Transcript
of an interview conducted by Chris Wright (in
italics) with her grandmother, Queenie - Charlotte
Sophie Margaret Anderson, about August 1986, at Queen Street,
Redcliffe.
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| Charlotte Sophie Margaret Drover |
Can
you remember anything about what your life was like in Scotland
before you came here (Australia)?
Well all
I remember is coming down the road...I went up to say goodbye to two
maiden ladies that had a drapery shop, and they gave me a lump of
toffee, and Nettie and Fred came looking for me, and I yelled all the
way home because I thought I'd dropped my lump of toffee...that was
all I remember of Scotland I think.
What
about where you lived...Can you remember what the house was like?
Gilmore
Place? No, I don't remember what the house was like.
You
were born there though, weren't you?
Yes.
Were
the other kids born there as well?
Yes, I
think so...I couldn't be sure. And dad was a musician of course.
What
about...your mother was a teacher before she got married. Did she
ever teach after she got married?
Oh no,
no they didn't do that years ago. I think I've got some testimonials
you can have...of hers...when she went from one place to another.
And
do you remember anything about your grandparents?
No...I
never saw them.
From
Scotland you went over to Canada didn't you?
Yes, but
Fred and Dad were over there before us, and I held up the boat...
How
did you do that?
I was
late for the train, and the train was waiting for me and it was late,
and the boat was waiting for us. They waited for people in those
days...but not now.
Can
you remember anything about the trip to Canada?
No. Not
over there...see I was only four and a half when I left there...
And
do you know how long you stayed in Canada before you decided to...
Four and
a half years...I was nine when I got here. I went to school in
Canada. Nettie when to school in the Edinburgh Castle
School...underneath the castle...she went to school there.
You
went to school in Canada, so whereabouts in Canada did you live?
50
Gilmore (sic) Place in Toronto.
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| 50 Bellview Avenue, Toronto, Drover's Home |
And
what did your father do while you were in Canada?
He was a
musician...yes he had his brass plate out.
He
taught students?
Yes,
violin and cello.
Was
he in any orchestras?
I don't
know if he was in any orchestras in Canada...he might have been. Then
Mum wasn't well, so the doctor advised to take her to a warmer
country, so we came here.
And
that was the only reason for coming to Australia?
Yes, we
came on the 'Osterley'...it took six weeks...it came to Brisbane and
that's why we came to Brisbane.
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| Osterley |
Can
you remember anything else about that trip?
Yeah, we
were sliding down the bannisters, and I remember all the kids
(collecting gum?) calling out the world's come to an end - Mrs
McGinty's washed her face. I remember that we used to have cocoa and
cheese for supper at night on the boat.
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| "Queenie" (probably taken in Canada) |
But, I remember Canada a
bit...and somebody game me a broken alarm clock and I howled because
they wouldn't let me bring it...with me...and I used to go to the
school there and I used to dress up in my warm clothes and I used to
make angels in the snow. I used to lie down and I put my arms
out...and make angels, you see...that was the wings..then you get
slowly up, you know. I've got a photo of the front of the house
there...and Gilbert..and me... We were quite happy there. She wasn't
well and yet she packed all the packing, left half a house full of
furniture, and left a woman to sell it and send the money, and she
sold it and she never sent the money.
What
was wrong with your mother?
Heart
failure...and false angina she had.
And
they thought that the warmer climate might help her?
Yes,
well she died when she was 75, and so did he.
Where
did you live when you first came to Brisbane?
Petrie
Terrace, Kelvin Grove, I've been all round Kelvin Grove.
So
you shifted house a few times?
Yes...we
went from Kelvin Grove to Vulture Street and then from Vulture Street
to West End. That was the three moves for that. Well I've been
fourteen moves since I've been married.
Can
you remember when the boat came? What month etc?
Yeah
1910...I don't remember the date...might be August 1910, cause I had
my ninth birthday here...I think.
You
said before that your parents paid their own way?
Oh yes..
Not
Assisted then?
Oh
no...we went from Canada to Liverpool and Mum had to board us
all...six of us....for a week...before we could get a ship out to
Australia and we stayed with a Mrs Grant...and I remember Gilbert
having one of those whirly-gigs you know and it goes up in the air
and sails away you know...the toys.
And
did you go to school while you were on the ship at all?
No...don't
remember.
And
you would have gone to school once you came to Queensland?
Kelvin
Grove School.
How
old were you when you finished school?
Fourteen.
Went to
work...and I got the sack and went up the country for twelve
months...then I came back and went into Finney's. I was at TC Burns
first.
Where
did you go when you went up country?
Crows
Nest...to friends....and I used to go to school up there...I went a
few times
And
then you were at Finney's?
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| Finney, Isles & Co. Limited in Brisbane, Queensland, 1921 (State Library of Qld) |
I was
the apprentice...I was there 'till I got married...Manchester
department. I made ?? covers, curtains, blinds, carpets...all that
kind of thing...loose covers for upholstered chairs and that. I never
finished my apprenticeship.
What
about your brothers and sister...who was your oldest brother?
Fred,
Harvey, Gilbert George Lyle, Jeanette Katherine, then me...
What
did the boys do when you got to Brisbane then? Were they working?
None of
them were working...they were walking the street looking for a job, A
lady that we knew out here said “Come out, come out. There's plenty
of work, no trouble at getting work”...and I don't know what they
did. Dad eventually got work, and he taught pupils and he played at
the picture show, and played at the picture show and played at the
Regent until they got a new organ to come up out of the ground
(Wurlitzer) and that was the end of that. And then he was on his own
of course, he was a teacher the rest of the time. I don't know what
Fred did before, but he was a typewriter mechanic...he used to repair
typewriters and he went to Mt Isa, and he was up there twenty-odd
years...then they came back to Brisbane...and lived at Sutton's
beach.
And
who did he marry?
Nellie
Biggs...and Nettie and Will got married...Gilbert must've got married
after me cause there was 18 months between Nettie and I in getting
married, so Gilbert must've got married after me. They had George.
Who
did Gilbert marry?
Annie.
So
Fred and Nellie...who were their children?
They had
four...Richard,. Bill, Frieda and another one..
Gilbert
and Annie...they had a son Gilbert too, didn't they?
Yes, not
Gilbert...George...Newey was her name...Annie Newey.
Nettie
had Gilbert didn't she?
Yes, she
had four...they were after Gilbert...the said if she didn't have him
she'd have died...he was as big as a three month old baby...he was
fourteen pounds.
They
had a shop too, didn't they? Where was that?
They had
two or three shops, one at Windsor, and one in Adelaide Street, and
then Enoggera.. draper...
And
did Nettie work there?
Yes, and
she helped out...and she never got any pay, but she had to pay tax
just the same.
You
met Grandpa because he first went out with Nettie, before the war?
I was
only fifteen...that's why I don't get the military pension because he
didn't die at the war...he didn't lose a limb...therefore I didn't
get anything.
When
he came back from the war, was it that he came around to see Nettie?
He just
came round to see the family.
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| Charlotte Drover, Sid Anderson and Queenie Drover before marriage |
He
was a chairmaker, what did he do before the war?
I don't
remember...but I know when he came back from the war he was sent up
the country...soldier's settlement at Stanthorpe...and none of there
were...they were all kids that knew nothing of farming...the worst
thing they could have done...they just prepared all the ground ready
for the Italians...they walked in and got the lot and are making
money out of it.
How
much land was that?
I don't
know....can't remember...but he got a house built for me....and I
never lived in it and never saw it....and he was making a bay window
and they said “Oh you can't have a chimney there it'll set
fire...”...it wasn't a chimney, it was a bay window.
He
went up after you got married?
Before.
And
he dug a well up there by hand?
Yes,
about 60 feet...beautiful water...he dug it with another man...and
the other man used to sit with a shotgun to shoot anybody that took
their water...cause he worked so hard getting it.
So
you don't know exactly where that land was?
Wait a
moment...was it Pozieres...they called it...a lot of places after the
war.
After
you got married, whereabouts did you live?
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| Sidney Victor Anderson, William Steedman Drover, Gilbert Drover, Charlotte Anderson 12 Jan 1921 Brisbane |
Kangaroo
Point, Morningside, West End and then West End again...I went and
stayed with Mum after Daphne died...we stayed three years with her.
When
was Daphne born?
1928...Paul
was born in 1924...No I think she was 1924, cause we were married in
1921.
When
was it that Daphne died?
When she
was four or four and a half...in May I think she died...that was
before cremation...bronchial pneumonia.
There's
a photo of her and Paul in a chair that Grandpa made?
In a
rocking chair.
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| Daphne Charlotte Anderson, Brisbane |
You
have told me before about things you did in the Depression...
Don't
bring that up...nobody wants to know about that...
People
don't know how hard things were...
That's
right...They don't know and they don't care...
Whereabouts
were you living during the Depression?
With
Mum...and then after we moved...we sold some things and then got the
money to move...that's where my engagement ring went to...and his
signet ring and anything else we could lay our hands on...we got nine
pounds for the lot...and we moved out to Herston...and we were there
about seven years I think.
And
did Grandpa have work during the Depression?
Oh, he
had an odd...oh yes he worked...it cost us six shillings a week for
the rent and we had to work it off...see we didn't pay money....I did
the washing for the woman and ironing....and I did sewing...I made
three little girls frocks in a day and all the mending as well and
she asked me for change of two bob...and I never had change of
a...she never gave and change...I had to walk over from Herston right
to opposite the gas tanks used to be, way up there with Paul a little
fella...then I had to walk home again and get the tea.
Tell
me about when you lived and home and your Mother took in Boarders and
there was a fire.
At
Kelvin Grove...it was a double storey house we lived in and that's
when we first went there...oh about three or four years after we were
there I think, because Dad was out practising his orchestra in a hall
in town and I was left home with this woman...she was an elderly
lady...she said “I can't get the lamp to turn up”, and I went in
and the flames were rising up out the chimney and I had the teatowel
in my hand...and outside was like earth outside...and a tank...and I
thought if I put the lamp down it'll burst if I put the tap on and
I'll get my legs all...I was concerned about getting glass in my
legs...so I bent down and got earth and filled it up with earth...but
I had a job pulling it down...it was an extension one that went up
and down...a lamp...and I put it out that way...and of course I
innocently told Mum and Dad and they said you're not staying any
more...you've got to come and do your homework with us...so that was
that.
So
she was a boarder?
No, Mum
just let her a room...that was all...she had to for something to do
when we first went there...must've been early in the piece when we
went there that she did that...all the family was out...they were all
in the orchestra you see...and I wouldn't hurry up...Nettie used to
say if you hurry up I'll dry for you, and away she'd go...she had to
go dancing of course...that was the end of me...I was left with all
the dishes, but I used to push al the glasses with milk in at the
back and egg that went down the side...and pushed them...and they got
washed up on their own...cause it was all lamps in those days...you
know...a tin lamp hanging on a nail on the wall...you couldn't see
well at all...
How
long was your father playing in the Orchestra?
Ever
since he was a young man.
Can
you remember what orchestra he was in here in Brisbane?
No, he
had his own orchestra...and he fell off an open jetty, he only had
one eye, wouldn't you have thought somebody would have taken his arm
and helped him? Over he went, and hurt his back, and he had to go to
hospital.
About
his one eye...you said something about a snowball or something?
Well, I
thought it was a snowball, but I've heard since it was something
different, I don't know what it was. He had it removed anyway...Dr
Taylor.
So
when would that have happened? Here?...or?
I don't
know, no idea. Might've been here, I'm not sure.
You
also said one time about when they lived in Scotland, they used to
have servants...
Oh yes!
How
many would they have had?
One or
two.
Just
like a cook or something like that? And a housemaid? They must have
been reasonably well off then.
Now
before we were talking about the Depression, Mum was born after the
Depression wasn't she?
Oh yes,
we wouldn't have babies before then, we said it wasn't worth bringing
them into the world.
So
were you still living in the same house at Herston after the
Depression?
No, I
know we went over the bridge, you could see the bridge, it must have
been Herston. I've got an idea we lived at Herston at two places, it
must have only been one. It must have been near Mrs Brunts at Herston
she was born, 'cause I remember sitting up in bed like this and
watching people go along the road.
So
Mum wasn't born in a hospital?
Yes she
was born in Boothville Mother's Hospital, a Salvation Army home.
And they said “Oh you'll be back” and I said 'Never!', I used to
take a pillow to bed with me, and I put it down beside me, and the
Doctor would come in and think I had the baby...hiding the baby...I
had to show him I didn't have the baby.
It
was your baby...
Oh no
they took it away those times, between feeds.
Where
did Mum go to school?
Kelvin
Grove, and Paul went to Kelvin Grove school.
And
they went there for all their schooling?
See we
lived on the main road where the trams ran along, then Herston was
down at the back of us (gives directions).
So
how old would Uncle Paul have been then?
I don't
know...about fourteen.
Would
he have gone to work then?
He
worked in the High School Shop I think, he used to carry on his bike,
rows and rows of tyres...for a man...his place..ride here there and
everywhere...he had a few jobs, he worked for the picture people...
??? Towers..???
And
what year did he get married?
Don't
know...fifties I think...
I
thought he got married after Mum did...didn't he?
Oh yes,
about twenty-eight he was. He might have been more. I used to know
but I've forgotten.
And
what was Val's name?
Valmai
Mary Jordan
And
there is only her and Ione?
No
they've got a brother. He lives in Canberra. He drives the limousines
around with the politicians in. He's got three boys...three
sons...and he took them with him I think...and he got married again.
After fifteen years he married this other woman.
I've
never heard about him...
Reg.
Oh
Yes
There
was Ione and Reg and Val.
Now
something about Grandpa's family, you said he had two sisters.
Yes, two
sisters. They weren't older than him I don't think...they lived in
Wales...
Would
they have had other family?
Oh yes,
Aunts and Uncles...in the aristocracy...carriages and all the rest of
it. The Aunty in … she'd send her mother silver ???down her son
So
that's Grandpa's sister's boyfriend?
 |
| Sid and Elsie Prosser, England |
No,
Grandpa's sister's son. His Nephew.
Beatrice
Addenbrooke, Wolverhampton...so that was one of his sisters?
 |
| Beatrice Addenbrooke, Wolverhampton |
No
Cousins.
Loaded
up with Jewellery wasn't she?
Yes, and
that was his sister and that boy.
Was
there somebody else in the family call Sidney?
I think
her boy was called Sidney.
Marjery?
Yes
Margery Addenbrooke.
And that
was his sister and her husband. Mr and Mrs Prosser...and the
boy...21...he died the same illness as the King. Elsie and May they
were.
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| Aunty Jumbo, England |
Aunty Jumbo...the one that fell down and broke her neck. She
was going to send some silver things. She sent some of these photos
otherwise we wouldn't have got them. She wanted them sent back, and
she never got them.
Was
she a direct Aunty of Grandpa? On his mother's side or his father's
side?
I don't
know...his mother's side I suppose...I don't
know...aristocratic...you know, quality people.
And
whereabouts did she live?
