Memories from Valerie, 75
I grew
up in Rockhampton but was evacuated from there to Longreach
during the early stages of World War Two. In Rockhampton,
we had electric power for just about everything except the
refrigerator.
In
Longreach there was a power station and you could hear the
din of the engines from a considerable distance away. However,
there was a labour shortage as many men had enlisted. This
meant that the power supply was unreliable and there were
often blackouts and brownouts.
The
power station ran on charcoal gas and eventually the council
had to call for volunteers to cut timber and turn it into
charcoal. This was done out at Leander, about 30 miles out
of town.
I remember
that doing the washing was a real chore that I hated. You
had to cart water to fill the copper then light the thing
to boil the clothes. Really dirty work clothes had to be hand
scrubbed with bar soap and everything had to be wrung out
by hand. Women back then had really well-developed biceps
from wringing heavy sheets and blankets. It was a blessing
when we got a manually operated clothes wringer.
Until
the war, Longreach had a DC system but the Yanks wanted AC
power when they built their bomber base out at the airstrip.
The rest of us had to wait until 1956 to get the same. About
this time we got a washing machine with an electric wringer
and a little electric refrigerator – a Charles Hope, I think
it was called.
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