Letters Sent Home by an Edwardian Gentleman 1913
Postal problems, Federal Election day, hard to find servants, life at Ballandool station, social gossip from England.
Ballandool**
Goodooga
N.S.W.
June 3rd 1913
My Dear Mother
No letter from you yet, but suppose an Eng. mail may arrive this week. It takes 10 days for a letter from Melbourne to here as far as I can make out; one written from there 21st May I got 31st! One could write from Ireland to New York & get a reply in that time. I can’t grasp mail service here & don’t try, it seems to come and go any time, any way & normally twice a week, so just expect a letter when you get it.
Last Sat. was Federal Election day & everyone except myself & the cook went in to vote at a little township 11 miles from here; have not heard result of elections yet, station people seem to take no interest in politics, anyway about here; I’m most keen to know if the Labour Govt. have been defeated, I fear not, but one can’t say. Papers we get here are from 6 to 8 or 10 days old, so it is no use being too excited; I must try & get news by telephone this evening.
The ???keeper had to go off to Angledool, 25 miles, this morng. to bring back a trap a man drove in from here Sat. to fetch out a Chinese cook, they got a wire this morng. to say man on the spree [? Slang for on the drink?] , cook won’t come. These men generally go on a howling drunk [sic] when they go to any township & will be dead to the world for a week, so ?????? will let him walk back.
It is awfully hard to get a cook or any other servant, cook gets 35/- to £2 a week fancy, & hard to get at that. 2 maids, cook & house & parlour maid left day I arrived, a carpenter does cooking now, not at all bad & we all help washing & the governess is a very good sort & sweeps & helps a lot & cooks good puddings, but alas she goes on Sunday does not quite hit it off with Aileen I think.
That is the worst of this country, servant & general labour worry, it is perpetual, if it were not for that it would be a good enough country to live in.
Boundary riders get 25/- a week & food & nothing to do but ride about after sheep.
Glorious weather, cold nights & warm days. Sat. was cold & cloudy, but such days are quite the exception.
I see in last Daily Graphic a photo of Lord Petre’s fiancée, Mifs [sic] Boscawen, fine eyes, dark looking girl, is she R.C. extraordinary a Lord Petre* marrying anything else!! He must be very young. Saw a picture of Norah ???? in Tatler the other day at some point to point races, looking very smart; is it quite off & over with her admirer of last year.
A bottle of eye lotion I ordered in Melbourne a fortnight ago today to be sent here by post I have not got yet!! The roads have been awful lately & 100 miles of ???? bog to drive through certainly presents some excuses. Travelling out in these back block areas is no pleasure, it is either dust or mud. I fancy I shall be here till end month.
Mornings are very fresh & Queensland houses are certainly not built for cold weather, cracks in floor, windows & doors never fit & the cold morng. air rushes at one from fifteen different directions, a hot cup of morng. tea goes well, Aileen generally brings it to me about 7a.m. or little after.
June 4th
Yours of April 24th from Coughton [Court, Warwickshire, England] arrived last night & 2 I[Irish] Times. Glad you found all well at C [Coughton] but why don’t you stay longer, seems a very short visit. Hope you stay a fortnight at Exton [Exton Park]. So glad U. W. [Uncle Will] is so well, but John seems poorly. Letter from Angie. Delighted to hear of Wulstan’s [?] engagement, I believe a Vaughan is very nice, how very perfect marrying a Vaughan, makes up for Mowbray’s marriage, Wulstan must be doing well, as of course she has not got a cent; no doubt they will live at Malvern, but will be much missed at Foxcote. Pity you did not go to Foxcote.
How curious Annie Throck [Throckmorton] marrying a Leinster Fitzgerald who is an R.C. & why does she marry one when there are thousands of men of her own persuasion; it is a funny world & hard to understand the way things go. Funny about Hatford match, but suppose it will be all smoothed over in time & they will be married, she is very rich is she not, will they live at Rugby.
Very glad to hear Florence is so much better. I believe a mail goes today taken by a man who is going in search of a cook. Water in bath very cold a.m. just had one, hands cold & once sun gets going then it is glorious. Lovely sunsets.
Busy shearing & one is able to help a bit with sheep work. Thank you for Ireland Illustrated which I got last mail; I got your letter yesterday fortnight in Melbourne, but papers I had directed on here & got them 10 days later. I suppose this will go sometime this week.
Best love
Yr. affect. son
Arthur
*Captain Lionel George Carroll, 16th Lord Petre , 3 November 1890 – 30 September 1915, died from wounds received at the Battle of Loos.
** The Advertiser 10th October 1910 "The Ballandool grazing property, near Goodooga, containing 70,000 acres, together with 24,000 sheep and 60 horses, has been bought by Mr. E. Jowett"
Goodooga
N.S.W.
June 3rd 1913
My Dear Mother
No letter from you yet, but suppose an Eng. mail may arrive this week. It takes 10 days for a letter from Melbourne to here as far as I can make out; one written from there 21st May I got 31st! One could write from Ireland to New York & get a reply in that time. I can’t grasp mail service here & don’t try, it seems to come and go any time, any way & normally twice a week, so just expect a letter when you get it.
Last Sat. was Federal Election day & everyone except myself & the cook went in to vote at a little township 11 miles from here; have not heard result of elections yet, station people seem to take no interest in politics, anyway about here; I’m most keen to know if the Labour Govt. have been defeated, I fear not, but one can’t say. Papers we get here are from 6 to 8 or 10 days old, so it is no use being too excited; I must try & get news by telephone this evening.
The ???keeper had to go off to Angledool, 25 miles, this morng. to bring back a trap a man drove in from here Sat. to fetch out a Chinese cook, they got a wire this morng. to say man on the spree [? Slang for on the drink?] , cook won’t come. These men generally go on a howling drunk [sic] when they go to any township & will be dead to the world for a week, so ?????? will let him walk back.
It is awfully hard to get a cook or any other servant, cook gets 35/- to £2 a week fancy, & hard to get at that. 2 maids, cook & house & parlour maid left day I arrived, a carpenter does cooking now, not at all bad & we all help washing & the governess is a very good sort & sweeps & helps a lot & cooks good puddings, but alas she goes on Sunday does not quite hit it off with Aileen I think.
That is the worst of this country, servant & general labour worry, it is perpetual, if it were not for that it would be a good enough country to live in.
Boundary riders get 25/- a week & food & nothing to do but ride about after sheep.
Glorious weather, cold nights & warm days. Sat. was cold & cloudy, but such days are quite the exception.
I see in last Daily Graphic a photo of Lord Petre’s fiancée, Mifs [sic] Boscawen, fine eyes, dark looking girl, is she R.C. extraordinary a Lord Petre* marrying anything else!! He must be very young. Saw a picture of Norah ???? in Tatler the other day at some point to point races, looking very smart; is it quite off & over with her admirer of last year.
A bottle of eye lotion I ordered in Melbourne a fortnight ago today to be sent here by post I have not got yet!! The roads have been awful lately & 100 miles of ???? bog to drive through certainly presents some excuses. Travelling out in these back block areas is no pleasure, it is either dust or mud. I fancy I shall be here till end month.
Mornings are very fresh & Queensland houses are certainly not built for cold weather, cracks in floor, windows & doors never fit & the cold morng. air rushes at one from fifteen different directions, a hot cup of morng. tea goes well, Aileen generally brings it to me about 7a.m. or little after.
June 4th
Yours of April 24th from Coughton [Court, Warwickshire, England] arrived last night & 2 I[Irish] Times. Glad you found all well at C [Coughton] but why don’t you stay longer, seems a very short visit. Hope you stay a fortnight at Exton [Exton Park]. So glad U. W. [Uncle Will] is so well, but John seems poorly. Letter from Angie. Delighted to hear of Wulstan’s [?] engagement, I believe a Vaughan is very nice, how very perfect marrying a Vaughan, makes up for Mowbray’s marriage, Wulstan must be doing well, as of course she has not got a cent; no doubt they will live at Malvern, but will be much missed at Foxcote. Pity you did not go to Foxcote.
How curious Annie Throck [Throckmorton] marrying a Leinster Fitzgerald who is an R.C. & why does she marry one when there are thousands of men of her own persuasion; it is a funny world & hard to understand the way things go. Funny about Hatford match, but suppose it will be all smoothed over in time & they will be married, she is very rich is she not, will they live at Rugby.
Very glad to hear Florence is so much better. I believe a mail goes today taken by a man who is going in search of a cook. Water in bath very cold a.m. just had one, hands cold & once sun gets going then it is glorious. Lovely sunsets.
Busy shearing & one is able to help a bit with sheep work. Thank you for Ireland Illustrated which I got last mail; I got your letter yesterday fortnight in Melbourne, but papers I had directed on here & got them 10 days later. I suppose this will go sometime this week.
Best love
Yr. affect. son
Arthur
*Captain Lionel George Carroll, 16th Lord Petre , 3 November 1890 – 30 September 1915, died from wounds received at the Battle of Loos.
** The Advertiser 10th October 1910 "The Ballandool grazing property, near Goodooga, containing 70,000 acres, together with 24,000 sheep and 60 horses, has been bought by Mr. E. Jowett"