The Gap Historical Society

The Gap Historical Society Inc.

Est. 2000

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn’t just how you like it, think back to how things used to be.

Here are some interesting facts about the 1500’s :-

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying: Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.

Houses had thatched roofs – thick straw – piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying: It’s raining cats and dogs.

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That’s how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying: Dirt Poor.

The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying: Thresh Hold. (Getting quite an education, aren’t you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and start over the next day. Sometime stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man “Could bring home the bacon”. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and “chew the fat”.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach into the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle and guests got the top: or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and see if they would wake up. Hence: the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and re-use the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realised they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus someone could be “saved by the bell” or was considered “a dead ringer”.

And that’s the truth . . . Now, who ever said History was boring!!

Would you believe some people lament the passing of ‘the good old days’. Despite bush fires, droughts and considerable setbacks, our country and specifically our suburb live a lifestyle of great comfort.

Remember – always to love and ‘Mind The Gap’. . .

A few extracts gleaned and prepared by George Stoddart from an article by an unknown author, which was sent to The Gap Historical Society Inc.

Quote of the Day

At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent. - Barbara Bush

Norths stalwart’s lifetime in hockey

Northern Suburbs Women’s Hockey Club is celebrating its 50th season in 2021.

Judy Lobley has been there from the beginning – and she is still playing for her beloved Eagles.

Currently a member of Norths’ DP4 women’s team, Judy has played for the Ashgrove-based club each of the past 40 seasons – and a few more on top of that.

When she was 15, Judy started playing hockey for the now defunct Ashgrove Methodist club located right near her family’s home.

“One day Mum wanted us to get out of her hair. She said, ‘Go over the road and see what those girls are doing in the park.’ My sister and I both went over, and we were playing that afternoon,” Judy recalls.

After the Ashgrove Methodist club folded, Judy briefly played for Easts. When Norths women’s hockey started at Dorrington Park in 1972, Judy joined the fledgling club as its inaugural A-Grade goalkeeper.

Following a few years away from hockey to have children, she re-joined Norths in the early-1980s and has played every season for the Eagles since.

Every Saturday the 70-year-old, who does not drive, takes a 1.5 hour train journey from Ormiston to Windsor, then gets a connecting bus to Downey Park to play hockey.

Such is Judy’s dedication to her club that last season the popular goalkeeper played three games back-to-back on the same day.

“Hockey is all about mateship, enjoying the teams that you play in and trying to help anybody that you can,” Judy said.

Norths hockey goalkeeper Judy Lobley before a game at Downey Park in 2020

“It’s my social outlet because I’ve had a daughter with a disability all this time. Hockey is keeping me alive.”

Judy was awarded the Deniece Quine Memorial Trophy for the 2020 season, in recognition of being the most dedicated Norths senior women’s player and club supporter.

Bringing hope to those who feel forgotten

Gaythorne-based not-forprofit Carinity goes inside Queensland’s jails to bring messages of love, faith and support to people who often feel far from God.

Carinity’s Inside Out Prison Chaplaincy service provides faith based pastoral care, bringing the light of Christ into where there is darkness.

Sammy’s story highlights the vital role prison chaplaincy can play in transforming the lives of people in prison.

Sammy grew up in a violent home and was abused on a regular basis until, at the age of 15, he finally left home. By that stage he was already addicted to drugs and pornography.

By the age of 18 he was drinking a cask of wine a day to try and drown out the voices that tormented him.

Before long, his addictions and the need to fund them led him to commit a number of armed robberies and he was imprisoned.

Prison chaplains became a breath of fresh air in a dark place for Sammy. During his second visit to prison, he handed over his life to God.

“Finding God in prison was the best thing that ever happened to me. He had been walking with me the whole time and led me to a place of repentance,” Sammy explains.

Today, Sammy is “outside” and studying a Diploma of Counselling so he can fulfill his calling to shepherd others. He is in a positive relationship and is looking forward to fulfilling his dream of marriage and family.

Without the intervention of prison chaplains, Sammy’s story may have ended quite differently.

By donating to the Carinity Chaplains Appeal, you can help fund the work of Inside Out Prison Chaplains in 14 correctional centres across Queensland.

Your donation helps our chaplains continue bringing Jesus to people in prisons, ensuring they know they are not forgotten by society.

Please donate to the 2021 Carinity Chaplains Appeal at carinity.org.au/donations. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.

ABOUT CARINITY

Since 1949, Carinity as an outreach of Queensland Baptists has been making a real difference in people’s

Inside Out Prison Chaplains were a breath of fresh air in a dark place for Sammy lives through comprehensive and integrated community services. These include caring for the frail aged in their homes or in integrated seniors’ communities, helping families and young people through difficult times, and supporting people with disability. Carinity also provides shelters for homeless youth, alternative education for teenagers who struggle in traditional schools, and prison and hospital chaplaincy.

NOTICE TO READERS

We wish to advise that delivery of the Western Echo can not be legally made to letterboxes displaying Australia Post Only or Authorised Mail Only. For those residents who wish to collect a free copy, we have newstands located at:

• Night Owl- Corner Samford Rd & Wardell St • Stewart Road News Ashgrove • Brumby's Bakery, 974 Waterworks Road, The Gap

Copies are also available at The Gap Village, The Gap Ward Office,

Ashgrove Electorate Office, Ashgrove Library, Red Hill Australia

Post, Ashgrove West Australia Post & the Great Western Super Centre Management The Friendly Grocer The Gap and bp The Gap. Distribution is currently being made by Ovato Residential Distribution. Delivery is made to all domestic letterboxes, providing there is no signage requesting non-delivery of unsolicited mail.