Item 04: Memoirs of a Colonial Boy by Robert Joseph Stewart, ca. 1971 - Page 131
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[Page 131]
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fillings (two with nerve-drawings) her fee was six pounds the lot. She was very painstaking and her work was remarkably good. Many years afterwards some of her fillings in my teeth were still sound. Once when I had an afternoon appointment at her surgery, I was early enough into town to have a good lunch at a restaurant first, and ate a nice salad which contained a lot of onion. I then realised, too late, that the strong smell of this ignoble vegetable might be rather overpowering for Madge when peering into my mouth. Then I got the inspiration to buy six pennyworth (about half a pound) of peppermints and consume them at once, just before keeping the appointment. After a minute or so of drilling a molar, Madge sniffed wryly and declared accusingly, "You've been eating peppermints!" I confessed that I had, and explained why. "H'm", she said, "I'd rather have the smell of the onions".
My Father maintained a yearly season ticket for his frequent railway journeys between Parkes and Sydney, where he usually spent a few days following up the business of his clients at the Lands and Mines Departments, or at the Land Appeal Court. If circumstances permitted, I was sometimes allowed to go into the city after school hours, to have the evening meal with him at his hotel. This was a privilege often enjoyed by all country boys when their fathers visited the Metropolis. It was certainly a great treat, and a welcome change of diet from the College fare, though it had the reputation of being the best in all the Great Public Schools: it was alleged that at St Josephs (Joeys) the boarders subsisted mostly on bread and butter or jam.
One night after dinner together at Tattersalls, Dad took me, next door, into the famous Adams Marble Bar. He ordered a whisky for himself and a port wine and lemonade for me. The barmaid seemed a bit dubious about serving me, as I was wearing my boater straw-hat complete with the school badge, but finally decided that I was big enough, although the Principal of The Scots College would have had an apoplectic fit if he had known my whereabouts at that moment. This heresy was repeated during a subsequent visit to the same hotel, by my unconventional parent.