Item 04: Memoirs of a Colonial Boy by Robert Joseph Stewart, ca. 1971 - Page 97
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[Page 97]
48
that were needed: he often asked that I be his assistant in these self-created tasks. But if he had taken an interest in acquiring a good education, followed by a proper scientific technical training, he undoubtedly would have had a brilliant career in a profession, or in business, as he had imagination, enterprise and a sound business sense. However, his parents were a rather unambitious couple, and were content to let him drift along, instead of realising his potentialities and encouraging him to study in the right direction.
Much of Ikey's knowledge about technical matters was imparted to me, and was the beginning of my own interest in applied science. We both made crude model steam engines, and boilers to run them out of large treacle tins. I spent nearly all of my pocket money on buying hand tools, using the beautifully illustrated big red-covered catalogue, compiled by Anthony Hordern's for their mail-order business. The economy of the Country was now so stable, that the prices of all goods could be printed in this expensive production, with merely a proviso printed at the foot of every page that the prices were subject to market fluctuation, but they very rarely did alter.
I could post my order off, with the correct postal note, to Anthony Hordern's by the 4 p.m. mail on a Monday, and Wednesday morning (or Thursday at the latest) the parcel would be at the Post Office: service was really instantaneous, even for the small order of a boy.
Parkes was flanked on the western side by an extensive Common, on which people were free to run their horse, cow or goat. It had several big rabbit warrens, and outside of school hours, we more enterprising boys used to set rabbit traps, and made good pocket money selling the skins of our catches, particularly when the price at the local skin merchants once reached about fourpence each. Ikey and I also freqeunted the old alluvial-gold diggings that covered the long shallow valley to the north of the town, known as the "Potato Ground", because it had been so thoroughly dug over: soon afterwards it became the local rifle range. In the hot weather many boys went for a swim