‘Garry and Raymond, where do you think you’re goin? Get back here and say hello to your Auntie and give her a kiss. How dare you walk past your Auntie like that?’
At that moment we’d wish we hadn’t tried to sneak past Aunty Joansie. We were going to get in so much trouble if Granny found out we tried to ignore Aunty.
Aunt Joansie was a Mudigan woman from the Quilpie area and was married to my uncle Natty Mitchell, Granny Martin’s younger brother.
Ray and I were returning home to Cooladdi after spending six weeks at Torquay’s Bush Children’s camp. We could hear Auntie Joansy talking loudly and immediately we knew we had to try and hide from her and get on the Flee before she saw us.
First the Sun Lander from Maryborough to Brisbane, and then the West Lander to Charleville, and finally the Flying Flee to Cooladdi. We thought we were safely passed her, but we still worried because she had a keen eye and was well aware of who was coming and going regardless of the big crowd gathered on the platform. Train travel was the most practical means of transportation back in the 60s and it wasn’t uncommon to see crowds of people waiting for family and friends to arrive at the railway stations.
We knew Aunt would want to give us a kiss, and of course being young boys we thought how embarrassing that would be and especially in front of all those people looking on, so naturally we tried to sneak past her.
Dear old aunt was a loving and caring person who thought the world of us kids, and to discover that me and Ray were hiding from her would upset her deeply and I’m so glad that Sarah Ann, Aunt’s daughter, was there to calm her down as she can become quite boisterous sometimes.
I think we were forgiven for our disrespectful behaviour that day because Granny never said anything to us about what happened.
Garry Sonny Martin 