The transcript of the talk is almost as Berna Wright (born 1922) delivered it with only very minor amendments made for clarity. Where available links to further information online have been added. It is reproduced here by kind permission of Berna's family.
"These are my personal recollections of growing up in Canowindra in the 1930s and living as a young working woman there from 1942 to 1946. In March 1947 I married and went to live at Nanami Eugowra. My memories will be different in parts to those living out of town or even in other parts of town but are as I remember them.
Our home, built by my parents Edward (Ted) and Florence Finn in the early 1920s was in Short Street now number 3 next to my grandparents’ house “Tralee”. My father was the eldest son of Thomas and Maria Coady Finn and was Canowindra's first resident solicitor. My mother had lived in Lavender Bay Sydney for 14 years before her marriage to my father although she was born at the family property of Burgoon now Wansey in Cumnock. She was the 10th child of William Patrick Cahill and his wife Bridget nee Durack.
I had a very privileged childhood, we (my parents, brother Bill and sister Joan) lived in a lovely home surrounded by a large attractive garden. We had wonderful seaside holidays every January and were given a good education. Best of all we were part of a large extended family there being 12 in each of my parents' families - and the families were close. We had loving parents, grandparents, lots of uncles, aunts and cousins. It was a very secure childhood.
When Canowindra entered the 1930s, I was in third class at the Convent school. I commenced school in 1928, going straight into first class as there was no kindergarten then. The Great Depression started after the stock market crash of October 1929 and I remember not a lot about it except for the number of swagmen coming around, looking for work and food. They were never turned away. There were also boys turning up at school without shoes.
Canowindra was a very self-sufficient town in the 1930s being made so principally by the transport situation. The population was approximately the same as it is now but the town was the centre of business and social activity because cars were a lot fewer then than now, the unsealed roads were rough especially shocking in wet weather and very dusty in dry times. It was a great effort and time-consuming to drive too far. The chief exit out of and the entrance to town was by train. I vaguely remember a passenger steam train at Canowindra station when I was very young but my main memories are of the motor train which connected daily with the steam train at Cowra - Sundays excepted. It came to Canowindra via Billimari arriving at about 8:20 a.m. and thence to Nyrang Creek, North Goolagong, Nanami and finally to Eugowra arriving there at about 9:30 a.m. The train brought passengers, mail, goods and school children. Trucks such as Croucher’s and Bowd’s were lined up at the station to deliver the mail and goods to the appropriate places.
During the harvest, the railway yard was very busy, especially in good years. The shed, still there, filled up with the bags of wheat, thousands of them and other grain to be transported to Sydney by goods train. These trains also took produce like hay and chaff and had special trucks for sheep and cattle going to the Sydney markets. Canowindra had a station master living at the railway residence and several other staff. Mr Boag was a well-known station-master in my day.
The railway also had functions such as bringing the circus to town, mostly Wirth’s probably every other year. The special train arrived early and we children always ran down before school and were amazed to see the Big Top going up so quickly on the block where the museum and park are now. After school we were allowed to see the tiger's, lines and monkeys in cages and the elephants and beautiful white horses. The circus was at night and we loved the glamour and excitement of it, the ringmaster in a top hat, the clowns and the trapeze artists and satin and spangles. Just as quickly, the tent was dismantled and the special train was away the next day.
Ron Worboys in his football history book, the "Jack Hore Memorial Gold Cup", mentions that in June 1930, almost four years since the inception of the competition, Temora played Canowindra for the first time and 5000 people attended the game. Temora supporters travelled to Canowindra by special train. Canowindra lost the match but won the cup back from Temora in August only to lose it to Cowra in a match attended by 4000 people. I remember a number of occasions when special trains were used to take supporters to and from Canowindra.
During the war, railway carriages were used as recruiting offices and many a sad farewell or happy welcome home took place on our Canowindra railway platform.
Transport was by car, train, horse and sulky or by foot. The only time aeroplanes were seen in the district was during air pageants held at Cowra. Kingsford Smith and other notable aviators gave joy rides to finance their trips across the Pacific to New Zealand or around the world. Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm, Bert Hinkler, Amy Johnson, Jean Batte,n etcetera were our heroes. We listened on the wireless to their arrival in Australia, often Darwin and they were met with huge crowds, wireless was a great source of news and entertainment.
There were many horses sulkies and all hotels had sulky yards as did TJ Finn’s. We walked everywhere and thought nothing of it. We walked down to tennis, to the pictures and to church. There were lots of home deliveries in those days: groceries, milk, ice, bread and fresh vegetables grown by the Chinese gardeners in the paddocks bordering Anzac Avenue then called Chinamans Lane. There were several of them living there and they delivered to our homes.
As the 1930s progressed, cars became more numerous. The only tarred road I remember was Gaskill Street and I have vivid recollections of the tremendous dust in Rodd Street going up to and from the showgrounds on show day despite frequent watering from the water cart. My other big memory of the dust was the summer of 1944-45 during a big drought. Our annual rainfall for 1944 was 7.5 inches (190.5mm) the lowest on record. The outback red dust blew all the way over the Tasman Sea to New Zealand.
The other element that gave great momentum to the town was the number of businesses in town with jobs to offer. The four general stores TJ Finns, McDonaghs, Purcells store (later The Western Stores) and Malouf’s all employed a number of people. I counted ten at Finns plus four family members Tom, Leo, Cissy and Marie. Finns had a shoe department, a ladies haberdashery department, a men's department, a grocery department, and ironmongery department, and a gift department with china, toys, jewelry etc. The older ones among you will remember my grandfather in his old age sitting in a cane chair at the front of the shop dispensing lollies to all the children that passed - sometimes to the chagrin of their mothers but always to the delight of the children.
McDonagh's was a timber building the other side of the lane and Messrs McDonagh and TJ Finn were good friends, always going for a drink at the Junction Hotel after work. McDonagh's later built and moved to a new shop where the shire offices are now situated.
The Western Stores were built in the late 1920s as Purcell stores by Andy Purcell who made his fortune from Belubula River flats lucerne - green gold as it was called and a lot of Canowindra’s early wealth came from it. He built a grand house in Blatchford Street facing Short Street, and called it Lucerne. It is now Lyndon House and during the war, The Salvation Army conducted the girls home there. (Note that "Lyndon House/Luserne" is once again in private oenwrship.) Andy Purcell also built the present CWA rooms as a bakery and had not the depression occurred when it did, he could have been an even greater builder. I remember the opening of the Purcell store on a Saturday with late night trading. Shops opened every day except Sunday with Wednesday being half day to make up for Saturday.
The fourth general store was Malouf's in Blatchford Street run by Mr and Mrs Nick Malouf and other members of the Malouf family and it was always busy. There were a couple of other grocery shops in town, Edgertons on the corner of Tilga and Ferguson Street opposite Shep’s corner and Kerrs, at Potts Point as the three shops were known. Kerr’s, a bakery and Sandy Grant's butchery, were in Ferguson Street off Belmore Street. At one stage the owner of the shops was Mr Pat Kennedy. The other butcher shops in town belonged to a Mr A. L. Patterson who was married to an American and his shop is now owned by Bruce Byrnes and McIntyre & Bourke in Blatchford Street, near the Canowindra Hotel. There were several speciality shops: Mr Roley Frost’s shoe shop, Best’s haberdashery, Duggan's drapery and a little later in the early 40s I think Mcclearys men's shop. There was also Mrs Ada Stinson's childrenswear, Harold Townsend and Suttons electrical shops and others whose names escape me. In the early 1930s there was a bootmaker Mr Dand and a tailor, Mr Howard whose timber shops were burnt down fully or partially in a spectacular fire one night despite the gallant efforts of the fire brigade. The brigade headquarters were in Ryall Street. I remember Alf Stringer who worked at McDonagh's and Son Hodge being firemen. These buildings were replaced by the pharmacy of Mr Barker and is now the surgery of Mr John Quill. Wright Heaton had a depot on the corner of Ryall and Blatchford Streets.
There were three legal men in town all of whom had legal secretaries: my father whose secretary was Edith Knight, my uncle Danny Finn whose secretary was Vida Stubbs and later Sheila White and Athol Sharpe whose office was where Dr Kumar now has his surgery. Athol and his brother Rex, an electrical engineer, were the sons of a former school teacher at the public school. The accountant in town was Mr Eric Frost with an office in Finn’s building and his secretary was Edna Wicks.
Canowindra had four hotels: The Junction whose licensee was Mr Phil O'Brien, the Victoria now Popi’s, after being a convalescent home for a number of years. At some time in the 1930s, a Mr Caddy was licensee and Mr Ernie Links in the 1940s. The Royal Hotel was run by the Tom O'Brien family and the Canowindra Hotel, formerly Fogarty's, became famous in the 1930s because Kylie Tennant lived there with her school teacher husband LC Rodd whilst writing her prize-winning novel “Tiburon”. Canowindra people eagerly read it to see if any of the characters were based on them.
A feature of the hotel life at that time was the number of commercial travellers staying there overnight. The Royal had a special display room for their wares and Mollie Loder said she can remember her mother and Vi Dawes going down together to make their selections. The travellers also did the rounds of the houses in town showing samples of linen and towels, clothing, shoes, brushes and even carpet and health cures.
How was the medical situation in Canowindra? Excellent, with two doctors, two hospitals, two dentists and two pharmacies. My uncle by marriage, Bill Squires married to my father's sister Lola had his pharmacy in Finn’s building in the early 1930's, where Messenger & Messenger now have their office. The family lived upstairs. He sold out to Mr Barker who not only built a new pharmacy where David Biggs is now situated but also built a new house in Short Street on a vacant block between Dr Allen and Mr Henry Worboys. Some years later Mr Hugh Carroll brought out Mr Barker. The other chemist in Canowindra in the 1930s and 1940s was a Mr Finucane, an Irishman whose nephew, Flying Officer Paddy Finucane (later Wing Commander Brendan Eamonn Fergus Finucane, DSO, DFC & Two Bars), an RAF Spitfire pilot, was one of the greatest heroes of the Battle of Britain. He was eventually shot down and killed himself in 1942. Mr Finucane was succeeded by Mr Frank Tierney and their pharmacy was where Dr Nick O’Ryan now has his surgery. The present pharmacy was a Billiard Palace owned by Mr Reg Fletcher whom I am told was also a barber. There were always two doctors in town - Dr Cecil Allen came in their early 20s, establishing his house and surgery in Short Street, opposite to Tralee and in what was previously Matron Newall’s private maternity hospital and even before the hospital the first Convent. Dr Allen stayed until 1936-37 he and his wife had 6 children and they were amongst our play and schoolmates.
Dr Allen's practice was brought out by Dr David Leake, a good looking bachelor with charming manners who drove a sporty car. He always raised his hat to us school girls and that impressed us no end. He was also a very kind man. He came from a social Victorian pastoral family and when visiting, his sisters and sister-in-law always dressed for dinner. He joined the army (1940) and became a prisoner of war. After the war, he married a nurse (Phyllis Byrne) whom he had met at the Canowindra Hospital.
Dr John Priestley was the next doctor - he married shortly after his arrival and was the son of the professor of medicine at Sydney University. He was here until the late 1940s.
At the top end of Gaskill Street, Dr Chipperfield had his practice. He took on a partner, Dr John Gribbin who became his son-in-law after marrying Gribben’s daughter Helen. Dr Gribben also went into the army and after the war his practice was taken over by a lanky, skinny young doctor named John Knight.
The Soldiers Memorial Hospital was opened in 1922 and there was a second private hospital, a maternity hospital in Rodd Street, run by Matron Hough. Matron Hough, her husband and three young daughters lived two doors down from us in Short Street. The second daughter, Kathleen, became Kath Anderson, a well-known figure in the Labor party (and state M.P.) and mother of the former state minister for police, Peter Anderson. During the early thirties, there was a diphtheria epidemic in town, this was about the time immunisation came about.
The two dentists in Canowindra during the 30s were Mr Herbert Cantwell, who practiced in Gooloogong of a Sunday and Mr Harold Boyd whose practice was above the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney chambers.
I can never pass his dental equipment in the Canowindra museum without hearing the "whizz" with that dreadful foot pumped drill and feeling the pain of it boring into my teeth. Bernadette Crowe was his assistant for many years. Towards the end of the 30's Mr Cantwell not being very well took on a young partner Mr John Quill. John married his boss’s attractive daughter Pat and they lived in Canowindra until a few years ago, apart from the years John spent in the Air Force during the war. Someone mentioned to me a dental mechanic who worked at the back of Finn’s building but I cannot recall him. It is sad to think that we no longer have a dentist in 1998.
The bank situation was certainly different to now. There were 4 banks in the early 1930's. Commercial of Sydney now the National Bank, the Bank of New South Wales now Westpac and an agency, the Union bank which moved from what is now Sue Holmwood’s shop to a position next to the Commonwealth bank-both of these have closed. The Union bank is now residential and the Commonwealth with an agency at the Post Office is now the office of Benett & Keogh accountants. A fifth bank, the Rural Bank opened in the 1930's. It became the State Bank, and is also closed with an agency in town. Only one of the 5 banks is now open - the National. They employed quite a few people and brought families to the town. Girls like myself, came into the bank during the 40s as the men went to war. Eithne Crowe was the first girl to be taken into a bank, the Rural Bank in Canowindra in 1940 with an annual salary of 85 pounds.
The local telephone exchange was the source of a lot of jobs for girls and also the post office, which had a residence attached in the 1930's, staffed by a postmaster - (I remember Mr Pickup and Mr Bennett and then Mr Worsley) - plus several other people.
The big social night out was going to the pictures - they were not called movies then. There were two changes of program, Friday and Saturday nights (with a matinee on Saturday afternoon but not necessarily the same picture as at night) and Wednesday night midweek. Around 1934 the Strand Theatre was remodelled, the new decor giving it a Spanish looking entrance. I think I can even remember the opening night feature, Bebe Daniels in “Rio Rita” not that I was allowed to go but the posters on the back fence of Finns building were eagerly studied by us every week. Mr Boothman was the proprietor. My memories of films shown are more of the 40s - we went in the heat of Summer, carrying fans and on cold frosty nights taking hot water bottles for our feet and rugs for over our knees. On Saturday evenings The Salvation Army band played before the opening at 8pm. It was the age of Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Betty Grable and the big bands of Harry James and Glenn Miller and many more. At interval and after the show, we had refreshments at Nellie Carrolls next door and the Garden of Roses opposite. The Garden of Roses was the premier cafe in town with the proprietor, Mr Louis Mitchis,on a hot day it was a Haven for cool drink or ice cream sundae with its ceiling fan spinning, light coming through the lovely leadlight windows depicting roses and its spotless marble top tables. Ashcrofts and Clarkes were also popular cafes for meals and drinks in the main street. In the 1940s Molly Mangelsdorf nee Grannall had a cafe next to the wine shop in Blatchford Street. The other uses for the Strand theatre was for balls and fetes. Both these functions involved tremendous work for the women organisers. I was not old enough for balls in the 1930s but went to juveniles the following night, often in fancy dress. It seems incredible now but balls were held on Monday night as it was a picture free night. Pity the poor bosses on Tuesday! The seats would have to be pushed back around the sides and back, the floor waxed and decorations put up - streamers, balloons, crepe paper flowers to say nothing of the big bowls of flowers on either side of the stage where the orchestra played, and on the tables in the supper room. For most balls there was a poultry sit down supper (and bear in mind the chickens had to be killed and dressed first) followed by rich wine trifles. There were ladies who were specialists in this department. I remember Mrs Genge and Mrs Enid Grant being terrific trifle makers. I believe in the 1930s the music was played by Olga Mobbs, Marj Duggan and Doreen Mangelsdorf. The Piccadilly Orchestra from Cowra played at most balls in the 1940s. There were also dances such as the Wattle dance and dances out of town in the community halls of Nyrang Creek, Billimari, Moorbel and Merriganowry. Who were our partner's during the war years? Well there were a number of young farmers still - everyone over 18 was called up but a certain number had to be left to grow food especially when the American forces arrived. There were boys on leave and soldiers from the army camp at Cowra. Several times the town entertained British servicemen on leave mostly from the Royal Navy but never any Americans. War or no war, young people enjoyed dressing up, dancing and having fun.
Another source of employment was the several garages in town. Mr Mick Callaghan was in Gaskill Street, just past Junction Hotel. He had a hire car service as did Mr Ted Brice whose premises were where the Community Centre is now. Near Brrices was Mr Jim Crowe’s Farmers and Graziers garage and opposite the station master’s residence was Mr Henry Worboys. Away from the centre of town Mr Frank Astle had a machinery repair shop and close to him was a plumber Mr Vic Weymark who was also a musician.
There were a number of stock and station agents. Mr Lou Marshall who moved into the old Union Bank building in Gaskill Street. He was later joined by Mr Jack Crampton. T.G .Murray & Co had been started by Mr Tom Murray who moved to Sydney in the 1920s and became a millionaire businessman and an MLC. The business was run by Mr Bill Crothers as manager in 1930's and 40s. W.G. McCarron & Son had their office where James Toohey & Co is now. Bill McCarron was the father of Jack and Ruby. My great uncle Eugene Finn had his office where Jacobs Well is now. He died in 1939. He gained fame for his charity and as the town's unofficial dentist in earlier times before there was a resident one in town, by removing aching teeth with a pair of pliers. I do not know what he used for an anaesthetic. Mr Charlie McDonagh took over his office and became the registrar for Births Deaths and Marriages. Eric Archer and son had an office where the RSL club is now. Mr Charles Brennan who was a commission agent and wheat buyer had an office in the School of Arts next door to Archers. He always wore a pith helmet in summer. Mr E.P. McCloskey had an office in a room in the Victoria Hotel next to the Post Office. They were all kept busy with Canowindra’s famous products - lucerne, chaff and fat lambs as well as property sales.
Speaking about Eugene Finn brings to mind another aspect of Canowindra life in the 1930s going into the 1940s - the town would have been 99.9% Celtic Anglo Saxon. I have mentioned the Chinese gardeners and an American wife - and the Greek proprietors of the cafe and the Fruit Mart. The only Aborigine I remember in my childhood in Canowindra was Danny Weldon and in view of the present interest in stolen babies, his story is interesting. Danny was a sixth and youngest child of Aboriginal parents living in Condobolin - his mother died and her people took in Danny's four sisters. His father ran off leaving a 3-year-old Danny and a 15-year-old brother. The older brother had heard of the kindness of Mrs Eugene (Allie) Finn of Canowindra to another Aboriginal boy and decided to ask her to take Danny whom he carried most of the way to Canowindra on his back. When Allie persuaded Eugene to accept him, Danny was taken in and raised as their own. Upon leaving school he went to work at Rygates and lived there until his death, apparently quite happy and well accepted by everyone. He was a child raised by white people at an Aboriginal brother's request.
Other businesses in Canowindra were the Power House in Ryall Street, which due to the insight of William Cobley gave Canowindra electric light ahead of many bigger towns. It was run by Mr Fred Hewitt who gradually changed the business to Rural Supplies as the council took over power, it employed a number of people. Near Rural Supplies in Ryall Street was Mr Gil Hickey a coachbuilder, a painter of sulkies and a flyer of box kites. He was also a leading singer at St Edwards church.
There were two flour mills, Tees’ Mill now Montgolfier House and the Great Western Milling Co. active until the 1950s. Also a butter factory which became the Freezing Works. There was Carman’s Saddlery, a fruit mart run by Jim Elfes and then his brother known as Jim, and the newsagents owned by an English couple Mr and Mrs Bortfield. They employed at least three girls. There was great excitement in the town when the first prize in the 5000 pound lottery came to Canowindra, lucky ticket holders being the Bortfields, Lorna Evans who worked there, Noel Croucher and I think someone else.
There were several bakeries - Kohler’s and Clarke’s.
That leaves the barbers - Mr Alf Gold who also did a lot of work as a librarian at the School of Arts which was situated between Ernie Archer's and Fred Brice’s businesses where the Community Centre /RSL is. The laconic Dave Carroll, Stan Nicholls and Ernie Mangelsdorf - they all seemed to give the same haircut - no ladies hairdressers then.
And that to me is all the businesses I can remember except for the mortician - Roy Ayrton. Who can forget Roy - he not only was an undertaker but looked like one with his pale skin and dark eyes. He had a wonderful knowledge of everyone buried in the cemetery and was a great help to early historians. He was also a blacksmith and farrier.
This brings me to the teachers and schools. There were many teachers at the one Public School which at the time went up to the Intermediate standard, as did the convent school. There were 12 nuns at the convent and a few borders. Two of the nuns were driven daily by the priest to the convent school at Moorbel, two or three were music teachers and the rest taught.
Most children left school at the Intermediate class. I remember in the early 1930s Andy Purcell’s Ballroom was transported to become the secondary school at St Edwards, and the wheel has turned full circle, it is now back at Lyndon House. Children mostly walked to school. I do not remember any inter-school sport. Girls plate vigoro, skipping, hopscotch, jacks and chasing. The boys played cricket, football and marbles. The highlight of the year for me was always the St Patrick's night concert.
Sport played a very important part in town life in the 1930s - the footballers playing for the famous Jack Hore Memorial Cup and the cricketers for the Grinstead Cup. One of the best sportsmen in town was Rex Norman who was accomplished in both football and cricket. He had the distinction of bowling the great Don Bradman and out for a duck on their tour here. His nickname was Rocker.
Tennis with big and popular-there was a marvelous 3-day tournament played about October with competitors coming from all surrounding towns and Sydney. The outside fence of the town courts would be covered with hessian as I suppose one would have to pay to see the wonderful matches. For many years the ladies singles finals were played out between the consistent Olive Attenborough and Doris Jenkins from Cudal, more of a hard serve and smash player. The golf club was opposite “Moyne” in the early 1930s but moved to its present site during the decade. There was also a jockey and race club. There was no swimming pool but we did drive to Merryganowry for swimming in the river and picnics.
Church played a big part in most people's lives - there were a number of small country churches as well as the bigger ones in town. The new Church of England as it was then called was opened in 1929. The Minister was the Reverend Mr Bromhead whose brother was a district judge - Canowindra had a courthouse then. He was good friends with the Catholic parish priest the Reverend Cecil Lonergan who was assisted by a curate. Father Lonergan was a wonderful influence not only on his own flock but also in town. He was very intelligent, a fluent speaker and an outstanding musician and through the years of service as a war chaplain in World War 1, a most compassionate man. He was a member of the RSL and his Anzac Day speeches were always the most notable. His choirboys sang like angels and when he played the organ, one wondered if it were the same instrument. He added a large element of culture to our lives.
The Methodist minister I remember was young Mr Wells who lived in Short Street next to the church, now the Uniting Church, with his pretty wife and small children. The house is now pulled down. The town often talked about a minister who was here in the twenties, the Reverend Stanley Drummond, a forward looking man who worked hard to establish the Soldiers Memorial Hospital and was on the first board and who later had a lot to do with establishing the Far West home in Manly.
The Presbyterian Church was in Rodd Street, and I'm afraid I know little of its history in the 1930s and 40s but the progress of the Salvation Army was well known and admired by us. Our mother had some home help for many years as was quite common then and most of our help was by the girls who belong to the Salvation Army. They were the nicest girls imaginable. The Citadel was opened in 1930 and one of our girls Eva Simmons was among the first to be married there to Fred Townsend who worked at McDonagh's and was a leading player in the Salvation Army Band. Besides playing outside the Strand theatre, the band participated in street processions and marches and always played Christmas carols early on Christmas morning moving from one street to another.
The 1940s were dominated by the war, especially after Pearl Harbour in December 1941. Everything revolved around the war, enlistment increased and there would not have been a family in Canowindra untouched in one way or another. The men left behind joined the Volunteer Defence Corps, training every week. Women took on men's jobs, ran farms and businesses and learnt first aid. They were fundraising functions, farewell evenings for those leaving the power and some women also joined the women's forces including the Land Army girls. Local artistes performed at Cowra military camp. A number of people mostly from Sydney came to live in Canowindra for a while as although the Japanese invasion of Australia seemed to be a distant possibility, in May and June 1942, Japanese submarines had invaded Sydney Harbour. Italian prisoners of war and Land Army girls were sent to help local farmers grow food for the forces, especially irrigated vegetable crops. We had blackouts and rationing of food and petrol. We had coupons for clothes and travel restrictions - we could not leave our own state.
We were stirred by the oratory of Winston Churchill and welcomed General MacArthur and the American forces. Worry and sadness came away with the news of Casualties and the death of some who had lived amongst us and others became prisoners of war. We had our own taste of war in August 1944 with the breakout of Japanese prisoners from Cowra P.O.W. camp. Locals joined in the hunt whilst we locked our doors and windows and some slept with loaded guns nearby. Some Japanese were found on local farms.
After D-Day in June 1944 we felt the war was drawing to a close. When the European war finished in May 1945, we were relieved but the real celebrations came on August 15th 1945 when Japan surrendered. We rejoiced as the local church bells rang. Gradually our men and women returned and the whole town seemed to change. Women who had lived with their families rejoined their husbands, young people left to seek new careers and almost every business in town changed hands. It was a different world. Rationing and restrictions were gradually lifted and we faced the future with great optimism.
I left Canowindra after my marriage in March 1947. I moved only 17 miles away to Nanami Eugowra but it was a different district. My mother lived in Short Street until her death in October 1974 so my ties were never broken. When I decided last year to retire to Canowindra, someone paid it a nice compliment - she told me it was a gentle town. And so it is - and kind and caring and still a good place to live in 1998.
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