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Alan Wright & Alice Wright Interview
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IntervieweeFrank WrightAlice (Shaw) WrightInterview Date26 February 1987Place RecordedCoffs Harbour-NSWDuration59m36sAccession NumberLS2020.1.106Credit LineCoffs Harbour City Council, 1988.
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He moved to Lismore after marrying in 1933 -- Alan's two sons have been trucking the milk to the coast for 10-12 years. He has seven children. Recollections of the hard times when father had to go out to work to keep the farm -- Red Polls were run on the farm because they were dual purpose cattle -- The war actually got them out of debt because the army was taking all the vegetables they could produce at a guaranteed price -- Mr and Mrs Wright worked the farm until they were nearly 80 -- Alice was from a family of ten. Some died of illness during childhood -- The local medical service in the early days was not of a very high standard. Home remedies were sometimes the better choice. Mrs Wright had four children, all but one were born at home. They were all breast fed and this helped them avoid childhood illness -- The children made their own fun with bottles and tools around the farm. They did not have toys bought for them -- Mrs Wright has brothers and sisters still alive. One sister, who lives in America, is 97. The horse team the family had was kept on the farm. They were used to take goods to Armidale. It was a very cold trip in the winter and sometimes took five days -- Alice used to play and dance as a child with her sisters. They went through the bush to North Dorrigo School. They learnt the 'three Rs' -- Alan played "Prisoners Base" at school. The memories of the First World War. Many Dorrigo boys went away to war -- The first buildings in Dorrigo. Pubs, blacksmith shops and joineries were the earliest -- The morse code messages before the telephone -- The ten years after the war. Good prices for produce but then the rabbit invasion. The rabbits were trapped at first and then a man named King developed a poison. The rabbits were killed in their thousands. The skins were used only at first but then a meatworks came to the town and the farmers would trap the animals for profit -- During the Depression the Wrights sold potatoes but they didn't see the money. Farmers generally managed through the hard times -- Alan was married at the age of 19 to a lady ten years his senior -- Alice has quite a large family now including six great grandchildren. They have had three family reunions that were very big turn outs. Alice's health has been fine except for a broken leg. She believes "Old age is no good to you" -- The flu epidemic after the first world war. Locals had to cope with no doctors. How peoples' attitude to life has changed over the years. The working bees and how neighbours helped one another -- The early cedar getters in the Dorrigo area. Clearing the land at Paddy's plain for the first soldier settlers. It was a hard time for city men -- The early crops of turnips and corn after the land had been dug by hand. How Dorrigo people keep warm. Alan thinks they must have been tough because he doesn't remember ever wearing socks -- The Wagga rugs are corn bags covered by pretty materials. The flour bags were used to make underpants for the girls. The wind would blow up their skirts and you would see 'Gillespie" on their backside -- Home-made bread. The recipe of home-made yeast. Rice was also an important part of the family diet -- Alice would make butter for the store at Tyringham. She had a trick for making the tastiest around -- Neighbours would share a home kill and Mr Wright would raise pigs for bacon. The Wrights are now very food conscious and attribute their good health now to raw vegetables and white meat -- The family's hair and nails were cut with a pocket-knife -- Alice was a top milker by hand. The children always learnt to milk at an early age -- The family always prided themselves on their hard work -- How the milk and cream were separated over the years. Many changes to the method.
Alan is the eldest child of Mr and Mrs Wright who have been married for 74 years. The Wrights are a hard working dairying couple who only retired a couple of years ago.
NB: Alan's registered name was Frank. He and Alice Emily Shaw married in 1913. They are buried in the Dorrigo Cemetery.
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. Mrs Wright came to Dorrigo at the age of four -- She was born in Wollongong in April 1892 -- A friend of the family encouraged her father to move to Dorrigo to farm a property there -- Mrs Wright's maiden name is Shaw -- Mr Wright came to Dorrigo when he was about 15 years old. Around about that time he started working and he "took a fancy" to Alice Shaw and they were eventually married -- The Wrights moved to Billy's Creek in 1915 but the drought of that year took its toll -- Alan who was born in 1914 and went to school in Billy's Creek in 1922 -- At the time of this interview the family was looking forward to celebrating their father's 96th birthday and a month after Mrs Wright will celebrate her 95th birthday -- There was not a building on the town site when Alice came to Dorrigo in 1895. The only store was the cattle sale yards. Supplies were brought up by pack horses or a horse team from Bellingen -- Alan's father had one of the horse teams. He also cut sleepers and was involved with dairying -- The horse teams were not easy to manage on the mountain roads -- Alan was also a dairy farmer.He moved to Lismore after marrying in 1933 -- Alan's two sons have been trucking the milk to the coast for 10-12 years. He has seven children. Recollections of the hard times when father had to go out to work to keep the farm -- Red Polls were run on the farm because they were dual purpose cattle -- The war actually got them out of debt because the army was taking all the vegetables they could produce at a guaranteed price -- Mr and Mrs Wright worked the farm until they were nearly 80 -- Alice was from a family of ten. Some died of illness during childhood -- The local medical service in the early days was not of a very high standard. Home remedies were sometimes the better choice. Mrs Wright had four children, all but one were born at home. They were all breast fed and this helped them avoid childhood illness -- The children made their own fun with bottles and tools around the farm. They did not have toys bought for them -- Mrs Wright has brothers and sisters still alive. One sister, who lives in America, is 97. The horse team the family had was kept on the farm. They were used to take goods to Armidale. It was a very cold trip in the winter and sometimes took five days -- Alice used to play and dance as a child with her sisters. They went through the bush to North Dorrigo School. They learnt the 'three Rs' -- Alan played "Prisoners Base" at school. The memories of the First World War. Many Dorrigo boys went away to war -- The first buildings in Dorrigo. Pubs, blacksmith shops and joineries were the earliest -- The morse code messages before the telephone -- The ten years after the war. Good prices for produce but then the rabbit invasion. The rabbits were trapped at first and then a man named King developed a poison. The rabbits were killed in their thousands. The skins were used only at first but then a meatworks came to the town and the farmers would trap the animals for profit -- During the Depression the Wrights sold potatoes but they didn't see the money. Farmers generally managed through the hard times -- Alan was married at the age of 19 to a lady ten years his senior -- Alice has quite a large family now including six great grandchildren. They have had three family reunions that were very big turn outs. Alice's health has been fine except for a broken leg. She believes "Old age is no good to you" -- The flu epidemic after the first world war. Locals had to cope with no doctors. How peoples' attitude to life has changed over the years. The working bees and how neighbours helped one another -- The early cedar getters in the Dorrigo area. Clearing the land at Paddy's plain for the first soldier settlers. It was a hard time for city men -- The early crops of turnips and corn after the land had been dug by hand. How Dorrigo people keep warm. Alan thinks they must have been tough because he doesn't remember ever wearing socks -- The Wagga rugs are corn bags covered by pretty materials. The flour bags were used to make underpants for the girls. The wind would blow up their skirts and you would see 'Gillespie" on their backside -- Home-made bread. The recipe of home-made yeast. Rice was also an important part of the family diet -- Alice would make butter for the store at Tyringham. She had a trick for making the tastiest around -- Neighbours would share a home kill and Mr Wright would raise pigs for bacon. The Wrights are now very food conscious and attribute their good health now to raw vegetables and white meat -- The family's hair and nails were cut with a pocket-knife -- Alice was a top milker by hand. The children always learnt to milk at an early age -- The family always prided themselves on their hard work -- How the milk and cream were separated over the years. Many changes to the method.
Classification
SubjectsChildren's needsEducatorsSchoolsSecondary schoolingChildren and educationGreat DepressionTheatres and dance hallsEntertainment and community lifeChildbirthCooking methodsCourtship and marriageHome remediesLand prices and ratesSocial issuesHome and family lifeCedar-gettersCommunity organisationsDairyingFarmersFarming techniques (agriculture)FloodsLiving off the landRural communityDancingSportCoachingEarly automobilesPower resourcesRailroadsShippingSupplies and provisionsTransport and communicationsAccidents and natural disastersNursesWorkersUrban communityAustralian Women's Land ArmyFlu (Influenza) epidemicWomen's changing roleWorld War 1World War 2LanguageEnglish
Alan Wright & Alice Wright Interview. Coffs Collections, accessed 15/06/2025, https://coffs.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/31218