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[Page 52]
go on to a Dole Ticket so we used to cash them in for food for Nanna Wood as we call her now, it all helped and by now Arch and Ann were finding it hard in Marrickville to keep going.
But time went by and by now Ray and I have a little girl, we named her Merle Edith Wood. By the time I recovered and we stayed home with Nanna for a while, Nanna made up a little bed for Merle in the very old fashioned hampers the people used to have and half of it was a very lovely little baby bed. We were there with Nanna for some time and Merle had her 1st birthday there and also walked that day, only a few steps but it was something to remember.
By now Ann and Arch and family were thinking of moving away from her mothers place as it was too much for them with 3 girls. So we got talking and I said I wonder if we could get a house that we could share the rent, and sure enough we did find a place and it was not very far from Nana's. There were a lot of houses to rent in that period of time, so we decided to take it. The rent was 30/- (Shillings) per week so we only had to pay 15/-(Shillings) each which was very good. So, we both kept to ourselves and used the same kitchen, etc. but had our own living quarters. It was a rather large house, they had 2 bedrooms and we only had the one but we had the front veranda which was very good for me to put Merle out in the morning sun. Also my father made Merle a wooden cot, as he had relented a bit I think as my stepmother did come to the hospital to see me and the baby when she was born and told me that dad was making a cot. Well sure enough one day he came over with it on his motorbike and put it on the veranda. It was lovely and Merle slept in it for a while, but as she got a little older no way would she sleep in it. I always thought that the wide slots in the sides ends and bottom frightened her, but she had to remain in it for a while longer.
Ann was pregnant while we were there and had her baby there. It was a boy named Ernest, then after a little while Arch said they would go to Brighton-Le-Sands where there was an unemployed camp and this was right on the beach front, (and anyone today would give their eye teeth for it). It was brown ground and we were able to build our own place. (I have jumped the gun there a little as we were there also but not till later on). It was when we saw we would go back to Nanna's for a while and then see what was what out there, so we stayed at Nanna's while Ray got the first room up for us with open fire, very primitive, sand floor, Nanna gave me the old fashioned iron, saucepan and kettle and boiler and toilet was built away on a sandy hill. Ray had to bury the body (as it was called in those days, and while we were there I helped as much as I could as I am now pregnant with my second baby. We went to the tip and got any iron or tins that could be opened, timber boxes etc., well out of all he gathered together, and he saw an old house being demolished and he went and asked if he could have what was not wanted. They said where do you live and he told them out at the unemployed camp at Brighton, he said alright I will put anything you want on the truck and run it out for you, you just put aside what you would like. Anyhow, Ray was putting all kinds of things and when he saw the fuel stove, could we have that, yes the chap said but you will have to set it in bricks, well this fellow must have bought just about all of the old house, as we finished up with 2 B/room, a very large living quarters come kitchen board floors and we got all the lino that had been taken up. So this chap, he