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Interviewee

Roy Jordan

Place Recorded

Coffs Harbour-NSW

Interviewer

Lesley Gibbs

Collection

Agency

Yarrila Arts & Museum (YAM)

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Roy Jordan Interview

Details

IntervieweeRoy JordanInterview Date2 September 1986Place RecordedCoffs Harbour-NSWDuration1h26m20sAccession NumberLS2020.1.76Credit LineCoffs Harbour City Council, 1988.

More Information

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. Roy was born in 1906 -- Mr Jordan's grandfather was the policeman for the area before the turn of the century -- His grandfather used to escort the magistrate to Kempsey -- On one of these trips he was called back to Bellingen he returned on the same horse -- It was a distance of over one hundred and sixty miles (two hundred kilometres) -- The Aborigines at Fernmount -- The Aboriginal land near Yellow Rock Road. He went to the school in town in Bellingen. There were many schools in the area because the travel was difficult. Half time schools -- School learning and the qualifying certificate. Going on to the intermediate certificate. Most people thought working was better than going to school. The Depression of 1890. There was no relief for the unemployed. The family had to look after those out of work -- Food coupons were given out in the Depression of the thirties. Many squatters settled in the area. Swaggies in the area trying to get coupons. The police used to push them on their way. The locals would sometimes feed these men in return for work -- There was very little time for leisure -- The shops closed once on a Wednesday and there was a full shopping day on Saturday, continuing on into the night. All the weddings were on a Wednesday -- The dances and the tricks people got up to with the horses -- The incident with his grandfather's coat...saved the children in the cart. His father was a blacksmith and wheelwright. His father also brought horses for the area -- Managing horses as they were being shod -- Breeding horses in the area. King Tom the draught horse -- The difference between a buggy and a sulky. Mr Jordon's mother came from Nambucca. Her maiden name was Grace -- They often made visits to Nambucca -- Making candle and arrowroot. Salting meat in a cask -- The cattle or wallabies getting into the garden. General problems of animals getting through fences. He first started working for 15 shillings per week -- The mail delivery in the Thora area. Getting supplies to the store at Thora and also to Dorrigo. Hawkers selling material -- Buying in bulk from Sydney. Every house had a pantry for storage -- Furniture from Brebafields in Sydney. It was brought up by boat to East End then by punt and slide to the house -- He married a local girl in 1928. They had three boys and four girls. They did not go on any trips, as travel was too difficult -- Getting around in Sydney in later years on his bike with the help of the trams -- He never learned to dance or play cards -- The Bellingen show -- They mostly had Jersey cattle until the milk supply was called for. Crossing the Jersey with the black and white cows to up the cream content -- Hand milking eight cows an hour. Having a break through winter. The Polish migrant and his stories of the bombing and the treatment that followed through the war -- Separating the cream from the milk. The accident that happened with the horses due to carelessness -- The way the horses used to follow the day's routine due to town noises -- You always had a horse of your own for transportation. The types of equipment used on the horses -- The accidents on horseback. Standard disclaimer. Visit the 'Voice of Time' web site to read or listen to the disclaimer (Internet link is below). The buggy and two horses damaged by the run-away horses in William Street, Bellingen -- The changing Australian character. Mr Jordan feels that it is because of the family breakdown...also drinking is a problem. The women did not go out to work and that caused less family problems -- The dairy farms growing all their own feed -- Feeding the cows in the bails. There was no great need for cows to keep up production all year. Different styles of milking set up in bails. Newspapers in the area. The first office was in Coronation Street. During the war space was left in the paper for news as it came through via the telegraph -- There were many rallies in the town during the war -- The Bellingen Bridge was built in around 1913. Before the bridge, the crossing was made at the end of Ford Street. There was also a footbridge -- There were never any large ships that came up to the town wharf in Bellingen. Only the droghers came up to the town. There was also a large diving tower at the wharf. There were swimming carnivals at the wharf and there were bathing sheds near the waters edge -- Once a boat would come up the river to have shopping and visiting days in Bellingen for people from the coast -- The shipbuilding at East End -- The river used to be dredged but now the cost would be too great. The railways carry out the transportation now -- The sawmills at Repton and Urunga -- Travelling by the road all the way to Brisbane before it was tarred -- The 'Back to Bellingen' celebration in the thirties. There was very little money around so there was not much celebration about the Royal family or the Sesqui days of 1938 -- The effect the common market made on the Australian farmer. The early telephones -- The trouble with having a party phone -- The future of Bellingen.