Part 02: Dene Barrett Fry letters, 17th May 1915-16 April 1917 - Page 73

[Page 73]

no wonder they say Australian armies are the most self supporting of any in the world. We had great fun. We wandered about the lit up streets just like you see crowds of chinese seamen doing in Sydney, staring open mouthed at everything that was new. We went out to the bazaar and saw the women in their extraordinary veils and the blackest of kiddies in the whitest of frocks. Billy would love one of these tiny mites as a teddy bear, they have such lovely large innocent looking eyes. We shouted them to big slices of water melon and soon had an admiring million or two round us. As a penny a slice was becoming expensive we simply handed them a few doz off the old joints bench and told them to nick, which they did. The old folk around enjoyed the joke, but the salesman was very irate. We got into the carriages & drove everywhere. I suppose I spent 2 hours in those buggies and my expenses totalled 3 piastres, equivalent to about 7 ½ d. Everything was wonderful to us. A whole mob of people calling at the top of their voices, Allah! Allah! In a monotonous voice for hours at a time is worth listening to. When the horses go too slow we took the reins in our own hands, dumped the cab driver out and told him to wait where he was till we returned. He always grinned for they enjoy a joke as much as any one. Some of these drivers were hair raising, but some – how no one was killed. Things went on like this til midnight, when they quietened just a little. We then wended our way back to the wharf. We got through the guard there with the same ruse, and packing into the many niggers bumboat's waiting put off for our boat ship. I'll never forget the climb up that knotted rope at 1 in the morning. I don't think anyone will either. It was just about our last effort. We got safely in though, and had a good sleep on deck.