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Interviewee

Heather (Ellem) Hardaker

Place Recorded

Coffs Harbour-NSW

Interviewer

Lesley Gibbs

Collection

Agency

Yarrila Arts & Museum (YAM)

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Heather Hardaker Interview

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IntervieweeHeather (Ellem) HardakerInterview Date2 December 1986Place RecordedCoffs Harbour-NSWDuration46m50sAccession NumberLS2020.1.73Credit LineCoffs Harbour City Council, 1988.

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Description

Heather Hardaker was the mother of the first baby born at Dorrigo Hospital.

InterviewerLesley GibbsCollectionYAM Museum CollectionVoice of Time oral history projectAgencyYarrila Arts & Museum (YAM)SummaryStandard disclaimer. Visit the 'Voice of Time' web site to read or listen to the disclaimer. Heather Hardaker was born into a family of six children. Her maiden name is Ellem -- She is the cousin of Vic Ellem of Thora -- She married at Glenreagh on 18 January 1933. This was her birthday. Heather was born in 1913 -- She had three sons, Robert, Rex and Norman. Rex was the first baby born at Dorrigo Hospital -- Eastern Dorrigo had timber mills and shops in 1937 - quite different than the area today. Dorrigo was also different - a growing timber town -- The family went to Eastern Dorrigo for work during the tough days of the Depression. Heather went out to help her husband fell the timber and cart the logs with the bullock team. "You've only got to know how to swear to drive bullocks". Working the cross cut saw. There were no chain saws in those days -- The first child, Bob, would go out to work with his parents. With a packed lunch and babe in her arms, Heather would work along side her husband in the bush -- The bullocks were not difficult to look after. They would flatten blady grass. However, some bullock drivers were very cruel with the animals and didn't care for them -- The various methods of working bullocks -- The birth of the children. The Dorrigo Hospital in 1937. Mothers stayed in hospital for ten days after the birth. The general hospital procedure. Breast-feeding -- Helping other mothers and babies with her abundance of breast milk -- She remained in Dorrigo until 1939 when her husband joined up. She moved to Sawtell during the war years. Her husband's name was Clarrie Hervert. They were divorced and Heather re-married in 1945 to Mr Hardacre -- Life "Didn't change a great deal" during the war years. The boys started school and Heather went out to work with the land army. It was a bit of a battle making ends meet. Bean picking was hard work - pea picking was harder -- You had to be strong to take that sort of life -- Heather's sons have made a success of their lives through determination and hard work. Rex and Norman worked with cars and wood and Robert wanted to work the land. Share farming became a problem when Robert was called up for National Service. Heather was left with all the ploughing and farm work -- Managing alone with the children when her first husband left the family. Bringing the children up was the job that took time, love and caring and kept her going through the hard times -- There was no help from any other members of the family -- The family allowance from the army was only one shilling a day during the war years -- Food coupons -- The divorce from her first husband after the three-year wait -- The boys became known as Hardacre after Heather's second marriage. There were no luxuries such as new clothes or the hairdressers -- Heather was always determined to give the boys a good education -- Her second marriage was not a success either. The breakdown came after five years -- Even though life is lonely and Heather hasn't enjoyed good health, she is happy and her boys are good to her even though she still worries about them -- Heather has lived at Karangi since 1953, bought then for six hundred and fifty pounds -- The changes in the area over the years. The description of the roads in Karangi and the changes made. Heather's father worked for the Ulmarra Shire and he had helped with the construction of the area's road -- Shopping in Coffs Harbour and the changes that have come -- How child rearing has changed in fifty years and the distractions then and now -- She would not walk to Coffs now because of the danger element - people are different now -- Smoking and the changes in attitudes and fashion. Heather's father was a beautiful man and the children didn't like to do anything to upset him. The accident when he lost his hand. Riding the horse from Shelley Beach to catch the train to go to hospital for attention. The help given by the drunken doctor -- The Dorrigo railway -- Even after the accident Heather's father could milk a cow faster than her with one hand. Her mother was a "Sticker" and always worked very hard -- Heather has not enjoyed good health recently but it "doesn't help to pamper" arthritis -- The entertainment that was enjoyed by everyone - dances, tennis, riding and walking. She loved dancing most of all -- The distance to the dances didn't matter. Getting home in time to do the milking was not unusual -- Heather's grandparents and their story. Her mother had an operation at the age of 86 - a strong willed lady -- The early days of Eastern Dorrigo (Coramba). Supplies and the Dorrigo Mountain Railway. The improvements on the roads up the mountain. The ships in Coffs Harbour -- Holidays at Moonee -- The sulky horse, Ranji. Heather loved to ride him to dances and visiting -- Life in Eastern Dorrigo. The higher up the mountain the lower her spirits -- Clothing and furnishings for the house.