Growing Up In New Zealand, Part 2

Sundays We were expected to go church with the family at 11 a.m. on Sundays. We
walked there. I started with clean shoes because we had to clean our shoes on Saturdays and we weren’t allowed to shuffle in the leaves in the
autumn on the way to church, but we could shuffle in them on the way home
and my mother would do it too.

Sunday was busy because we went to Sunday School in the afternoon as well
as church in the morning. I remember when I was small swinging my short
legs and counting to while away the time during the long prayers.

However dinner on Sunday was a special meal and we always had a hot roast
meal cooked in the coal range. The roast meat and vegetables were put in
the oven before we left and we returned to an appetising smell.

We weren’t allowed to play tennis or cards on Sundays.

We were read to regularly, not just on Sundays, and I remember readings
from the Bible and “The Swiss Family Robinson”.

The Botanical Gardens

When I was small we lived near the Botanical Gardens and ‘nurse girls’ as
they were called then, (not baby sitters), were employed to look after us
in the afternoon after school. They were girls from Christchurch Girls’
High School and I now realise that they liked taking us to the Gardens as
they met boys from the Christchurch Boys’ High School which was also was
close to the city in what is now the Arts Centre. The girls would keep
the pram with them but let the rest of us run free through the extensive
gardens as long as we didn’t cross the bridge into the Hospital gardens.
We were disappointed about that as beyond the bridge there were an aviary
and squirrels. However, we could be trusted to accept the limits. The photo shows Margaret on one of these outings, wearing boots and a coat with
a velvet collar and cuffs. Her hair is worn long in the fashion of the
day.

Meals Our meals were wholesome and everything was made at home. We had a gardener who came to look after the vegetable garden and we ate home grown
food whenever possible. We were allowed to name one thing only which we
disliked and we wouldn’t have to eat that. I remember finding it hard to
choose between junket and tripe, but I named tripe as I disliked it even
more than junket. We didn’t like mince, but it was always served on Saturdays.

Saturdays inspections and chores On Saturday mornings we had our “Sergeant Major’s Inspection” when our rooms were checked by our father. Drawers and cupboards were inspected and
had to be improved if they didn’t pass the test. The girls also had to
clean silver on Saturdays, and the boys had to do the lawns. If it was
wet the boys had a day off.

Independence Times have changed tremendously with the need now for safety in traffic and
protection from strangers. We were allowed a lot more freedom. I can remember at ten years old biking from Papanui to New Brighton beach and
back in a group of three or four friends. When we had a holiday in Sumner
(another beach suburb) we were allowed to take our lunch and be out for the
day. We were allowed to go over the hill to Taylor’s Mistake, but we were
not allowed to take our ‘togs’ (bathing suits) there because the beach was
not as safe. Otherwise there were no restrictions placed on us.

Budgeting Quite early in our lives we were given an allowance and with it we had to
service our bicycles, pay for our photography and trips to the pictures,
but our clothing was provided, unless we wanted something extra and special. I saved for weeks to buy a pair of silk stockings. This was good
training in budgeting and served us well as we got older.

Films The films we went to were silent films at first, followed by the ‘talkies’
– many of them trial scenes. We liked going to the Crystal Palace because
it had such a good orchestra.

Transport My father was an ear, nose and throat specialist, and rode a bicycle to
his consulting rooms and to the hospital to perform surgery.

Our family’s first car was bought in about 1921. It was a Nash with a soft
top and side curtains. I began driving at fifteen and got my licence at
seventeen, which was very unusual. None of my girl friends drove their
fathers’ cars. I took my mother to tennis and to meetings.

At other times we travelled by tram. When we lived in Riccarton we would
get off the tram one stop before our street at the end of the section and
walk the extra distance because it was cheaper. We had learnt our budgeting lesson well.

Clothes My first school was the local school but when I was eight I was sent to a
private school called Rangi Ruru. We wore uniform to school at Rangi Ruru
and had to change into other clothes as soon as we arrived home. The winter uniform was a blue flannel dress with a large white collar. There
was cooler dress for summer. Once we reached our teens many girls wore
corsets or corselets under their uniforms to keep their figure in trim.
Hats and gloves were compulsory on the street.

We had a set of best clothes for Sundays and special occasions and always
wore a hat to church.

I had fine hair which was worn long until it was cut when I turned sixteen.

Sport At Rangi Ruru we had drill, mainly marching, with Captain Farthing. That
was unusual. We played tennis and netball and also hockey for which I was
in the A team. The problem with hockey was that it was played in very few
schools and it was hard to arrange matches against other schools except
Cathedral Grammar which was a boys’ school, and Christchurch and Avonside
Girls’ High Schools.

I really enjoyed swimming and lifesaving. From October to April we went to
the Teps (Municipal Tepid Baths) used by many schools. Along the side were
separate cubicles where we changed in privacy. After swimming we had to
walk fast back to school in a croc (crocodile) to get warm.

For swimming we wore navy blue knee-length baggy costumes with a supporting
bra like a camisole.

Equality My father grew up with six sisters and believed that girls and boys should
be treated alike at home, so my sister and I were always allowed to join in
family discussions. I believe I was very fortunate in my upbringing. as I
had security, but a good measure of freedom.

Margaret Thompson (nee Whetter) – born 1913

As a child I always knew what was expected of me. My parents set standards
for us and expected us to grow up with a sense of responsibility.

My parents My parents came to New Zealand from Britain as my father who was a general
practitioner had the opportunity of going into partnership with his cousin
who was a doctor in Christchurch.

My mother was a very systematic person and felt that the household should
be well managed, especially as the surgery was at the house. She had help
in the house from the beginning. My father thought that she must have help
as she had come from a family where there was domestic help. She took loving care of the family, especially nursing the children when they were
ill.

World War 1 My father served in World War I with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
because he had qualified in medicine in Edinburgh. I remember his return
from the war – someone I knew only by name and by photograph. I used to
put a little vase of mignonette beside his photograph.

The influenza epidemic Soon after his return he was frantically busy as New Zealanders were hit by
the influenza epidemic. Kempthorne and Prosser regularly sent supplies of
medicines to the surgery. During the epidemic my mother had aspirins to
give to people who came to the door and said they were ill.

The house and consulting rooms We lived near Latimer Square which was a medical precinct at that time.
If patients were members of a charitable Lodge they paid no more than half
a crown for their visit, but private patients paid five shillings. My mother always kept half crowns and other change in her desk in case patients did not have change. My father did not have a nurse or a receptionist.

My father gave anaesthetics when his cousin performed surgery.

Domestic help We always had two maids, one who lived in and one who came by the day to do
the cleaning. The live-in maid was always called Miss Rix, as my mother
did not like the use of Christian names. She had her own room and had her
bath in a deep bath in the washhouse.

We would put out our shoes for her to clean until we had fashion shoes of
different colours – black, brown and navy blue. We cleaned these ourselves.

Meals were cooked at home, with the main meal midday. My father would often
be called out in the night, so he would be given a cooked breakfast in bed.
We had to eat a little of everything, even what we disliked.

I was not expected to do any work in the kitchen and learnt to cook only in
the two weeks before I was married.

Clothes Our outer clothes were bought at Ballantynes and our underwear was made by
a dressmaker who came to the house.

Education I started school at a state school. When I was ten we went to England for
me to meet our relatives, and then I attended Rangi Ruru private school and
my last two years were as a boarder at Columba College in Dunedin. I enjoyed this experience, especially the extra emphasis placed on music, as
I had learnt and enjoyed playing the piano from quite a young age.

At Rangi Ruru I learnt ballroom dancing. The house, built for the Hon.
Tahu Rhodes, had a sprung floor in the ballroom. The dancing teacher played the violin to provide music, and whacked us around the legs with the
bow if we made a mistake.

Outdoor enjoyment My mother was a great walker and took us walking on the Cashmere Hills or
in the Botanical Gardens or on the beach at Sumner every Saturday. We used
to play croquet on a croquet lawn at the back of the house. In the evenings or holidays we played charades and card games and table tennis.

Driving My father did not like driving. He employed a man to care for the car and
wash and polish it every day. He wore a white coat in his role as chauffeur.

“At Homes” On the third Friday of the month my mother held her “At Home” which meant
that friends knew she would be expecting to entertain people to afternoon
tea and they could come without a specific invitation.

When my mother called on anyone she would leave one of her own visiting
cards and two of her husband’s, as was the custom. She carried these in a
special case. A silver tray was placed in the hall to receive the cards.
Receiving them was a mark of acceptance in a social group.

Looking back I had a very pleasant and comfortable home as I grew up. There was a warm
relationship between my parents which meant we had a happy home.