taggerty

At age 11, in about 1919, Harold was sent off to school as a weekly boarder. In his May 1919 report for “Form VA” at Camberwell Grammar he ranked 26 out of 33 students.  While his conduct is “excellent”, he is “painstaking and rather slow in his work”. The Principal kindly points out that he is the youngest boy in the class, and says that “with experience he should take a higher place”.  Harold found boarding school very challenging at first. By 1921 he was at Grimwade House, the junior school of Melbourne Grammar. Here he met his lifelong friend Stirling Robertson (Sturdie) Oldham who became another regular visitor at Carron Vale. In the photo below they are standing shoulder to shoulder among the Grimwade House boarders in 1921, aged about 14.  At first, Sturdie was the taller of the two.

Undated letter from Harold on Melbourne Grammar notepaper:

Dear Mummy,

When I arrived at school this morning I found that all the boys who had not had mumps were quarantined for three weeks, so I had to join them. We are allowed to go home for the week ends if our parents can get us home with out going on trams or trains or coming into contact with other people. However Mr. Franklin does not think I ought to go home for the first week end as we are most infectious at about that time. Will you please send down my tennis racquet, and ask Daddie if he can pick out our mashie and a couple of golf balls to send down also. We do about five hours school a day in the Wadhurst dining room. I hope you will be able to get them out here as there is not much to do in our spare time and most of the other boys have got clubs.

With much love from your loving son, Harold.

On the back of the letter are the signatures of all the boys in quarantine. Harold’s signature there is similar to the adult version, but rather more legible than the scrawl which inspired his later nickname.

By 1922, Peg was also a weekly boarder, at Fintona. Years later, HAP still loved to belt out their respective rousing school songs. The Melbourne Grammar song, to “Men of Harlech” seemed to have a verse for each sport and the chorus went:

“None our ranks shall sunder (boom boom)
Who would shirk or blunder? (boom boom)
If all are true who are dark blue our foemen must go under (boom boom)
Honour ye the old School’s story, those who played and won before ye
Bear the dark blue flag to glory
Grammar to the fore!”

The chorus of the Fintona song, to “Marching through Georgia” went:

“Hurrah! Hurrah! Fintonians are we
Hurrah! Hurrah! Right loyal must we be;
For the honour of our school depends on you and me
 “Age Quod Agis” forever!”

 Except Harold liked to sing Peg’s school motto as “The Age and the Argus forever”.  James remembers HAP once remarking, rather unkindly “the collective screech of hundreds of schoolgirls belting it out was truly one of the great horrors of the twentieth century”.  On the plus side, in order to hear it, at least he must have been at his sister’s speech day!

Here are “Princess Peg” and “Bonnie Prince Harley” in about 1923, aged about 13 and 15

Gwen had vivid memories of her first stay at Carron Vale in 1922 when she was 4. Her own mother Annie, who Gwen describes as tending to be “a decorative invalid like Connie”, was supposed to be dying, so little Gwen was packed off to the Beattys. Gwen’s cousins Peg and Harold, presumably like her own older siblings Ruth and Geoff, were at boarding school and only came home at weekends. Gwen was terribly homesick, and remembered praying desperately for her mother every night. Her Aunt Connie was kind to her, and Gwen remembered that Con promised her a hapenny per dozen for all the flies she could catch. Running around with a fly swat at age 4 took her mind off her anxieties, and Gwen considered it quite astute of Con to assign this task “because, of course, it was teaching me to count”. Every night Gwen would go to say goodnight to Con in the “sort of sitting room that she had off her bedroom which was kept quiet” Behind the door there was a shelf with a box of chocolates and as a special treat, last thing before she went to bed, Gwen was allowed to pick one.

On a similar visit a couple of years later Gwen remembered “Mrs. Jolly the cook  had a daughter who was mentally defective, and I bet Con sixpence I could teach her up to “H” of the alphabet. I spent ages at age 6 or 7, day after day, sitting under the apple tree working out devices to teach her, but she never progressed beyond “C”. She was so good natured”.Gwen described the Carron Vale household at the time as consisting of a housemaid; Mrs. Jolly the cook; Ada Wadelton and Hilda Forster as well as Con and (in the evenings) Archie. They always had a man on the farm who’d milk the cows and do the general farming. At this stage it was Hogan, who used to sing a song about Hilda:

My name is Miss ‘Ilda, I live on an ‘ill
And if I’m not dead I’ll be living there still”

 Every weekday morning Archie would catch the train into town, and Hogan usually, would drive him to Mooroolbark Station in a jinker described by HAP as “the Carron Vale cab”. When Gwen was there, her great joy was getting through her breakfast in time to go with Uncle Archie, and then on the way back, “Hogan would let me hold the reins”.  Apparently Hilda was quite strict though, and if Gwen hadn’t finished breakfast in time she couldn’t go. In the evening they would go back at about half past six to retrieve Archie from the returning train.

Gwen remembered that they had a nine hole golf course at Carron Vale as well as a tennis court, and every weekend Harold and Peg would come home, and Gordon and Stan and various other people would come up to stay. She said “My great role, how I fitted in at a small age, was that I was allowed to retrieve the tennis balls when they came over the big fence”

About 1922 there was another Anglesea holiday with the Blairs. A family friend, Charles Copp must have taken a camera, and made an album of the photos with witty annotations which he gave Peg for her next birthday. [Click on the photos to enlarge]

There are also photos of Archie with three of his friends, presumably Charles Copp, Lynn Kirk, and maybe Pip Powell? on what looks like a blokes only trip with fishing and shooting, through Gippsland to Marlo. Lynn is at the wheel, so maybe they went in his car?

In about 1923 and 1924 Peg’s closest friends at Fintona were Marjorie Hansen, Betty Hughston and Kathleen Short. Betty Hughston, who was the niece of Miss Annie Hughston the founding headmistress of Fintona, was Harold’s first girlfriend.

Marjorie Hansen was another early girlfriend of Harold’s. I wonder how the boys managed for girlfriends who didn’t have a sister conveniently two years younger with lots of friends?

In the late 1960’s I was with HAP when we called in on Winifred, long married and with a grown up daughter. HAP just couldn’t resist reminiscing “Do you remember when we tried to kiss under water?” he asked her “Oh Harold! That was years ago” she smiled.

Swimming, with or without underwater kissing seems to have been almost as popular an activity as tennis. Apart from the regular beach holidays, they used to visit the Lilydale baths, and a neighbouring property, Tiverton, apparently had a large dam.

In April 1924 to January 1925 Hilda was away on a trip to far Western Queensland, staying with the Friths at Baneda station, where an old friend was due to have a baby.  Hilda seems to have had a great time, pulling bogged sheep out of muddy dams, watching horse-breaking, pitching in making puddings, cakes and bread when the cook and her husband suddenly walked out, then reporting to Peg a couple of letters later: ”We got a new married couple on Saturday so we are all able to sit back now and do nothing like ladies”. She went for rides with the young men of the family, went to parties and dances and socialised with the families of neighbouring stations. She writes that she and Harry Frith are becoming great pals “He comes into my room every night and sits on my bed and yarns until I get sleepy and send him to bed”. She is excited to see a “native bear”, and describes some aborigines she saw. Evidently 15 year old Peg expressed reservations about her Aunt Hilda’s outback social whirl, because Hilda writes to her:

 “Thanks for your good advice about not ‘excepting’ any proposals in a hurry. There haven’t been any young men hurrying along to propose yet, but when they do?? I’ll think of you & count ten before I answer. I think though Peg I’m going to be an old maid & then when your best belovedest comes along & you get married praps you’d like me to come and live with you and bring up those twelve children you’re going to have”.

Back at Carron Vale, Harold evidently brought a different boy home from School, because Hilda asks Peg if Paul Haege is as nice as Sturdie. She also asks anxiously after Stymie who is evidently getting old now. Also there’s a carnival at Mooroolbark where, according to the news report headed “A splendid outing”:  “Miss Winifred Blair and Miss P. Beatty attracted many purchasers to the bran dip”; “Cakes were disposed of by… Miss Wadleton” and “Mr A. Beatty the president [of the organizing committee] was providing that which is so often neglected, but makes all the difference to the popularity of a gathering, the attention and comfort of the visitors. Mr. Beatty does this well… for he is an excellent host.”

The artist Blamire Young was a neighbour who at one local fete donated a beautifully framed watercolour landscape painting to be raffled. Archie was disappointed to hear he had missed out on it. On hearing that the local butcher was the new owner of the painting he fixed this by saying to Harold “Run down and offer him 10 quid for it would you?”

Here are a few more photos of life at Carron Vale in the mid 1920s.

On 14^th August 1924 Peg was confirmed at St. Martin’s Church, Camberwell. The Fintona resident house mistress wrote this letter about it to Con:

“Fintona” P.G.G.S.,
Camberwell

 My Dear Mrs. Beatty,

 Your sweet letter just made me feel ever so sad and yet happy to know that you would ask me to pray for Peggy – indeed she will always have my prayers. We had a most beautiful service last night. The Archbishop was wonderful and yet so simple I am sure Peggy thoroughly understood him and will tell you all he said. I have never seen any girl look more saint-like than your little Peggy and with her sweet reverence she really looked a picture. I just felt sick at heart that you could not be with her. I do so feel for you Mrs. Beatty.

Miss Macdonald has arranged with Mr. Schofield that the girls take their first Communion on Sunday & he understands that Peg will not be able to be down. Miss Macdonald and I agree that it would not be fair to our girls next Saturday as they have the School play the night before and that means midnight before they get to bed & so we would not be able to have any preparation whatever. I do hope Peggy will be able to stay one weekend next term. I always feel it a great privilege to be allowed to be responsible for our girls & their Communion – we go regularly once a month.

I’m afraid Peggy’s cold suffered a bit this last night – it was a shockingly cold night. She wore three woolen singlets & two pairs of stockings, but she hasn’t been a bit well today & her cold seems so heavy. I am glad she is going up to you today. We stopped all exercise for the week & she has had a cup of tea each morning before getting up – her courses did come on on Wednesday & I suppose that has helped to make her feel seedy. I do hope the week-end will pick her up & that she will be with us again on Monday. She is a dear, sweet little soul. I truly love her.

I am hoping to come up to you very soon. Gladys is expecting a little one at the end of this month so I must not go away even for a day till that is over. I know you will understand Mrs. Beatty.

With my fondest love,
Ever yours sincerely,
Vera Peters

 Another glimpse into Peg’s school life is provided by this note which Vera Peters evidently passed on to Con:

“Fintona”,
Burke Rd.
Camberwell
19.3.25

 Dear Miss Peters,

The front cubicle girls will be very pleased if you will come to Peggy’s birthday party to be held in front cubes at 12 PM on Wednesday next.

Maidie James, Kathleen Short, Evelyn Sloss, Jean Hawthorne, Nellie Atkins

 PS Strict secrecy is requested

 RSVP

I wonder from whom it was to be kept secret since the House Mistress is invited to this midnight feast?!