Discover what it was like for women and children in Brisbane during World War II. This collection of anecdotes will illuminate details about the war from perspectives not often heard. A young boy plays in the aeroplane yard. The whole neighbourhood shares their rations. A sister is sent to the local pokies so that her brothers can discuss their war experiences in private. Compiled and edited by Sophie Tarrant. Commissioned and supported by Bulimba Festival.

1. Brisbane War Stories Edited by Sophie Tarrant

2. Brisbane War Stories
© Sophie Tarrant 2015
Edited by Sophie Tarrant
About the Editor
Sophie Tarrant is a Brisbane-based performance poet. Don’t ask her to talk about who
she has interviewed in the past or she’ll exuberantly name-drop Christine Anu and
Kate-Miller Heidke. Sophie has volunteered for community radio station 4ZZZ,
working at the station in Fortitude Valley and as a reporter at Woodford Folk Festival
2014. She has done many other things, but her favourite thing to do is kick back with
her ukulele and sing a few tunes.

3. Forward
When I first embarked on this project, I had very little knowledge of the wars. To my embarrassment, I couldn’t even remember
when World War II took place! As I spoke to more and more elderly people, their stories about WWII and later wars formed a
picture in my mind. I could imagine what it was like for the women or young boys back home in the wider Brisbane area during
those difficult times.
Prior to meeting my first group of elderly ladies, I was worried that certain questions would bring back unwelcome memories and
cause distress. After a few tentative enquiries, I found that they spoke simply about their deceased husbands or brothers. Turned
out most had lost their loved ones decades ago. Conversation naturally flowed to what it was like for the women at home. The
overall attitude of the ladies was that, even though supplies had been limited, the made do and they were happy.
This book contains various anecdotes from those who were left behind, with some reflections on the struggles of the returned
servicemen upon returning from the war.

4. World War II
1939-1945

5. When I was about five or six, I used to lean out the bedroom window and watch the searchlights. I thought it was
terrific, watching all these lights going backwards and forwards. Just like the lights you see in the movies. I thought,
They’re going to find somebody one day.
—Dot Photo courtesy of Donald Wright
“

6. We loved playing in the aeroplane yard. They used to collect any aeroplane
that fell around Brisbane and could fit on the back of a semi-trailer or truck.
The planes were stacked on top of each other. The crew would salvage what
they could, metal and engines.
Us kids would climb up into the pilot seat to fly the planes. The Yanks
thought it was unsafe, so they hired a guard. But he had all these clanking
keys on his belt. We could go home and have tea before he arrived.
—Dennis
Badge courtesy of Donald Wright’s collection
Photo courtesy of Joan Fitchet
”

7. Our factory was working on war shirts. I was asked to manage the factory
down in Murwillumbah, the one that sold everyday shirts and pyjamas.
I had to teach about twenty girls how to use the button hole and double
needle machines. We’d send the work up to Brisbane.
They were good days.
—Asna
Double needle sewing machine made in the 1930s
Photo courtesy of Hem Stitches
“

8. They used to have blackouts. Everyone had to go into their
houses and turn all the lights off or close the curtains. The
soldiers would be outside in their gas masks, making sure no
lights were on.
—Winifred
Australian WWII soldiers wearing gas masks
Photo courtesy of Brisbane Times
”

9. My brothers went to war. Whenever the postman arrived,
the neighbours would wave letters from their sons. All the
mothers would meet and talk about who got a letter.
Sometimes the letters were cut into pieces. They were
censored. In wars now, you can know who will bomb where
the next day. Back then you couldn’t talk about it. No one
could know anything.
—Eileen
Text reads, “I certify upon my honour that this letter contains nothing but private, personal family matters.
Sgt Butler, RAAF.”
Photo courtesy of Debra Hood
“

10. Badge worn on slouch hats in WWII
from Donald Wright’s collection
When my two brothers got back, the eldest was shaken,
nervy. He wasn’t well mentally or physically. He was much
better later on, as far as we knew. Neither of them would talk
about the war.
A few weeks after they came home, my older brother paid
me and my sister five dollars to go to the local pokies so he
could talk to our younger brother about the war.
But we never talked about it.
—Eileen
“

11. His best mate, who he’d been with through the desert, had
been killed in New Guinea. Roy was never the same after
that. It knocked him around, his mate getting killed.
—Donald
Roy and Donald Wright
Photo courtesy of Donald Wright
“

12. When my husband got off the ship in PNG, he overheard
an American Negro saying,
Lordy Lordy
You lift up my feet
and I sure will put them down.
He reckoned it was a phrase the troops used.
—Joan
Donald during a public demonstration
Photo courtesy of Donald Wright
“

13. “We had the trenches dug in case there were air raids. If the sirens went, if the
planes came over, we had to run like mad through the school, down into these
trenches that were only a bit wider than my shoulders.
When we were kids, sugar came in a bag. Hessian, very fine. It’d be over your
head, right over your shoulders. Then they wouldn’t be able to see you from the
planes when they were dropping bombs on you.
There was a little plastic dish with your name on it. You had to have the peg in
your mouth so you wouldn’t break your teeth when they bombed.
I used to hate it because my brother only had to go to school for half a day, and I
had to go for a full day. We were grade six and seven.
We were expendable I suppose.
—Jean
Photos courtesy of Jean Foxcroft
Drills at School
”

14. I went to Saint Peter and Pauls School. The trenches zig zagged up the hill.
Slit trenches, they were called. Very narrow.
We had these navy capes over us to cover our white blouses.
We’d cut tennis balls in half and fill them with cotton wool. Each half would cup
our ears and were attached with elastic, like a headband. Then if there were
explosions, that’d stop our ears from getting blown out.
We had a firm rubber tube and you’d have that in your mouth.
Across the river from Hawthorne were all the oil tanks. If the planes had come in
and blown up the tanks, it would’ve been disastrous for the school. The
vibrations would’ve affected our ears or broken our teeth.
—Eileen
“

15. The Yanks needed to get Australian money. They had no idea how, so
they asked us kids to get it for them.
We went to the exchange place that offered a lower return but gave us an
icy pole each. He bribed us!
When we returned, we called out, Who gave us this money?
Half a dozen Yanks put up their hands. We gave it to the first one then
ran for it.
—Dennis
Map of the Bulimba area after the Chinese and American
troops set up camps in WWII
Drawing courtesy of Dennis Burchill
“

16. I’ve been knitting and crocheting since before the war, about 1938.
I knitted socks for the soldiers. I think we all did that.
We’d wind the wool. Sit there with the skein on your hand
while someone else wound it.
You don’t get that nowadays. Now it’s already wound up.
It was always pure wool.
—Dulcie
Socks knitted by Dulcie Gardiner
“

17. Letter from the Trenches
Send me some socks,
dear lady,
send me some socks
before my boots sink into mud
and set like stone.
Send me some socks,
dear lady,
send me some socks
before my feet grow twice their size,
crumpling my toes.
Send me some socks,
dear lady,
send me some socks
before the puttees squeeze my calves
tighter than a snake.
Send me some socks,
dear lady,
send me some socks
before gangrene spreads up my legs
and stops my heart.
You’ll save my life,
dear lady,
you’ll save my life.
I’ll walk back home,
I’ll leave the mud and guns behind.
I’ll walk back home,
I’ll leave the mud and guns behind.
Click here to watch the song!
Lyrics, music, and performance by

18. As well as socks, I also made hundreds of beanies. They’d
finish just above the ears and would stop the soldiers’ heads
from getting cold from the helmets. We’d send over
chocolate, peanut butter—whatever supplies we thought
they’d need.
—Dulcie
Red poppies knitted by various ladies at Legacy, South Brisbane
“

19. Years ago, we never ever locked our doors. I used to walk
home at midnight and think nothing of it. Now I can’t go out
without looking over my shoulder to see who’s following me.
There was none of that in the old days. Everyone seemed to
trust each other.
—Winifred
Photo courtesy of Donald Wright
”

20. I met my husband dancing. The Estville Dance Hall in Stones Corner. We used to go
down Wednesday and Friday nights. I worked with a girl who used to know him. She
used to go with him before I knew him. I’d hear about him through her…but I didn’t
think I’d ever meet him. Small world in those days.
He went through the war. He was called up in 1939 or ’40 and had to go to New Guinea.
I’d been working at Murwillumbah and decided to move there so I wouldn’t have to
travel every day.
As soon as I moved, he wanted to become engaged. He sent me the money for the ring.
I had to buy my own ring! He said, Let me know if you need any more money.
In those days, they didn’t have the shoulders on the rings like you do now. It was
wartime, so they didn’t put all the diamonds on the rings. They just had the single
diamond in it.
We were married in 1945.
—Asna
Badge from Donald Wright’s Collection
“

21. My husband was a Leading Seaman. When war was over, he was still in
the Navy. He was minesweeping and getting rid of the bombs.
When his twelve years were up, he came back to Brisbane. But the fella
who took over blew himself up on the job—accidentally of course.
—Mona
A minesweeper making adjustments to the serrated edge
of the minesweeping gear c. 1940
Image courtesy of Australian War Memorial
“

22. Photo courtesy of Dot Gillient
My husband died of lung cancer. I don’t
know if it was caused by smoking.
He never smoked until he went into the
army.
But then it was good tobacco they smoked,
not like they use today.
It might have been the environment they
were in, the air and that.
—Winifred
”

23. When my husband was in Darwin, he worked
in the armoury with two other men. They each
had a key to lock up the guns. One key couldn’t
open the door; they needed all three keys.
—Wendy
Photo courtesy of Dot Gillient
“

24. I worked at Brisbane Arcade at a stitchery called Bayards. It was a very well known Brisbane fashion
place that specialised in lady’s hats and dresses. During the war, American troops brought in their
army shirts. We made them into army caps. They needed caps the same material as their shirts.
—Joan
Bayards delivery van in view at intersection of Queen and Edward Streets, Brisbane, 1940
Photo courtesy of John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Neg: 82490
”

25. The Yanks came in and took what they wanted. 6000 of them were on those ships. Huge ships. We’d never seen anything like it.
They docked at Brett’s Wharf. They’d wanted to go to the Philippines, but the Japs got there first so they pulled into Brisbane
instead. All those strange people. I snuck up closer to hear what language they spoke. They were all lining up along the road. Half of
them marched to Ascot and commandeered that racecourse. The other half marched to Doomben and took that racecourse.
We had a block of land. There was lots of land back then, only a few houses. The Yanks came up to my father one Friday night and
said, We need your land. On Saturday morning, there was a house on our land. They’d had about 50 Chinese labourers digging
holes and then they’d offloaded this house. About 32 blocks of land were taken. That’s millions of dollars’ worth today.
—Dennis
Photo of Apollo Road, Bulimba c. 1930
Photo courtesy of Dennis Burchill
“

26. After my husband died, I had a month to move out of the married quarters. I moved in with my mother.
Dad had developed asthma from being in the desert. He’d served too. He always had oxygen in the house.
Soon after I moved in, Dad died in Greenslopes Hospital. That was Brisbane’s first permanent military hospital.
—Elizabeth
Red Cross Badge from Donald Wright’s Collection
“

27. If I think about it, I can still see that half boat coming up the river.
Our playground was by the Brisbane River in Bulimba. We’d watch
these Liberty Boats. That’s what they were called originally. If the
front of the boat was torpedoed, there was a big door that would
automatically come down, and then they wouldn’t sink. Same with
the rear.
Me and my friend always thought, How come it doesn’t sink?
—Jean
Brisbane River at Bulimba, 1906
Photo courtesy of State Library of Queensland John Oxley Collection
“

28. Dad had the back yard and I had the front yard.
I was growing flowers and Dad was growing veggies.
We needed something to keep us occupied.
—Dot
Eileen’s brother, Jim
Photo courtesy of Eileen Hynard
“

29. We had rationing. You know, butter, milk, sugar, tea, petrol. Not fruit
and vegetables. Those you grew in your backyard.
You had to be self-sufficient. You’d have your own chickens for eggs,
then you’d kill them when you were ready to eat them.
Nowadays everyone’s complaining about something or other. I don’t
have cable, I don’t have air conditioning. Cable didn’t exist back
then. Air conditioning? Nup.
All our water came from the tank in our back yard.
You got on with it.
We got by.
—Dot
WWII ration sheets from Donald Wright’s Collection
“

30. We Got By
We got by
We got by
We got by
Who needs a lawn mower
when you’ve got a calf?
Who needs to buy veggies
when you grow them in your yard?
Who needs to buy new clothes
when you have a mother who can sew?
We got by
We got by
We got by
I planted flowers in the front yard.
Dad grew veggies out the back,
beetroot, carrots, spuds, and green beans.
We had all we’d ever need.
I watched Mum go to the mailbox
and knew exactly what she’d found.
She waved it like a tattered white flag.
The mothers gathered in the street.
They talked about what’s in the letters,
and guessed what had been cut out.
They would all be home soon,
soon my brother would return.
I played soldiers with my friends,
we made sure the goodies won.
I went to school, Mum went to work
teaching women how to use that tricky
button hole machine.
They’d send clothing to the shops.
After school, I’d take a ration
down to Brisbane Cash ‘n’ Carry,
swap the coupon for some milk,
froth it up as I ran home.
We got by
We got by
We got by
Fetch some water from the tank,
Put a jug upon the table.
Bow your head and say a prayer
for the men out who-knows-where.
Scrape some butter off that knife,
leave a little for tomorrow.
No second servings, no dessert.
But later Dad will tell a story.
We got by
We got by
We got by x2
 Click the carrot to watch the song! Lyrics, music, and performance by

31. We all shared everything, all our rations. If someone had
leftover sugar or butter, we’d share those coupons. Clothing, too.
It was a good neighbourhood, a good place to live.
—Eileen
WWII Rations from Donald Wright’s Collection
“

32. Title

33. Remembering the War at Bulimba Festival
Making the names known
During Bulimba Festival in November 2015, an art installation called The Remembrance Tree was
created in honour of people who had fought during the World Wars. Members of the community could
write the name of their deceased loved one on a strip of fabric and peg it to the tree.
Next to The Remembrance Tree was an
installation called Poppies in the Park.
97 poppies adorned the tree. They
represented the role of women who
knitted over one million pairs of socks
for their loved ones at war.
97 years after World War I, decades after
World War II, we still remember.
Lest We Forget.
Photos courtesy of Hannah Photography

34. Acknowledgements
Thank you to everyone who shared a fragment of their life.
To the ladies from Legacy, South Brisbane. To John Murdoch and all the staff at Legacy.
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed photographs to this book, and to Donald Wright who allowed me
to photograph some of his extensive collection of war antiques.
To Norman Love, President of Bulimba District Historical Society, who put me in touch with Bulimba locals.
To the Bulimba locals, who warmly invited me into their home.
To Debra Hood, my coordinator, whose high opinion of my capabilities encouraged me to rise to the occasion.
To Bulimba Festival for funding this project and supporting the arts.
I hope this book helps to preserve and cherish these valuable wartime stories.

35. Contributors
Winifred Morrison Wendy Kunst Mona Wood Joan Fitchet Jean Foxcroft Elizabeth Cowell
Dulcie Gardiner Dorothy “Dot” Gillient Donald Wright Dennis Burchill Asna Arcus Eileen Hynard

36. Brisbane War Stories Edited by Sophie Tarrant