Menu
Becoming A City: Growing Up
Children in Country Areas
Like their counterparts who lived in the town, most country children attended a local school but they often had to travel large distances each day. A pony paddock was an important part of the school property - a place where children could let their pony loose to graze while they were in classroom.
Many local farms were dairy farms, and children had to help milk the cows before school. At harvest time, older children were often kept home from school to help bring in the crops.
A Plea for Children on the Farm
Part of a letter to the editor by J. S. Moller of Teviotville, Queensland Times, October 1918.
Compare the life of a farmer's boy (or girl) with that of any other child.
From the time he is up - mostly at sunrise - until it is time to leave for school, where he often arrives at the last moment, he is kept on the run.
School over, he must not loiter on the way home for again, the same monotonous drudgery is to be gone through.
When other boys are returning home from a game of cricket or a swim, Weary Willie is wending his way with bucket and can to the milking yard, later on to the separator and then back again to feed the poddies (calves).
By the time the full moon is well over the treetops, Willie's work is done. He often falls asleep over the tea table only to be roused with "wake up boy and get your school lessons done and get away to bed."
Then Saturday come, but instead of having a day off, Willie must "mind the cows on the green stuff' and "give a hand at picking corn " etc. Well, Sunday comes at last and there is at least a few hours respite but if he goes to visit a school mate, the parting words that reach his
ears as he closes the gate are "Be home for milking."Who does not know the story of the visit of the Minister for Education to a farming district out west where holidays are few and far between. The Minister, thinking to confer a favour, asked "Hands up who'd like a holiday tomorrow?"
No response.
" Well , who'd rather come to school tomorrow?"
Every hand shot up.
"Why, how is this?"
" Too much work to do at home," came the response.
