Thread: I can remember when..........

Originally Posted by numpty

1969, Sydney, as a first year apprentice Fitter/Machinist, weekly wage was $17.52..............and I paid tax on that.

You try telling kids of today that and they wont believe you.

I still have a pay slip from 1959, second year apprentice, gross for a fortnight $31.32. A good bit of overtime in that plus "bonus" of $2.50. I can't remember what that was for. First year wage was about $8.50 weekly. The first of my primary school mates to start an apprenticeship was as a boilermaker and pay was $5.50 weekly in 1955. He says he gave his mother $2.50 for board and it cost 70 cents tram fares to and from work. After tax he had about $2 left and his mother made him bank fifty cents of that..

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

I still have a pay slip from 1959, second year apprentice, gross for a fortnight $31.32. A good bit of overtime in that plus "bonus" of $2.50. I can't remember what that was for. First year wage was about $8.50 weekly. The first of my primary school mates to start an apprenticeship was as a boilermaker and pay was $5.50 weekly in 1955. He says he gave his mother $2.50 for board and it cost 70 cents tram fares to and from work. After tax he had about $2 left and his mother made him bank fifty cents of that..

I can remember earning 3 pounds a week in my first job and having to hand over two quid for the family. Used to walk to work to save having to pay bus fares out of my remaining pound. Thought I was on a fortune when I joined the Royal Navy at 16 and earned the princely sum of 14 pounds a fortnight. Those were the days....

$16.87 after tax. $6 board, $5 in the bank, the rest was train/bus fares and of course spending money

I remember when we had to lick ta road clean with out tongues and da would beat us to death each night afore we went ta bed in the lake.
But seriously we still got caned at school when i went through Grammar in the 80's. The masters drank spirits in their lounge during lunch break as well. Might have changed a bit now though. I remember one of the kids getting knocked off his feet with the biggest bible i have ever seen whacked into the side of his head by the headmaster Mr Howell.

Originally Posted by Numpty's Missus

I know Qld is 20yrs behind the rest of Australia but it was still a shock to me to hear friends of my age telling me they used chalk and slate at school

I've never even seen a chalk & slate
so you can tell I never went to school in Qld

Nor me, you must know some really old folk!

Originally Posted by Numpty's Missus

and walk socks and teachers always stuck their pens down the sides of their walk socks

Oh dear god! I only just had a teacher last year in my final year of schooling who STILL put his pen down the side of his "Work Socks"

Originally Posted by Numpty's Missus

I know Qld is 20yrs behind the rest of Australia but it was still a shock to me to hear friends of my age telling me they used chalk and slate at school

I've never even seen a chalk & slate
so you can tell I never went to school in Qld

Might have been an individual school thing. I went to a large inner suburban primary school and it only used slates in Grade 1, up until 1950. Also went to Winton State School and don't remember slates there at all. The old Qld school desks had a slot in the front of each position for the slate to be stowed. Also had a semi-round groove for pencils and a hole for an inkwell, and a book shelf underneath. It was not considered funny by teachers to stick the plaits of a girl in front into the inkwell. We had some great long desks and forms that took six kids all in a row.

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Might have been an individual school thing. I went to a large inner suburban primary school and it only used slates in Grade 1, up until 1950. Also went to Winton State School and don't remember slates there at all. The old Qld school desks had a slot in the front of each position for the slate to be stowed. Also had a semi-round groove for pencils and a hole for an inkwell, and a book shelf underneath. It was not considered funny by teachers to stick the plaits of a girl in front into the inkwell. We had some great long desks and forms that took six kids all in a row.

1950!

My parents hadn't even met as they were at different schools.