Skatey...The life of Les Skate

Skatey
The Life of Les Skate
That, I’ve never, ever forgot, I
can see it quite plainly from
when I was three years old.
Another thing that’s pretty vivid in my memory is
where we lived. It was right on the main channel
where the water was pumped from the Murray out to
irrigation areas, to the orange orchards and that sort
of thing. We lived right on the very bank and to cross
over to the other side, all we had in those days was a
plank about a foot wide, with no hand rails. I was forever kneeling on this and floating
things down the stream when they were pumping. And one day I leaned over too far … and
I think this happens to other people too … the water moving gets you a bit dizzy, and you
tend to go with the flow. I ended up in the channel! To make it worse, that day I was all
dressed up in my best Sunday clothes. I was going to walk down the street with mum to do
some shopping. She had all her best stockings and everything on. Likely she’d just come
out to get me and I’m floating off downstream! So, she jumped in clothes and all and
pulled me out. That, I’ve never, ever forgot, I can see it quite plainly today from when I was
three years old.
Nana holding Geoff, and in front Dot, Les and Val
From there we went out to a twenty-acre block of land a bit further out of Barham. I think
they called these blocks Common Land. You put in a claim for them like a ballot. You had to
pay something to go in the ballot and Pop fortunately won the block of land. As he was
working up at the mill off-seasons, he was able to get hold of one of the old mill houses. He
shifted it down to the block and being very capable with his hands, he rebuilt it, and we
had a home of our own. And a little farm, which when he wasn’t away shearing, he’d be
home fencing and ploughing and sowing down everything We ended up with some milk,
we had about five or six cows. It was quite a nice little farm. It was enough; it was
somewhere to live.
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