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the village. Behind their facades, the traders counted the cash and built a conservative establishment. This structure rested on the Anglican Church, the Protestant Work Ethic and the intrinsic virtue of money.
These concepts wsere applied to catering for the western landholders at play. The new agrarian class was composed largely of Scots and Irish but there was no clash of culture in Manly. The people in trade knew their place - it was behind the till.
Droughts were followed by bountiful seasons, and some of the proceeds from wool and wheat were invested in bricks and mortar in Manly. After a good crop in 1910 my maternal Grandfather put some of his farming profits into a holiday home near the bearch.
During the Twenties, my Mother studied art and used her share of the wool and wheat to build a studio flat on Queenscliff hill, at the north end of the ocean beach. This was later enlarged to become the family home of my boyhood.
The traders built their substantial homes on the high ground at the south; at Fairlight, Balgowlah and Eastern Hill. They made their money below, on the flat near the beach: where they built shops, hotels and blocks of flats.
The Muncipality which they ran had its dominion bounded by Queenscliff Lagoon. Beyond lay the wilderness of Warringah Shire, inhabited by less