited by the inspector of repairs. Was told the length we left was very bad in parts. Gave letter to him to post.
10/6 Rainy day. Pay train came at eight o'clock at night. Grand 20 chain chase after it. Received 24 days pay 8-18-0. Ganger one pound short in his pay.
11/6 Began a six chain general lift and decided to go to Narrogin on the morrow for stores.
12/6 Road too bad. Put off the trip to Narrogin. In rainy weather the banks get soft and the weight of the train puts the rail down in places and if they was not lifted and packed they would put the train off.
13/6 to 19/6 Diary pages missing

Railway gang [Image H2002.106/266 SLV]

20/6 Another hand put on, W Geary a Colonial, but as usual a swearing cursing navvy. Inspector passed up and found fault with the length. Said it was very crooked.
21/6 Full handed again but McCarthy said he would not come out again if he had to work such a heavy lever.
22/6 McCarthy stopped in having a very bad cold the result of the booze.
23/6 Went to Blakes camp and fetched back Diver to fill Jack's spot.
24/6 The Diver and I batched together. He is a sailor cove with plenty of funny yarns but abominably smutty.
25/6 Playing cards all evening and did not feel right, neglecting praying & spiritually uneasy.
26/6 Thought of leaving & going to Perth. Bad company has an awful influence.
27/7 Another man put on, Black Peter by name. The usual character. Cards again. Told Courtney that I would leave. Sorrow all round. Got my time and gave stores to Diver.
28/6 Started for Albany from the Arthur River siding.

Albany Railway Station, Western Australia. It was constructed  in 1889
the same year that the Great Southern Railway was opened. [Postcard]

To be continued. In the next installment George goes to Perth.

Sepia Saturday: Mary Leed the MLC scholar

The theme photo for Sepia Saturday this week is of girls in a school dorm. I've decided to write about my husband's grandmother who was at boarding school In Melbourne, Victoria.

In the early 1900s David and Mary Ann Leed lived near Pyramid Hill in central Victoria where they had a farm. There were five sons (including two from David's previous marriage) and two daughters, Nell and Mary.

Nell Leed (left) and Mary Leed

Nell and Mary attended local rural schools like everyone else in the district but when they were late teenagers it was decided that they should go down to the prestigious Methodist Ladies' College (MLC)  in Kew for a year (more-or-less as a 'finishing' experience). Mary had singing lessons while she was there - she had a fine voice.

Students at Methodist Ladies College, Melbourne (1919).
Mary Leed bottom right.

Mary already had a 'boyfriend', a dairy farmer from Mologa, not far from home. Throughout her time in Melbourne they corresponded regularly and we are lucky to have a few of Ralph's letters to Mary. He was an amusing correspondent and filled Mary in on what was happening in the family, church activities and sport in the district and gossiped about the people they knew.

[Extract 1] Talking of looks.  Do you know that I got the prize for best looking gent. on the ground on Monday.  Needless to say my conceit has risen almost to bursting point. Scobie reckoned the judging was crook.  Some of the old married women were judges, so that accounts for me winning, I’m pretty well in with one or two of them.  It’s more than I can say of the young girls.   

[Extract 2] I had plenty of spare time to think things over.  I’ve come to the conclusion that Mologa isn’t much of a place, especially of a Sunday now that your not here.  Eight o’clock, Sunday night, nothing to do, nowhere to go, its too rough.  Once you come home again I’ll never let you go away any more (as if I could stop you).  I’m selfish aren’t I.  But truly its ever so lonesome up here now & I can’t help longing for the time when I can see you again.  November seems a long way off.  Think of me while you are enjoying yourself at the show tomorrow. 

[Extract 3] It is with deep sorrow in my heart that I record the demise of Clara. Yesterday she stole our meat that was to do us for dinner.  She was arrested, tried & sentenced to death.  But in our tenderness of heart, she was granted a reprieve.  However, last night she entered the house with felonious intent & knocked a pack of plates off the shelf breaking three.  Today, the reprieve was annulled & at half past four  the sentence was carried out.  Clara (in a bag) went to her last long home accompanied by two half bricks. (RIP). With this touching episode, I draw to a close, So long sweetheart. From you ever loving                                                                                                Ralph

Mary and Ralph married in 1922 and remained in the district and raised a family of five daughters. MLC is still a very prestigious school, now run by the Uniting Church.

George Smith the dictator

Part four. The diary of George Smith continues. It's April 1889 and George is still working as a labourer on the Great Southern Railway that was being constructed between Albany and Beverley in Western Australia.

Bush camp 1900 [Museum Victoria]

19/4 G Bow in our camp. Paddy Fits and McGloun ... their tucker and cans of ... because ganger wouldn't wait for them to get water in the morning at 5 past 8 they stopped work all day.
20/4 They used threatening language, was going to half kill the ganger, he being very frightened of them.
21/4 Sunday. Helped build tent for the ganger. Went over to the rowdies camp and talked blood and hair. Cowed them a little.
22/4 The rowdies done a lot of tongue work giving a lot of abuse to Courtney. Got off to our work all right. Asked guidance. Live peaceable with all men as much as possible.
23/4 Rowing again. Urged Courtney to hit McGloun couldn't get him to go for him. The ganger would go for police protection but persuaded him to not go and if the rowdies said or done anything I would knock ... out of them. Quieted his fears a little.
24/4 Peaceful. Saw Reardon inspector of repairs. Pleased with our work and said he would get us two fresh men.
25/4 Cutting scrub now with Bobby Hunter. Was pealed off to give him a hammering for language used. Was vexed by my very unchristian action.
26/4 Cutting scrub. Peace in the camp owing to me I believe holding the office of dictator.
27/4 Burning off. Rehmatics [sic] very bad in the shoulders. Rowdies still quiet.
28/4 Sunday. Washing, baking, went to a farm eight mile off for mutton. Got one fresh hand E McGinnis. Rowdies cleared out in the ...
29/4 Cutting scrub. Afternoon a terrific thunder storm. Sent letter home for Clissie storekeeper.
30/4 Clearing on the line. Becoming reconciled to my lot in a measure. Beginning to think of visiting New Zealand and after, God willing, home.

To be continued.