June and Brian POPE

Interviewer: Rebecca Amundsen

Abstracter: Judith Christie

Interview: 28 August 2014

TRACK ONE

0.0 Interview introduction.

1.25 June – born OHAI 1931, came into town at age five and a half years, lived in South Invercargill. Father a miner, hurt in an accident in the coal mine, so came into town. Worked as a gardener. Biked out to LORNEVILLE to work, no car.

2.33 June – second eldest in family. 11 children. Had to help with younger children. Attended TWEEDSMUIR INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL. Shared jobs with siblings. Twelve years difference between eldest and youngest.

4.49 Father died when June 12 years old, mother looked after children. Received FAMILY BENEFIT and WIDOW’S PENSION.

5.45 Brian – born 1929, lived in GRACE STREET and attended SOUTH SCHOOL until Standard six, then SOUTHLAND TECHNICAL COLLEGE (Tech). Had a paper run every morning from 13 years old, biked up to SOUTHLAND TIMES to collect papers, delivered Dalrymple Street to Panton Street between Elles Road and Bluff Road. Went into A G MILLERS BAKERY, gave owner a free paper, and got a pie in return. People paid 2 shillings a fortnight for newspapers, Brian collected money. After school at Tech, delivered groceries for SELF HELP in ELLES ROAD.

9.00 Brian – memories of WWII. Remembered blackouts. Older sisters had boyfriends who went to war. June – remembered rationing books. Tea, butter, sugar, clothes all rationed.

10.50 Brian – father started a carrying business in 1921, bought an INTERNATIONAL TRUCK for £750 and delivered goods and people, meeting EXPRESS TRAIN every day. Delivered mail to POST OFFICE off the trains. Company called POPE BROTHERS, ended up with seven vehicles. War bought petrol restrictions, no driving more than 30 miles out of Invercargill without a permit. Army bought two of trucks and used them. Sold the rest of the trucks to EMPIRE FORWARDING. Father then worked for that company.

13.30 Trucking business survived the DEPRESSION. Took people for picnics out to NORTH ENTRANCE OF ORETI BEACH on forms on back of truck. Charged 1/6d to take people to the RACES. Paid off BUILDING SOCIETY loan for truck.

14.40 Brian became a MOTOR MECHANIC. Brother worked for father, drove a furniture truck for EMPIRE FORWARDING COMPANY.

End of Track One

TRACK TWO

0.0 When brother left employment, bought a truck himself as a one man carrying business. Brian took a TECHNICAL COURSE at SOUTHLAND TECHNICAL COLLEGE so he could become a MOTOR MECHANIC and look after the motor fleet, but didn’t happen. Worked for GORMACK WILKES DAVISON (GWD) as an apprentice. GWDs was where Farmers is currently on Dee Street, facing Yarrow Street. GWD then built the big garage on Yarrow Street and became GWD Russell. Brian became Foreman, then Service Manager.

1.30 With two other employees from GWDs, went into business as ALLEN AUTO REPAIRS, there for eleven years. Very busy, lots of Holdens and Vauxhalls about, lots of customers from GENERAL MOTORS FRANCHISE. Then disbanded garage, went back to GWD.

2.20 Brian and June met through dances. Taught dancing by SANDY SUTHERLAND. Went to all the dances around the town – WOODEND, TISBURY, CLIFTON, ST JOHNS, HOCKEY ONE. Attended a couple of nights a week, Friday and Saturday nights. NO ALCOHOL at dances, police checked. Early days, Brian doubled June on her bike to dances. Also ran a bus to TISBURY from SOUTHLAND HOTEL to the dance in TISBURY HALL. Up to 120 people attended. Girls wore skirts and dresses, painted shoes with aluminium paint to freshen them. Made most of their clothes. Lot of friends worked at KEW LAUNDRY, Brian’s soccer friends, all met at the dances. Most people at dances were young.

6.50 Went to dances while courting. Once married, lived in MANSEFIELD FLATS in BOWMONT STREET.

End of Track Two

TRACK THREE

0.0 While at MANSEFIELD FLATS, June went to work at MACKENZIES IN TAY STREET serving behind the sweet counter. Gave up work when pregnant, and then looked after children.

1.15 After three years, in 1958 built house in CRAWFORD STREET. Applied for a loan – BURGESS GROUP HOUSING. Burgess’s office and storage on section next door. Option of one or two different plans for house. Path leading up to back door from letter box provided, but had to do own driveways and fencing out of Manuka scrub.. Policeman moved next door into a POLICE HOUSE, with three daughters. Went to Police for finance for fence, allowed 2/0s a foot. Gradually the scrub fence disintegrated, next policeman to live next door had a dog which got through the fence and dug up the potatoes. Police Department then provided materials for iron fence, which Brian built.

5.50 The two POLICE HOUSES built a couple of years after Brian and June moved in. Good neighbours. Initially NO FENCES AND NO TREES. Big SAND PIT out the back which all the children played in. One Christmas, bought a square PADDLING POOL. All neighbourhood kids used it.

7.10 MRS O’CONNOR the only original person left on the street. Still have contact with other families who have moved away. MOORES (Policeman) with four little boys lived next door. Police houses until recently. DON WARD was the last policeman to live in Police House, then sold both houses. CAMPBELL AND IRENE ? live there now – good neighbours.

9.00 CRAWFORD STREET first to be developed, ADAMSON CRESCENT started from SURREY PARK CORNER IN YARROW STREET. WAVERLEY SCHOOL built by the time boys started school. When first moved, could see right out to RACECOURSE ROAD and the RACECOURSE. Put a tunnel house at the end of section, but next door trees shade it too much.

11.15 When houses started to be built, lots of young families. As young ones moved out, older people moved in. Elderly farming couple from Pahia moved in next door. Then young couple, who went to Australia. Everyone had gardens and grew their own VEGETABLES. Brian and June still self sufficient in vegetables.

13.20 Gardened neighbouring property as well for older lady, then new owners put it down in lawn. Freeze all beans, peas, cauliflower, cabbage, leeks.

14.15 When at home looking after children, children played together, knew all of the neighbours, but weren’t in and out of people’s places.

End of Track Three

TRACK FOUR

0.0 Rather not talk about some neighbours. Lots of houses now RENTED. Few owners left, and lots have passed on.

0.50 VERNA ROBERTSON been there for quite a few years.

1.0 SWANSONS had three children, RENNICKS(?) had three, O’CONNELLS had four or five, AYLINGS had three or four, daughter a rower. HOLTS had a couple, TOMLINS a couple, also children in POLICE HOUSES.

2.00 Children would play in the park with a ball, June had a SISTER in LITHGOW STREET, would walk down and have picnics together. No cars. Brian biked to work and home for dinner every day. Would walk with a pram and tricycles. Got a work car when GREGORY was a baby.

3.50 As children got older, attended JAMES HARGEST HIGH SCHOOL. All of the children were SWIMMERS – got up at 5.00 am to swim until 7.30. Brian would wait for them. TEPID BATHS IN CONON STREET. Involved in COLLEGIATE SWIMMING CLUB. Brian would do time keeping and marshalling on Saturday nights. Swimming large part of their lives.

5.00 Brian’s brother and sister and a friend went camping up at NOKOMAI and had a wonderful time. Brother took his truck up. They then bought a house in Athol. Could have bought five acres of land with it for £400. Decided to take the house with two quarter acre sections instead for £300. Four families put in £100 each, and with spare £100 bought extra furnishings. Had the house for 30 years. Kids ran wild uip in the hills and down to the creek, swimming. Joined the KINGSTON GOLF CLUB as country members.

7.45 Moved to Glengarry 1958, so eight years before SHOPPING CENTRE opened. There was a BUTCHER SHOP and GROCER SHOP before the shopping centre, another grocery shop arouind the corner in WARD STREET with a DRAPER SHOP AND FISH SHOP. Once sent son to buy a tin of syrup, which spilt all over him and all over his bike.

9.40 As time went on, shopping centre was built. BANK, POST OFFICE, BUTCHER, HARDWARE SHOP, BAKER, GROCER, WOOLWORTHS. HIPPIES used to congregate in the seventies around the shopping area. BOOK SHOP around the other side. Good shopping centre, and you didn’t have to go to town. Lots of drapery shops. Once the supermarket arrived, spoiled it for a lot of smaller businesses. GARAGE went up. One of Brian’s apprentices, STEPHEN THOMAS, now runs the garage.

12.30 Family used the supermarket, which sold lots of things besides food. Was there on opening day – June remembers going round to the big opening, COMPETITION to win a FRIDGE. Quite a big event. Sad when supermarket closed. More people had cars and were going further afield to shop.

14.10 Would walk with children up to WINDSOR SHOPPING CENTRE. Had H AND J SMITHS, DRAPERY SHOP, SUPERMARKET NEW WORLD was on the corner where hairdresser now is - SALON KINGSADORE. Good area for shopping, and good exercise to walk up there.

End of Track Four

TRACK FIVE

0.00 Area has got a lot quieter over the years. As children grew up, got their own cars, so had a fleet of cars, which Brian helped to fix.

1.10 Still live in the area because see no reason not to – no good following children, who all have good jobs in Wellington, Hamilton, Rotorua, Auckland, Germany, Australia. Moving today would cost a lot to move to something smaller. Oldest son went from PUBLIC TRUST here to Hamilton, then married, and all over NZ. Another child worked for MOBIL, from Bluff to Auckland and other places. Another son, MALCOLM, went to CIT in Wellington as a computer engineer, then to IBM and worked in Melbourne. All children keep in contact with each other and with their parents by SKYPE. Each son has two sons each, and one grandaughter. Now great grandparents.

7.00 As long as Brian and June can look after each other, will stay in their home. Do worry that others look down on the Glengarry area, but these people don’t know the people who live there. Government houses had a bad name. Never had a bother with others in the area, although at one stage people were knocking on their windows. Brian had had surgery on ankle, and couldn’t run after them and has also broken a hip bone.

End of Track 5