Olive DANIEL

Interviewer: Jenny Campbell

03 February 2008.

Abstracter: Jean Hawkes.

TRACK 1 (First 60)

00:00 Interview identification

00:40 Born at BALFOUR 1916. Educated at LUMSDEN. Left school at 14, worked for five shillings per week. Cleaner at LUMSDEN MANSE.

01:39 Parents – OWEN and ELIZABETH ('BESS') TAYLOR. OLIVE second child. Eldest sister – GRACE, ELIZABETH BERYL ('BERYL' or 'BOBBY'), OWEN, DOUGLAS, DAPHNE, RUBY.

02:31 Early times – HELENA STREET, LUMSDEN. Father shearer and rabbitter. TOMMY GILLICK, BALFOUR, JOSEPHVILLE HILL, CECIL PEAK STATION – Mentioned.

03:32 Rabbitting – Described. BORTHWICK'S TRUCK, LUMSDEN, DUNEDIN – Mentioned. Money spent on drinking.

05:41 OLIVE went to WAIKAKA in summer. Worked at nursing home (Maternity Home in Helena Street, LUMSDEN) – Described.

06:25 OLIVE born at Mrs WADDELL'S at BALFOUR. Mother's sister had hotel at BALFOUR, Uncle TOM and ANNIE TIMPANY. Named OLIVE JEAN. JIM OLIVE – Mentioned. Snowed on the September day of OLIVE'S birth.

07:30 Schooling at LUMSDEN – started aged 4 ½ – Described. Attended most of school jubilees. IONA ROMANS [not sure of either name], MISS MILNE (?) from NAPIER – Described. HERBIE McCAULEY, LLEWELLYN OWEN (played piano), BRADY NELSON.

11:06 Games – marbles, hockey. Played bowls until aged 84. Rifle shooting. Tennis. Badminton. RIVERSDALE, BALFOUR – Mentioned.

12:24 Outbreak of war, playing hockey in BLENHEIM – Described. JIM [RYAN], RAILWAY WORKSHOPS – Mentioned. OLIVE 23, JIM 29 when he enlisted. JIM'S parents deceased. Advice from ARCHDEACON LUSH, St JOHN'S CHURCH – Explained.

14:58 Moved from LUMSDEN to CAROLINE. MURRELL of MANAPOURI, LEVIE (?) McDONALD of DIPTON married a MURRELL – Mentioned.

16:57 JIM in ENGLAND when learned of baby, did not see son until he was 2 ½.

17:22 Wedding – working at CECIL HOTEL. Situation – Described. Mr and Mrs GUEST, sister RUBY – Mentioned.

18:59 JIM'S final leave – Described. Store at WOODEND on BLUFF ROAD.

19.45 Girls' final breakfast at CECIL HOTEL. Photo and wedding ring.

20:35 OLIVE worked in DEE STREET for people who witnessed wedding. FREEMAN teacher at RYAL BUSH. Pregnant with BARRY. Few possessions. Went to live with her parents.

21:56 OLIVE looked after houses while people went on holidays, cooked for shearers. Saved money for a pedal car, for BARRY, by trapping rabbits. RIVERTON – Mentioned.

23:18 JIM'S arrival home – Described.

23:54 JIM served in ENGLAND, EGYPT. Mentioned in Dispatches. Railway lines through desert. GEORGE McLEAN, BURNHAM, ADDINGTON – Mentioned.

25:22 MICKEY SAVAGE'S [Prime Minister] funeral – Described. ADDINGTON POLICE STATION – Mentioned.

26:52 Pregnancy discovered. Messages to and from ENGLAND – Described. Letter of instructions – Explained.

28:45 Prayers answered re birth of child, naming the baby BARRY JAMES – Explained.

30:43 Reactions when JIM returned. Son aged 2 ½yrs.

30:57 Mechanic. Property at DEE STREET (DEESLAW) – Mentioned. WINTON for 31 years, tuned racing cars.

31:47 JIM man-powered. Railways at OREPUKI. Flax mill at OTATARA. Store bought on BLUFF ROAD when ELIZABETH aged 3 and BARRY aged 7. Two more children.

33:05 Demise of area when JIM and OLIVE left shop. Football, Drama Club, Women's Institute, Indoor Bowls – Mentioned.

34:02 Wanted to live in TAY STREET. Shop (country store) – Described.

35:37 JIM'S death (1970) – Described. Son ROSS. ELIZABETH and husband had a store in NELSON STREET.

37:11 Financial situation after husband's death – Explained. RSA (Returned Service Association) WELFARE – Explained.

38:14 No money from grocery shop. Situation – Described.

38:54 Husband made shoe heels in factory at KEW ROAD. ENGLAND – Mentioned. OLIVE time at LANGE'S BAKERY – Described. Mrs BRAITHWAITE from ENGLAND – Mentioned. Amalgamation with MILLER'S BAKERY – Mentioned. JIM employed as bread-cutter, later mechanic for vans.

42:03 LEO SEXTON sign writer employed ROSS. ROSS has funeral parlour.

43:25 OLIVE worked for everything. Bought house. LIVERPOOL – Mentioned. Niece bought OLIVE'S earlier home.

44:47 Life full of surprises.

44:50 Children – ELIZABETH, birth at TUATAPERE – Described. VE DAY, GEORGE McLEAN, JOSEPHVILLE HILL, BLUFF, LYTTELTON, WELLINGTON, AUNTY GRACE, DIPTON, RUDDENKLAU – Mentioned. JIM'S return from war by troop train – Described.

50:16 OLIVE went rabbitting to get money to buy pedal car for BARRY – Described.

51:18 DOUGLAS born at ELIZABETH GEORGE [maternity home in Invercargill, previously known as TE RATA] Purchase of ship's bell – Mentioned. ROSS, TOMLINS (flax cutter) – Mentioned. Use of bell at funeral for son ROSS.

53:18 Next child (DOUGLAS) born five years after ELIZABETH. Three years later ROSS arrived. DOUGLAS'S childhood game – Described. Became panel beater/mechanic. BARRY taken on as mechanic at WRIGHTSONS OMAUI – Mentioned. BILL WYATT at GREENHILLS. JIM and OLIVE also ran Post Office, Phone Bureau from their shop. JIM'S injury to arm and other injuries – Described. TUATAPERE, WOODEND, CAROLINE, McINTOSH, DARRYL FEE (?) – Mentioned.

60:15 End of Track 1

TRACK 2 (last 37)

00:27 CYRIL CROSLAND now in CAMBRIDGE – Mentioned.

01:09 OLIVE frightened of horses. Horse named 'In the Pink'. CATTLE FLAT – Mentioned.

01:56 Taking BARRY out in the pram three miles to PLUNKET – Described. NURSE WHITE – Mentioned. ROSS born on a Saturday. DOUG – Mentioned.

03:20 OLIVE'S mother – parental arguments, father's drink problems, non-payment of rent. BILL JOHNSON – Mentioned. Incident regarding Ten Pound note – Described. Father lived to 73 and mother to 66.

05:36 Cooked for shearers. Bachelor owner of place at CAROLINE. OLIVE and sister's visits – Described.

06:58 JIMMY THOMSON – Mentioned. OLIVE driving car – Described. WINTON for Driving License. Engaged to someone else before JIM.

09:06 WOODEND, KEW (Hospital), BOWLS at CENTENNIAL HALL, MR CRIBB – Mentioned.

10:05 First family car at CAROLINE, a Model T. Then a Model A, a MORRIS COWLEY. STANDARD given to BARRY was raced at RYAL BUSH and TERETONGA. OLIVE in her teens when family bought a car. Bike bought from BACHELOR'S PRAM HOUSE. Purchase of pram – Described. Conditions encountered when OLIVE was pregnant with first child. DALRYMPLE STREET – Mentioned.

14:26 JOSEPHVILLE HILL, MAKAREWA BRIDGE – Mentioned. Incidents relating to BARRY'S birth – Mentioned. ELIZABETH, DOUGLAS and ROSS, GRAHAM TURVEY, ALEXANDER COLIN EWING STEVENS (wrote poetry), RADIO PACIFIC, JACK SLEDGE, LIL HILTON, WOODEND HALL – Mentioned.

17:49 Reference to poetry written by ALEX STEVENS.

18:34 Fun times – Described. JOCK JENNINGS, VIC and ELSIE JORDAN – Mentioned. Incidents at Bowls break-ups – Described. JACK HARRIS, WILSON & NEIL – Mentioned.

21:30 Living in small communities. WOMEN'S INSTITUTE – Mentioned. JIM, MARK LILLEY, BAIN ROBERTSON, ARTHUR CRIBB gate crashed INSTITUTE birthday celebration – Described. 'Girls' turn the tables at men's SMOKO – Described.

24:23 ELIZABETH'S arrangements for OLIVE'S 90th birthday – Described. OLIVE'S stepdaughter CHRISTINE HENDERSON reads ditty that ELIZABETH wrote for her mother 90th birthday.

27:13 Marriage to JACK DANIEL. ERIC and RENE McNATTY – Mentioned. OLIVE'S grandmother JANE McNATTY – Mentioned. ULVA (?) DANIEL – Mentioned. CHRISTINE and RUSSELL – Mentioned.

32:46 Stepchildren – JOHN, MURRAY and CHRISTINE.

33:09 Video of wedding – Mentioned. MARIE married to KEN WEST at the time. Wedding, church hall in TAY STREET – Described. MARIE and BARRY, TIMARU – Mentioned. Parodies of 'Are You Lonesome Tonight' and 'Three Blind Mice'

36:57 End of Track 2.

NOTE: Olive died in 2013