Books and Reading
‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ by A A Milne, illustrated by E H Shepard, with colouring-in by Barbara Longley. This book was given to Barbara, my oldest sister, for her 7th birthday. It was Dad who wrote her name and the date in the book.

Mum and Dad encouraged our reading of books. Mum went to a private school in Sydney when she lived with her Aunts. She wasn’t good academically, but always prided herself on her comon sense. Dad did not finish high school, but he was very clever with mathematics. While we were driving along, he would often be doing mental calculations, working out bags per acre, or sheep per paddock.

Mum and Dad both wanted us to do well at school. They sold the farm because Bogan Gate only had a primary school and they couldn’t afford to send us away to boarding school.

Each new school year, when we received our exercise books for our subjects, Dad would cover them in brown paper. Then he’d print our names on the front, and glue on little glittery pictures of fairies and elves. He covered our books with such care and consideration.

Mum would take us to the library to borrow books, but occasionally she would buy books for us. One time, when we went to Parkes, I was feeling sick. Mum bought me a book about ‘Pookie’ the flying rabbit, and I read it in the car while Mum and my sisters went to the pictures.

I remember one Christmas on the farm, I woke up during the night and my Santa pillowcase was full. I pulled my presents out and began to read the books. I turned my bed lamp down onto my pillow to lessen the light in case I was caught.

I spent the next few hours reading my books and then fell back to sleep. When I woke in the morning there was a scorch mark on my pillowcase. I was worried that Mum would be angry so I turned the pillowcase inside out, and secretly put it into the wash. Mum never asked about it, so I didn’t mention it either!

‘Pookie’, the charming winged rabbit featured in books from the 1940s were written by Ivy Wallace.