Item 04: Memoirs of a Colonial Boy by Robert Joseph Stewart, ca. 1971 - Page 233
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[Page 233]
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where on arrival early the next morning, I was most enthusiastically welcomed back in the town square by the Deputy Mayor (my Father the Mayor, sat beside me) the Aldermen, the Town Band and a big section of the populace. After the speeches, and my response, I was driven over the hill to the arms of my Mother, standing at the gates of "Rosedernate" with a couple of her intimate lady friends, to support her in what was a very emotional moment.
I had become a small-town hero, and was put "on show" at several patriotic functions and meetings organised by local branches of the Red Cross, War Chest Fund, Benevolent Society etc., to raise funds for the prosecution of the war and to provide extra comforts for the soldiers. As Mayor and Mayoress of Parkes, my Father and my Mother were almost continually presiding at these activities and committee meetings. It occupied much of their time, and I think Dad's business suffered as a result. Fit young men were responding well to the recruiting drives and their sisters, and other women, were temporarily filling their positions in the offices, banks and stores, and in many cases on the farms: plenty of reluctant eligible men were receiving white feathers anonymously, and the sisters of soldiers on active service refrained from attending dances for the duration of the war.
When I reported back to the Randwick Military Hospital, after spending a month at home in Parkes, the condition of my injured leg had improved considerably, and the examining physician suggested that I should indulge in regular sea-bathing and surfing to give it some exercise, and report back in two months. So I became a permanent boarder at the old Steyne Hotel at Manly, returning home only for Christmas and New Year. My Army pay was sufficient to finance this luxury with a little pocket money left over, and it was a very pleasant period of my young life.
I had far more invitations to homes, dinners, theatres, functions and parties than I could possibly accept. Everyone was so very friendly, and many were embarrassingly eager to