INTERVIEW WITH ANNE ROLPH resident of Towamba 1977 - 1989.
INTERVIEW DATE: December 10th, 1999

Anne and her husband moved to Towamba in 1977. They had the opportunity to observe and enjoy the acquaintances of some of the elderly original residents of the village.

The elderly bachelors I knew lived in the old houses of the village with just the basic necessities which consisted of a wooden table and chairs, an iron framed bed with kapok mattress, wood stove, old fridge and radio and usually without curtains or floor coverings. However, in the homes of the elderly married couples, there would be the woman's touch of curtains, tablecloth, photos and other comforts.
Our neighbour, Arthur Beasley, an elderly gentleman, told me that his home was built by his father with hand split slabs which came from one very large tree. He never had water connected to his house. He had an outside hose, gravity-fed from a nearby spring, which was plugged by a wooden stopper. This was used for his household water supply and to water his vegetable garden.
Arthur would sit on a block of wood to do his laundry washing by hand in a four gallon kerosene tin and hang it to dry on his front veranda. His washing would look spotless. He would always be up at dawn and methodically chop his daily firewood which he had brought to his house by horse and sledge. A horse being the only means of transport that he had ever owned.
Arthur was a kind and gentle old man who was very much liked and respected by all in the village. He had been engaged in active service in both world wars which he said played some part in him being left a bachelor. His war service seemed to give him a certain respect for life and others, though he often spoke of his concern for the future direction of society. Though he had asked me to call him Arthur, he said he could not call me Anne, only Mrs. Rolph, as he had not known me prior to my marriage.
Arthur's cousin Jack Beasley, who lived in similar conditions, told me that his father was the general carrier with a team of horses and dray from Eden-Towamba-Burragate-Wyndham twice a week and that after the death of his father, he being the eldest son, had to take on and continue with the work of his father at the age of 14 years to support the family.