Memories of Christmas Past

I was born in 1950 and have always, then and now loved, Christmas. I believe this stems from the magical Christmas experiences created by my parents, especially my father. My mother explained that, as a boy, his family were very poor and so he wanted to give his family the best he could.  I should say here that this did not only apply to Christmas but New Year’s Day, Easter, Guy Fawkes Night, St Patrick’s Day and any other celebration he could invent. Life was very different in the 1950s. Not better. I don’t think, but different. First of all there were no suburban shopping centres. The only large department stores were in the city of Brisbane. I remember these were Finneys and Allan and Stark. Before supermarkets, my mother shopped at the corner store owned by Mr Fong and his family, purchased meat from a local butcher who was Mr Curtis. Our bread was delivered by a horse and cart and later a truck, another truck sold fruit and vegetables door to door and ice was delivered to those who still used ice boxes. The following memories are not chronological but just as I recall the magic which was Christmas at Nelson St, Coorparoo in Brisbane. The department stores always decorated their windows elaborately at Christmas time usually following a theme. Dad always took us twice to the city. Once at night on the tram, where the windows were like the pages of a story book. Those I remember were the Christmas story and fairy tales such as The Three Bears, Cinderella and of course Santa also referred to as Father Christmas. We didn’t go into the shops just walked along the streets admiring the windows. The second annual trip was to see Santa in the shops, who Dad explained wasn’t the real Santa but that he had lots of helpers. You sat on his knee and shared your Christmas wishes. After that, the greatest treat of all was lunch at Cole’s cafeteria. Here we always had pies with mashed potato and peas followed by a perfect square of red or green jelly with cream on the top. I don’t remember why we always had that we just did. I nearly forgot the lime ice cream sodas which were made of cordial, soda water and a scoop of ice cream. You to had to handle them very carefully or they all fizzed up and overflowed. This may not seem very exciting now but for two little girls who had never been to a restaurant or had take away food of any kind it was amazing.

My father was a policeman and so worked shift work. Our other exciting Christmas adventure was getting our tree. On a night that Dad was working, he and whoever he was working with that night, picked us up in the police car and we drove to somewhere that seemed like the bush. This was a long time ago so there were probably undeveloped areas close to us but it seemed like the bush. Once there, we waited in car in the dark listening to the police radio, while dad and his mate climbed through a fence and cut down a tree with a saw that they carried in the boot. (Always blunt!) Once home, it was placed in a bucket of wet soil which Mum wrapped in Christmas paper. I often wonder how many other police families acquired their tees this way and imagine if it happened today. We were not a poor family but we were anything but rich but we knew we often had more than some and were taught to be grateful. I do remember we had tinsel for the tree and foil stars of different colours. Everything else we made. Paper chains and lanterns made out of last year’s Christmas cards were our best efforts. Once television came along we stared  with envy at the elaborate trees it seemed every American home had. One thing the Americans did which appealed to us was to string coloured popcorn with a needle and drape it on the tree. Mum must have gone along with us until next morning when we found the  tree covered in ants. I don’t know how the tree was retrieved but we never did that one again. We absolutely loved the it when the Salvation Band and Choir performed on the corner of Nelson and Nicklin St. Armed with a coin, we ran up the street to place our coin in the wooden box carried by the members. Thay also walked down the street and people came out of their house to make donations. It was very special to us.

We were Catholics of Irish descent so midnight Mass was a highlight of our Christmas celebration, We were put to bed supposedly to get some sleep before the phone rang with a wake up call that could be booked back then. I have no idea if that service still exists. Of course, we didn’t sleep but giggled and talked while Dad called at us to go to sleep. Once the phone rang we were up and dressed in our finest to walk to our parish church. We didn’t own a car then so we walked everywhere or caught public transport.  I so remember standing at the top of the steps that led up to the church and searching the sky in the hope of seeing Santa. The church was brightly lit, there was a plaster nativity scene in the side chapel and all the priests were dressed in sparling white rimmed with gold. After Mass, we would return home and to our beds, where I know now my parents had to wait until we were asleep before Santa could come. I distinctly remember that in desperation one year my sister was given a Phenergan tablet to make her sleep. Despite that she was always awake first telling me that Santa had been. To the tree we went and then the magic really happened. Beneath the tree, where we had placed our pillow cases with our names on them, they were now bulging with Santa goodies. Little did we know that with the organisation of military campaign there were two sets of pillow cases . One that had been filled previously and hidden in Mum and Dad’s wardrobe ready to swapped for the empty one when we finally went to sleep. What was in those wonderful stockings?  There were always books, egg shampoo (for some reason), lollies and paper doll books and colouring books and pencils. One main present ,such as a special doll, was from our parents as they believed that children should know that their parents had purchased them and they did not appear magically. Often dad went to work for a few hours while Mum prepared our Christmas feast. He would return for lunch, (police hours were more flexible then)often with his partner of the day. How Mum must have laboured in the heat of our tiny kitchen preparing this wonder. It is hard to believe that back then chicken was a delicacy so only purchased for very special occasions such as Christmas and Easter. The ham came in in tin with a key to open it and wonder of wonders soft drinks. Again a special treat. The Christmas pudding contained coins in those pre decimal days the star of which was a shilling. Little did we know that Mum kept some of coins out to make sure that we both got some. Dad would make loud noises pretending he had found one. We pulled the wishbone for good luck, put on that paper hats and marvelled at the  toys inside. My grandparents lived in a little village outside of Brisbane where grandfather was the station master and so owned all the trains in Queensland. We  travelled l there, by train or police car, and later to Sandgate, when they retired, and do it all over again with cousins, aunts and uncles.  

• Story written by Denise Duler, December 2024

If you have a family holiday or christmas memory from another era, about life in this region, please contact us or send it in. As part of the many social history stories we collect about the Gympie or Wide Bay area, here are just a number of topics you can help add to the recorded history of the region,

• Family event stories.
• School life memories.
• Club or Sport narrative.
• Business or Work tale.
• Personal or Life Chronical.
• Regional locational information or detail from the past.

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We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land and pay our respects to the elders of the past, present and emerging.