My oldest memory is of me crawling behind the couch to hide, frightened by the sounds made by my father in one of his rages.

We lived off a dirt road on top of a hill, in a house where we fed the kookaburras on the veranda, which was closed in by windows that we could open. It turned into a disaster one day when one bird flew inside and nearly killed itself trying to get out. That was the last time we saw them.

A pastime of my brother Gary and I was peeping through the holes in the fence at the girls playing on the grounds of the school.

The elderly next-door neighbours told us they were moving. On the day, I packed my little suitcase with my teddy and proceeded to leave with them. They were kind to me, sometimes giving me chocolate and inviting me into their home when I knocked on their front door. I liked them.

My father brought some iodine home from his work to put on the ringworm that my kitten gave me. I had blue spots on my face and body until it healed.

A few months later, we moved to the bottom of the dirt road to another house, with the train line across the road. I would wake up in the middle of the night from the noise of the trains going past. Eventually I became used to it and slept through. The house was surrounded by pine trees that made an eerie whistling noise at night when the wind whipped them up, waking me up and scaring me.

My brother and I slept in the same bed. If it was too early when waking up, we would play this game called Things, which are people that are our fingers. We used the bed clothes as caves for them to hide in. I scared Gary's things, and when they jumped up in fright, his finger went into my eye. I could not see or open my eyes, and it was very painful. We had to catch the bus, travelling for about an hour to see the doctor. There was no major damage to my eye.

I hid behind the bedroom door while playing hide and seek. It was Gary's turn to find me. When he came in to look for me, he pushed the door open onto my foot, tearing my big toenail. It grew back tougher and stronger.

Our neighbours Robert and Gail, who lived behind us, were our playmates. They had an apple orchard, a dam, and two goats (one male and one female). The female gave birth to a baby. We came outside in the middle of the night to see what all the noise was about. The male goat was attacking the baby. David and Sue's father came out with a rifle, and he shot, killed, and buried the male. The female and baby goat lay on its grave for days.

They were the first in the street to buy a television, and they invited us to watch it after school. We stayed there so long that we ended up eating dinner with them. This could not continue, and of course it didn't.

The four of us kids made a go-cart out of old pram wheels and bits and pieces that we found or were given to us. We'd ride down the dirt road from the top to the bottom of the hill. It didn't last long because we ended up with too many injuries. The cart was not very well built because we did it ourselves without help from adults. We made a raft for the dam. Paddling with our hands out to the centre of the dam was no problem. When we tried to come back, it floated away into separate pieces, causing us to swim for our lives. That was our first swimming lesson. The edge of the dam was oozy and slimy, which caused me to panic, and the other kids had to encourage me to go through it. I was the last one out. The raft was as good as our go-cart.

Gary and I always walked ourselves to and from school along the great western highway for about three blocks, past the nursery and hall to the pub on the corner. Then we'd pass the newsagents, real estate, and shops; sometimes we'd order a pie for lunch at the pie shop. One morning the man couldn't take our order because he hadn't baked anything. There was a live red-belly black snake asleep in the oven, and he was too scared to go near it.

Once a week after school, I practised with this acrobatic family at the hall, learning juggling, cartwheels, and climbing up everyone to reach the top of the pyramid. I was the star on the top because I was the smallest and lightest. The praise and encouragement I received from the rest of the troop made me feel good about myself.

The hall was then used for Saturday afternoon f licks, costing two and six, which included a picture and enough money left over for a sweet. We chose a Choo Choo bar, which was a sweet, hard, flat, liquorice stick. Some of the kids played up by running around, throwing things, and yelling out. The attendant would threaten to stop the movie unless they sat down and behaved.

We were given threepence each for the plate and sent to Sunday school. After two visits, we decided it was not our thing, and we spent the money on lollies and playing in the park. Someone must have seen us and told our parents because it only lasted a couple of weeks, and then there was no more money for the plate.

While walking home from school, an old black Ford with side panels one could stand on pulled up beside us. Inside was a man and lady my parents' age, and they were dressed up to look like a grandfather and grandmother. She had butterfly waves and grey in her hair, as well as a high lace collar with a cameo brooch pinned at her neck. He wore a black suit with a starched white collar, and grey was sprayed at his temples. They were like characters in a movie. My Nan and grandma didn't dress old-fashioned, so I knew they were fake. The lady said, "If you get in the car, we'll give you some lollies."

I said very sternly, "I have a grandmother, and you're no grandmother." Then I yelled, "Run, run! Come on, Gary run!" I must have scared them because they drove off in a hurry.

Everyone in our class had a turn at being milk monitor. School children had to drink a small bottle of milk every day at little lunch break, serving a bottle to each kid from the canteen. No one liked it because it was warm, with the cream sitting on the top; it was not refrigerated because it was freshly delivered.

My choice of sport was softball. Most of the time I was sitting on the grass and waiting for my turn to bat. It was the in thing to dig up these little plants with pink f lowers on them and eat the bulb. While I was digging, I found a gold bracelet buried under the dirt. I immediately hid it in my pocket, knowing it was valuable because it...