After a rather elegant wedding in Sydney, Mum and Dad began their life together managing a farm in Manildra, before buying their own farm at Bogan Gate.

From the collection of family slides it can be seen that they really enjoyed family life. It was hard work running a 2000 acre sheep and wheat farm, but they made time for family outings to visit relatives, and for little adventures like taking us to play in the snow on Mount Canobolus near Orange.

Dad was a rather shy man around we girls, and was rather old-fashioned. He didn’t want us to see animals giving birth, in case there was a problem birth and we were upset by it.

Mum had the tough time of feeding and washing and gardening and cooking and supervising her young family. After a hard day’s work, Dad would head into town for a drink at the Pub, and Mum was left to bath and feed we girls. There were plenty of rows when Dad finally got home!

Sometimes Mum went to visit her Aunts, and Dad was left looking after us for a few days. Mum would drive off to Sydney, and come back with her blue vein cheese, and coffee grounds from the Strand Arcade. The day before Mum got home Dad would marshall us for house tidying duties.

Even though Mum did the washing and ironing for Dad, (we girls had to help her), she didn’t ever keep a meal warm for him. If he wasn’t home when tea went on, he cooked his own when he got home. (Usually some scrambled eggs, or a piece of steak.

Mum and Dad had plenty of rows, and lots of niggles and nagging. But through it all, I felt very privileged to grow up in a family surrounded by love from my parents and friendship with my sisters.