Format: Audio

Linked To

Interviewee

Ethel (Hamel) Burley

Place Recorded

Coffs Harbour-NSW

Interviewer

Lesley Gibbs

Collection

Agency

Yarrila Arts & Museum (YAM)

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

We support the open release of content. Text and images on this page are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, so please state "Courtesy of the City of Coffs Harbour" where you use them. If your intended use is commercial, please let us know.

Tools

Download Add to My Collection Contact us about this Citation for this item

Ethel Burley Interview

Details

IntervieweeEthel (Hamel) BurleyInterview Date17 February 1987Place RecordedCoffs Harbour-NSWDuration54m58sAccession NumberLS2020.1.105Credit LineCoffs Harbour City Council, 1988.

More Information

Description

Mrs Burley was raised on a dairy farm in Kalang and when she married they remained in the area to farm and raise their family.

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. Ethel was born 17 April 1903 at Wagga Wagga. She was the fourth child of a family of six -- The family arrived in Kalang on 4th July 1915 after a boat trip to Coffs Harbour and a coach trip inland -- A partnership on a farm with her father's stepbrother was the reason the family came to the area -- Along with dairying and pigs the brothers tried to grow cotton -- Corn was also grown and carted away by bullock team to be shipped to Sydney. The children helped in the dairy. The boys and hired help mainly worked the farm -- The children had to walk three miles to school. Every day they had to also milk sixty cows by hand. Auntie Et never tired of it, she loved every minute -- The children were taught right from wrong but it wasn't a hard life -- Everyone would make their own fun. Sometimes Bill's father would help make work fun -- The corn husking machine -- School days. The Sunday morning picnic and games with the children of the area -- Neighbours were far more sociable in those days. Be it work or play everyone took part -- Bill's father's pianola made a big difference to parties. The new people who came to the Kalang valley after the First World War -- The flu and plague after the war. The rationing of food and clothing. Diseases in cattle -- Hygiene in the dairy -- Ethel's maiden name was Hamel. Her father's stepbrother was named Quirk -- Ethel married on 12th November 1929 to Nev Burley. They had 53 years together. They met at the dances -- The Burley family were all musical. They were all self taught, they just played by ear. Nev Burley played the leaf, mainly the orange leaf. It was great fun and made lots of noise -- Abby Burley, the local farrier, was the youngest of the Burley family. The story of Madge Mitchell. A sad tale of how the young tormented an old widow at Kalang -- The flying fox 'expedition'. How they used to deal with pests -- Mainly citrus fruit was grown in the area. However, plums and apricots did do well. Mr Hamel, Ethel's father, used to supply the township with vegetables -- Bellingen used to be a very big shopping centre. How times have changed. The people Ethel believes caused the changes to the town of Bellingen. Many unknown new faces in town. Once being well known to local families everyone called Mrs Burley 'Auntie Et'. Bill Cooper has also lost contact with many people after retiring -- People who come from the city perhaps don't realise what a free and easy life we have here -- The original family stayed in the area but the children of today have to travel away to work -- Not many of the original families are left in the valley -- After the First World War some men moved "way up the top end" of Kalang. One of the only people left is Mrs Kelly. Bill and Ethel have quite a memory for the names of families who selected the area. Mr Viner was a world champion chess player. He was also a great drinker -- Harold Young was the only man they could remember who left his wife and family -- Some who thought they were a "little society" for the rest of the farmers -- The Potties, the famous vets who produced all the horse medicine, also lived at Kalang. Ethel's sister married a Pottie; another sister married Nev Burley's brother. The difficulty of keeping track of the family as the numbers increased. Ethel and Nev remained in Kalang after they married for thirty years -- The past importance of William Street, Bellingen -- How the chore of shopping was overcome in the early days. After the orders were filled and the goods delivered, storing it was the next problem. The Burleys had the first ice box and the Coopers had the first car. The flood of 1950 was the worst time. The only food to come through was brought over the mountain on horseback -- The 1921 flood caused the people at Cooks Creek to live on eggs and cucumber for a week -- The unforeseen problems with food supply. A little lie helped the children overcome the hardship -- How the farmers managed to get the cream out when there were no bridges. Mrs Saxby's rush to hospital over the mountain in 1950 -- If only the world was the same today perhaps it would be a happier place -- Even with the Depression time no one gave in, everyone just made do -- The importance of people needing to work -- Auntie Et often thinks of her grandchildren and wonders what's ahead of them.