INTERVIEWS

The majority of interviewees were children during the 1930s and remember the Depression era through recollections of family life. They grew up aware of what being unemployed meant to their parents and extended families, of going without and the struggle to make a living. Several interviewees had their schooling interrupted and were forced and go out to work to help the family make ends meet. Yet, in all but a few instances childhood is remembered as a glorious time of freedom from care, of play in the bush, of pleasure in the sea and other aspects of the landscape.

The following text and audio excerpts and are taken from some of the interviews carried out for On A Shoestring. They evoke a highly detailed and emotive picture of life during the 1930s. The complete interviews are available for loan on CD at Manly, Mosman, Pittwater and Warringah libraries. Contact information for the libraries can be found in Contacts.