My father worked in an office before the war but was a wharfie after the war. He preferred working on the wharves because it was part of a team, more like the army. All Dad's mates were in the RSL or on the wharf. I remember Profitt and Duffy. (Edward Duffy 118 Farrell Street; Aubrey Profitt 131 Farrell Street.)

It was very friendly then, everyone knew everyone else. There was not a lot of traffic in the 1950s. We used to climb the peppercorn trees to get caterpillars. Up at the sub-station near the dairy we used to hit tennis balls against the brick wall.

Lanes were used for deliveries like ice, wood, rubbish collection, the bottle-o but the milkman came at the front and the bread was put on the front window sill wrapped in a bit of paper.

Dad had several heart attacks and died in 1977. Mother worked part-time as a tea-lady when I was at high school.

I did not notice a lot of change until the 60s when some of the shops started to go. Even until the 80s there were not a lot of cars in the street. In the 60s people did a bit of modernising like the house opposite was clad.