Australia Four - Text
Male, born in Southeast Queensland. Talks about the house he grew up in. He also revisits his earliest memories of school. Interviewed by Kate Foy and edited by Andrew Troedson. Running time 00:03:07
Transcription of Unscripted Speech
Okay I g.. um I grew up in Brisbane, in *south-east Queensland. *I lived in the same house with my family most of my life. Um my family had bought a house at the suburb of Bardon um which was a small worker's cottage. *And we basically lived there in in two rooms and *a sleep-out. Um as the family grew up and as we got older we eventually did more work to the house so that we had *a comfortable place to live. *It very quickly grew into a large house, from a small home into a large house, um where we had many people would come and visit. *Friends and f.. and other family members were always welcome and quite often stayed and slep.. slept over, and *spent a lot of good times with many people in the house. *I I went to school *about a kilometre away from home, which which was Ashgrove State School. *It wasn't a huge school. Um there was an old two-storey brick building *in the shape of E, which I think was in the times when Prince Edward or or one of the royalty *was around and that's how they they designed their buildings. Um *my first memmory of school was *turning up on on the first day and I have a twin brother and we got divided into different classes and we just quite happily went into our classes. I found *a fellow on the floor and we just started playing a game. *I think it might have just been building-blocks. And we did that for probably half an hour until all the parents left and they had their their emotional times leaving their children alone for the first time. And *then the teachers took us and *just started doing class with us. Um my first theatrical experience was in that same class. *We were in Grade One or Two with the same group of people, and we were doing an Australian Christmas story, and the the role I had to play was a was a little kangaroo joey. I recall having to wear *a friend's little dancing-leotard and stockings with a with a stocking-tail stuffed with paper. Um so I looked like *a kangaroo and little ears um stuffed on my head. I don't really recall what the the production was about apart from *a Christmas theme. Um but I remember having to hide under a table until Santa came out and then I was like a the the rainbow, or the Australian version of the kangaroo, um escorting Santa *around, giving gifts out. So it was quite an enjoyable experience even though it was quite a few years ago.
Transcribed by Kevin Flynn
[* = vocalic pause]