Today's Golden age portraits are of two beautiful sisters... Peggy is in the grey dress.. & Betty in the navy.
MARGARET (PEGGY) Jessie Stransky born 1936 & Betty Caroline Larman born 1940
Both born in Port Kembla NSW
The ladies had a half brother from their father's previous marriage, and another Brother named Bill.
Their Dad was a Steelworker at Port Kembla Steelworks
Childhood memories had the ladies reminiscing that they were rather poor but learnt to be very resourceful. Lived next door to Port Kembla Railway Station. Fishing and blackberrying and sourcing wooden fruit boxes from the back if the fruit shop for kindling wood. Also coal that the lookout guy on the last coal wagon used to push off for us from the top of the pile. Their Mum provided amazing meals on a meagre income and a coal fired fuel stove. Port Kembla in those days was an amazing playground for us all. We came from the generation that roamed all over the place and just had to be in before dark. Our playground was Port Kembla harbour and breakwater and the most beautiful beaches, sand hills and large salt water pool. Occasionally we were lucky and got a ride on the port tug. Imagine doing that these days! Toys? What were they? We improvised. An old fence paling became a cricket bat to us and a biscuit tin the wickets.. Our high light of the week was Saturday afternoon at the pictures and sometimes we had to find and return a soft drink bottle to get the entrance fee otherwise no movies for us.
We weren't allowed to have ambitions and had to leave school at fifteen. No tertiary education for any us. Mum wanted us out in the work force so we could start paying board. Betty says, she could then start going out to a dance in Wollongong on a Saturday night to. I really liked dancing.
Peggy's First job was a Stenographer at Port Kembla Stevedoring Co.
Peggy married in 1959, Betty married in London, England in September, 1968 to an Englisman. In 1969 we travelled to Australia and settled in western Sydney.
Both the ladies had 3 children each, & both sadly lost their firstborn children.. Both daughters..
The babies were taken away without them ever seeing them, they don't even know where they were buried.. this is how still birth was handled in those days. Just broke my heart to hear they both experienced that.
Peggy ended up a single parent & worked to support herself until age 67.
She now has 3 Grandchildren and 4 Great Grandchildren (No.5 on the way)
Peggy says she has travelled extensively
Belonged to the German Ladies Choir for 7 years
Made porcelain dolls and ceramics for 9 years
Very active in my community.
I enjoy writing family stories for a future Family History Book
I relocated to Nelson Bay at the end of 2018 to be nearer family
I am a member of U3A a nationwide network of learning groups aimed at encouraging older people to share their knowledge, skills, & interests. Peggy's skill is in her writing.
She loves spending time with Great Grandchildren
Betty's first job was as a filing clerk in Australian Iron and Steel office. She hated it and soon moved on to another job in an office in Wollongong.
Betty enjoyed Reading, mostly fiction based on history and stories of the Australian outback. I liked swimming and spent a lot of time at the beach and pool. I was hopeless at other sport. I enjoyed sewing and made a lot of my own clothes. I always wanted to live in the country as I love animals and got a job as a governess on a sheep station at Brewarrina for eighteen months. My favourite job was as a bookkeeper in a travel agent in Wollongong which gave me a lot of opportunities for cheap travel. After five years I left for the UK on a working holiday.
After raising her children Betty rejoined the work force when her eldest son was seven. She started off doing temporary work and eventually got a job at a family-owned Real Estate Agent as book keeper and finally retired when she was 70.
She still lives in the same house in western Sydney that we bought in 1970.
