ESME
This is my mother Esme Johnson [nee Bock]. I think it's the only picture I have of her knitting. I suspect that Mum was not meant to be the main subject of this picture, that 'honour' going to Chester our cat who believed that people were for sitting on. Mother is still very much alive but Chester, alas, is not. He died a couple of years after this picture was taken.
I started My Story by saying that I learned to knit at my mother’s elbow… here’s her account of that. My mother is the genealogist in our family. And when I thought about learning to knit and sew I started remembering all these ‘scraps’ of stories about my mother and grandmother, and aunts. So the obvious thing to do was to ask the family story teller to tell the stories and she was delighted! In parts it gets a bit confusing. I initially thought to ‘undo’ those bits and do them 'properly' but have decided to leave it as is because when I read this I can hear Mum talking and she’s great to listen to – I’ll give you just a few clues that might help: My mother is Esme and her mother is Madge. My mother was born in Port Moresby and went to St Mary’s a boarding school in Herberton, North Queensland when she was 11 years old. She only went home to Moresby for the Christmas holidays. So here is mother’s story untouched.
1st April, 2,000 Learning to Knit and Sew.
As requested by my daughter. It just struck me as I wrote the date – this isn’t a leg pull is it. Well, how far back do I go?
Lets start with Madge. Her cousins Harry & Bill lost their Mother when Harry was about 2 ½ yrs and Bill 18mths so Grandma Joanna Bradshaw took them in to rear with her family. Harry was 6mths younger than Madge and evidently a bit of a scamp. He and Madge used to walk the rail inside the picket fence while Grandma was getting the evening meal ready and so not able to see them, or they would get chastised as this was forbidden. When Madge was about 7or 8 she had to sew a cross stitch border pattern in red cotton on a huckaback towel. The deadline was getting close and she was way behind time so Harry started on the other end. Lo & Behold when they both came to the middle the two sides did not fit – Harry’s bit that is and so had to be pulled out. Should have asked Madge if he was left handed.
Joanna’s youngest sister Christina was a dressmaker and she used to make a new summer and winter frock for Nell and Madge each year – one that Madge especially liked was a dark green cashmere(winter) with pin tucks down the front and a white collar.
When Walter presented Madge with their engagement ring on her 20th birthday he also gave her a "White" sewing machine. It was very timely as she had to teach her pupils at school how to use a sewing machine but first she had to learn herself how to sew a straight line. So she bought herself yards and yards of unbleached calico and made up all her sheets and pillowslips for her Glory Box. In case you young people do not know, unbleached calico when it has been bleached makes up into the nicest long wearing sheets. Later Madge made all her clothes for her trousseau.
My first memory of my sewing was when Mum offered to teach sewing to the girls at the Port Moresby State school. No special favours for me – I was just another pupil.
We did the usual sampler stitches and then the finale for the year we had to take a doll to school – we were shown how to measure them, then cut a paper pattern. The dresses were simple – round neck, circular skirt & circular sleeves. And to finish off a small embroidery design on the front of the bodice.
Then in 1932 Esme was to go to school in Herberton, Nth Qld. I don’t know how Madge got the navy trobalco needed for 3 uniforms and pants; chocolate brown box pleated to a square sleeveless yoke, with two white blouses for sports outfit; white Sunday uniform dress; new jamas, dressing gown, summer dresses and a couple of winter frocks. I almost forgot – there had to be winter jamas and dressing gown as Herberton really did get cold at night in winter. I sewed all the seams of the pants and threaded all the elastic. I can remember Mum inspecting all the joining seams of the elastic to make sure they would not come apart (at an embarrassing moment?). Mum must have had to send to Australia for all the material as B.P.’s would not have had anything like that in stock – with boats 3 weeks apart she must have had to send a telegram perhaps to Mc Donnell & Easts in Brisbane!
At school we had stocking inspection every Saturday morning. We would find our own stockings in the large baskets – oh yes I also had to sew on all the Cash’s names- which must also have had to come from Mac & E’s. If you thought your stockings or socks did not need mending you still had to have them inspected by Sister Dorothea. If there was a thin spot that YOU thought would last another wear Sister would soon put you right by poking her finger through the weak area. I very soon became a good darner as she also inspected the finished article and if it was not up to her high standard it had to be pulled out and done again. I also became a good patcher as later on elbows were wont to become thin and needed patching. One of our more robust senior girls had patches on the front of her blouses. Clothes that needed mending were put in another basket by the laundress and your name entered in a book. When your clothes and stockings/socks had been passed your name got a tick beside it. Strangely enough we did not learn embroidery or sewing at school – domestic science was not offered as a subject.
KNITTING. As I could not go home to Port Moresby except at Christmas, (boat schedules and holidays did not coincide.) Sister Margaret arranged for me to spend my first mid-winter holidays with another boarder in my class, Joan King. Like me,
Joan was an only child (yes I did have a little brother of 6 months but he wasn’t born until I was 11 years old ) Joe and Louisa King were living with Louisa’s mother, Mrs S.A.Mason and Joe was working the cane farm for her. They were very kind to me and treated me as one of the family. Just as I needed a home Joan needed a companion and we were great friends. All their large family of aunts, uncles and cousins suddenly became mine too!
Grandma Mason was appalled that I did not know how to knit so the first time we went to Cairns – the farm was at Redlynch 10to15 miles away and they had an open tourer car – we went to Mazlins drapery to choose the wool – a pale blue and fawn, 4 ply marle and the needles. I was to make a long sleeved sweater for my baby brother. It was done without a pattern, just by tape measure and Mrs Mason’s "knowhow". It was only stocking stitch with garter stitch for the borders. I was very proud because I did it all under her guidance. Took to knitting like a duck to water I did. Years later when we went to England I was making sweaters for my great nieces and nephews because Eric’s nieces could not knit – in those cold winters in England – I was dumbfounded.
When I was pregnant with Lynne my Mum decided that she had to knit you a singlet but she was NOT a knitter – she also tried to knit a pair of socks and for weeks in each letter she was "racing" down to the heel. Her Mother, Joanna on the other hand used to knit socks for soldiers inW.W.1. Mum used to hear her needles clicking in the middle of the night. Grandma would have the socks under her pillow for when she couldn’t sleep. And one month she won the Red Cross commendation for the most pairs made in one month – 30 pairs! And this was in the heat of Cairns.
But Mum had her own gift – she crocheted edges for centres and d’oyleys and her expertise was handkerchief edges done with very fine cotton and the finest of fine crochet hook. She usually carried a piece of linen, cotton and hook so that whenever she saw an edge that took her fancy she would copy a sample for future use. I can crochet but I never had Madge’s patience for very fine work.
Tatting however was beyond my skills. I just could not get the hand of it. Perhaps I did not try hard enough as I preferred knitting and crochet.
I don’t think Aunty Nell ever did crochet or knitting but she was good on the machine – nothing fancy mind you but it was amazing just how she would get the most out of a piece of material. In Port Moresby when we went to friends for morning tea we always took our latest piece to work on, as we talked after the cuppa. Aunty Bess Rogerson used to do beautiful work in white embroidery cotton on fine linen – Richelieu work it is called. She made a round cloth as the prize for the raffle at the Church of England ball on 12th July, 1940. Well, that was the night Dad & I announced our engagement as "the ring" had arrived in the mail that day and Dad gave it to me before dinner that night – it was also my father’s birthday
So the raffle was drawn at the ball by Esme Bignold ( her husband was Crown Prosecutor in the Papuan Governmentt – later to become Judge Bignold. ) He drew out the winning ticket and yes he announced my name as the winner – no it was not rigged. That tablecloth covered the round table that my wedding cake was later to sit on.
Aunty Jess Rogerson did beautiful coloured embroidery – she designed her own patterns and especially loved doing pansies. Once she embroidered two kimonos for a raffle for ?????? I must find that out again and also who won them. They would have been exquisite.Which reminds me that in 1930/1 Madge made two kimonos – her own was magenta satin, with down the back a design of chrysanthemums, embroidered in shades of pink, about 18" long. The 2nd one was for Dad’s Aunt Liz. And that was a purple satin with mauve & white shaded wistaria blossoms. And of course all my Best dresses were embroidered – one I remember had bunches of red cherries round the hem – cream linen that was. Another time she had scalloped the hem of a pink dress and in each scallop was a bunch of embroidered shaded violets. Oh yes she also used to make me matching hats – one series were like Dutch girl hats.
I can’t remember teaching you girls to sew or knit – for one thing the three of you were all left handed and for another you probably had sewing at school or perhaps you did like Topsy – just found out for yourselves.
There you are Lynne – you’ve certainly brought back a lot of beautiful memories.
Thank you , my dear. Mum.
I was intriqued when I read that Mum doesn’t remember teaching us to sew or knit. I don’t remember either!