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| Click on the picture for more Sepia Saturday blogs |
I don't think that any of my ancestors were ever served tea in a silver tea pot like the lady pictured in this weeks theme photo.
My family albums shows that the family would often boil the billy. Everyone in Australia is familiar with the term "Boil the Billy", which has now become slang for "Put the kettle on".
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| 1924 - My Grandfather, Great Grandfather & Grand Uncle (Scott family) enjoying a cup of tea with lunch |
My grandmother wrote in her journal about taking a basket of food and a billy of hot tea to the men working in the paddocks. This one day, her brother was riding the horse "with basket in one hand a billy of hot tea in the other. The horse got faster and faster and he knew the tea must be splashing, but he couldn't do anything about it, till he slipped over Bennie's (the horse's) rump. He didn't spill much tea."
I have always loved the above photo, which is why it is the background for my blog. I am not sure who is pictured but to me it represents hardship, a different time and different way of life.
I remember my grandmother telling me about the "travellers" or "tramps" that would come to visit. Her mother would give them food and a billy of tea and they would sometimes stay in the shed or paddocks overnight, but they were not allowed to stay near the house.
Gran also wrote "Another story was told how Grandfather (my Great Great Grandfather) found a tramp drinking thirstily at his dam and said "Good dam water?". The tramp replied "Damn good water!". He had been lost in the scrub and said he was just about to give in a lie down when he found the dam.
The photos below show Pilgrim family outings with tea cups visible.
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| Pilgrim family having dinner - Nhill Show Day 1922 |
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| Pilgrim family enjoying a picnic "In the Scrub" taken by Eva Pilgrim on 27th December 1927 Won 2nd Prize, Nhill Show October 1929 Published in the Weekly Times November 1929 |
The photo is indeed interesting, and I'm so glad to know the story behind your blog background, which I've admired every time I visit. My grandmother used to feed the tramps and hobos who used to walk the railroad. Today we'd be much too afraid to do that.
ReplyDeleteThanks Wendy. Yes how times have changed. Most things for the better but many for the worse.
DeleteWonderful photographs, thanks so much for sharing them on Sepia Saturday. I am always amazed at how much social and economic history can be contained in a single old photograph.
ReplyDeleteThank you Alan. I enjoy participating in your Sepia Saturday blog. It is a great opportunity to go through the old photos. I don't include very much text as I feel that the photos tell the story better than I could.
ReplyDeleteI think you have just the right balance. These are such interesting photographs.
DeleteThat's true. These photos really do speak for themselves. There's so much history included.
ReplyDeleteNancy
It is sad to think that future generations are unlikely to have photos that tell stories about their families. Of course most of the information will be available on the internet but I don't think it will be the same.
DeleteHi Sharon, these are wonderful photos and stories. The one about the dam is funny ... they each had their own play on the words. The one with the wagon is really cool.
ReplyDeleteKathy M.
Thanks Kathy. I am very lucky that my grandmother took the time to write some of her memories down for me.
DeleteSuch wonderful photographs! I was wondering about the origin of the term billy or billy can -- and you provided the answer with your link. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYes. I wasn't sure whether the billy was an Australian thing or universal so put the link down, just in case :)
DeleteBoiling the billy sounds like more fun than making tea!
ReplyDeleteAs children, I thing we all had a go at spinning a bucket of water vertically over our head and the water remained in the bucket. The same technique is used to get the tea leaves to the bottom of the billy before pouring the tea.
ReplyDeleteI didn't! I never heard of that but I will have to try it next time I'm at the beach with my grandchildren.
DeleteJust make sure you spin quickly or you will get wet :)
DeleteThanks for sharing these photographs and stories. Oh dear, your grandmother's poor brother slipping off the horse! That must have been scary!
ReplyDeleteMy father wrote about how his mother prepared a fried egg sandwich for a beggar who came to the door during The Depression.
Isn't it great to have these little stories that shed so much light on a different time. Unfortunately, it took an accident and incapacitation to get Gran to write me some stories as she thought that her stories would be boring Now her notebook is one of my most valued possession.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos. I knew about ‘billy’ from Waltzing Matilda but for some reason in my husband’s family a hot water bottle was also known as a ‘billy’.
ReplyDeleteYes the "billy" is very Australian like Waltzing Matilda, which many consider our unofficial anthem.
ReplyDeleteTremendous photos, Sharon depicting a different way of life. I've been intrigued by your blog background for a while especially as there is a dog included. The dog in your last photo looks huge.
ReplyDeleteYou referring to the billy and 'put the kettle on' will have me looking for a recording of 'Polly, put the kettle on."
:) Thanks Bob. The dog's name is Bower. The dog in my background photo doesn't look happy does he? To me, he looks like he is waiting for his feed but knows not to get too close and beg?
ReplyDeleteI noticed the dogs, also. Bower is quite a handsome dog. I wonder what breed he is? Doesn't look familiar. It's great that you got your grandmother to write down her recollections. I wish I had done that.
ReplyDeleteBarbara
Maybe a mixture of several breeds? Even though I have a fantastic & insightful notebook and access to wonderful photo albums, I still regret that I did not spend more time to find out more. I would have loved to look through Gran's photos with her. I didn't know they existed until after she died but it seems that she used them to prompt her writings.
ReplyDelete