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Interviewee

Charlie Buckman

Place Recorded

Coffs Harbour-NSW

Interviewer

Kerri Moss

Collection

Agency

Yarrila Arts & Museum (YAM)

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Charlie Buckman Interview

Details

IntervieweeCharlie BuckmanInterview Date24 October 1986Place RecordedCoffs Harbour-NSWDuration1h14m56sAccession NumberLS2020.1.125Credit LineCoffs Harbour City Council, 1988.

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Description

Mr Buckman was born on 22 January 1923. He was born "in a little mill house on the banks of the Kalang River, Urunga". Charlie's father had a carrying business in Coffs.

InterviewerKerri MossCollectionYAM 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. Charlie was 5 years old when he and his family moved to Coffs -- When his father came to Coffs he had a horse-drawn wagon to carry goods around the area for people -- High Street (previously Coramba Road) was a dirt and blue metal road - "very rough, very narrow and corrugated" -- "Jetty area was a very busy port" -- The Depression - "very little money". People wanted firewood from Charlie's father but often couldn't afford to pay him. Charlie had 4 sisters and 3 brothers -- Petrol rationing during World War Two -- World War Two - "Work was very scarce, money was very scarce, the father's business was owed a lot of money" -- Father went out of business and moved to Sydney. His wife and family followed within twelve months. Charlie worked at the Pier Hotel at the Jetty and decided to stay in Coffs -- The Publican was Mr Leonard Love -- Country and Western star Buddy Williams had his honeymoon at the Pier Hotel -- It was all men in the hotel - "No women in those days" -- North Coast Steamship Company brought the casks of beer to the Jetty port and Charlie's father carried them to the hotel in his cart -- The ice box to cool the beer. The first school Charlie attended was in Gordon Street - the Masonic Hall (1st and 2nd classes) --Miss Small was the teacher -- Miss Small died and all the children marched to the cemetery -- Went to the Jetty school for 3rd class and 4th class -- Charlie then went to school until the end of 2nd year of high school -- He left to help his family financially -- His favourite subjects were History and Geography -- The majority of children rode horses to school -- "I seemed to have had a bad habit of getting the cane" -- Girls also got the cane, which Charlie said "Seemed fairer". There was a bus that came from the Jetty and mainly took children to the Catholic School. This bus was nicknamed 'the chook house' -- Brelsford Park used to be a tea-tree swamp -- Owen Evans' Blacksmiths Shop -- School lunches consisted of sandwiches with dripping or golden syrup -- "The majority of children in those days, we didn't even know what shoes were" -- Charlie worked as a milk delivery boy with Mr Henry Drewry before school. He got 5 shillings per week plus a quart of milk. After leaving school, his first job was as a paperboy at Mr Henderson's Newsagency. He got paid 3 pounds per week (1937) -- He worked for Mr Ben Patterson as an apprentice builder -- Charlie's father used to carry timber for Mr Patterson. "I had no interest in going to Sydney" -- Jack and Charlie Gilbey - 'Nightsoil cart" (sanitation) -- Bob Bray had a store in Grafton Street -- Bob used to dress up as Santa at Christmas time. Louie La Crosse collected bottles and also played the accordion outside the hotel -- 'Deafy' also collected bottles and did a bit of work for Hubert Byrnes (cafe owner) - "I think sometimes he got paid with bottles of wine instead of money" -- Paddy Burke had a garage. He was the Shire Councillor in 1930 -- Paddy also had a coal-burning plant that supplied electricity for the streetlights -- Mrs Burke planted camphor laurel trees at Fitzroy Park. Social activities -- Swimming at the beach of the Old Butter Factory -- At weekends they often went pushbike riding -- Tennis court later moved -- Played polo on pushbikes -- Hiking on the Mackays Road -- Fosters subdivision or forest. Family picnics were held at Macauleys Headland -- "Old gravel pit" was the site for dangerous games -- Getting periwinkles and cooking them -- At the end of the Jetty there was a shelter shed -- Fishing in the dam and also Coffs Creek -- The reservoir at the top of the hill in Collingwood Street. It was the water supply before town water was connected -- Under the bridge in Gundagai Street "We used to catch the crayfish" -- Fishing for eels with mussels -- "Lots of little turtles". The School of Arts included dancing, concerts, balls, library and billiards -- John Gerard had pictures in the School of Arts before Tasma Theatre -- Bill Reedy was the usher -- The Memorial Hall at the Jetty -- In 1935 the grocery shop closed down and a showman, a hypnotist, took over the store temporarily -- Mr Clarrie Blackadder from Woolgoolga was hypnotised and put on public display in the store window -- There was to be a demonstration at the Fitzroy Hotel. Standard disclaimer. Visit the 'Voice of Time' web site to read or listen to the disclaimer (Internet link is below). Banana farming. Charlie's father carried banana suckers to various plantations and also carried bananas to the railhead -- 6 acres of bananas with a horse -- Sent bananas to Sydney markets. They received 5 shillings a case and to produce it cost 6 shillings a case (bushell and half case) -- The 6 acres at Bruxner Park had to be destroyed and dug out. Tram line to BAT Mill -- Resurgence of banana farming after World War Two. "Flying foxes" (cables) -- Fertilising bananas -- They didn't have plastic bags over bananas in the early times -- Avocado trees came after World War Two -- Snakes in the bananas -- Wildlife. Park Beach Station. Excursion trains from Grafton to Kempsey -- McNamara Hall -- Surf Clubhouse (1938) -- Women in the surf club - Mrs May Platts (Kerr) -- Used to train in Coffs Creek -- Access to Park Beach reserve -- Camping on the reserve at Christmas time. Swimming costumes were heavy woollen trunks for the men -- Coconut was the main suntan oil of the day -- World War Two 'call up'. Charlie first went to Maitland, training at Gunnedah in Western Australia -- They took a train trip over to Western Australia. "Allowed a cup of water per day". Perth to Broome (troops spread out so it looked like there was more of them). From Western Australia to Cairns -- Training in beach landings -- The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima -- Army surplus stores -- Charlie was discharged in 1946. He met his wife at Cooranbong -- "Threw names and addresses to girls off the back of a truck" -- They were married in June 1945 -- They came back to Coffs -- Charlie took a temporary job at the Railway Refreshment room; the job lasted for 16 years -- "We used to boast about this wonderful place called Coffs Harbour". Working at Cox Brothers -- It took 10 years to complete the house -- A cleaner at the Court House -- Dept of Civil Aviation in the maintenance section -- Gardener at Park Beach reserve, later the manager -- "Two days before Christmas 1982 I was flattened by a motor car". The future of Coffs through tourism -- Timber used to mainly be exported to New Zealand -- No other place Charlie would rather live than Coffs Harbour.