lip lit: sandy thorne, old-timers
My mother grew up on a farm, in country Victoria. My grandmother’s brother died in France, fighting during World War II and my great-great parents migrated here from Germany. There are so many different stories of survival and courage in my family history, yet my knowledge of most of those experiences has huge gaps in them, as I’ve heard the stories second-hand, through my mother and aunts and uncles. Australia’s bleak history often overshadows stories of courage, bravery and triumph, from ordinary Australians living lives which really aren’t all that ordinary. Sandy Thorne’s book Old-Timers presents snapshots of twenty great Australians, from opal-miners to coalminers, rodeo riders and war veterans. Those in the stories are not celebrities, nor people you’ve necessarily heard of, yet each person has achieved incredible feats in their lifetime, often without thanks or recognition. Reading the stories made me wish I knew more about the stories behind my own family members growing up in a very different Australia to what we live in now.
Thorne uses both direct quotes from her subjects as well as third person narrative to paint pictures of the people in her book. While this allows the reader to grasp a very strong sense of character, sometimes that means there isn’t enough sense of setting or context to really understand the feats of the person. It is okay for someone who lived through those times and has firsthand knowledge of the conditions, yet I found myself wanting to know more about the hardships of the Australian landscape and climate in those days. There is one story where Thorne writes about Paul Calokerinos, who immigrated to Australia at the age of fifteen and worked in his family café business, before acquiring a café of his own. Thorne begins the story with a wonderful description of the food Paul cooks and the café itself, allowing the reader to understand Paul’s achievements in context. On the other hand, stories such as Peter Venables’ (who worked predominately with Clydesdales) and John Lundholm’s (a rodeo rider), scarified description of their similar Outback settings for a strong sense of character.
There are five women featured in the book, out of twenty stories altogether, and I must admit I found those stories the most engaging, simply because the freedom and opportunities for women during the first half of the twentieth century were nowhere near the freedom and opportunities most women have today. I admire the strength it must have taken women back then to break out of the mould and do something different, as Mary Barry did when she decided to open her own pub in Dalby, in 1952, and was told ‘Don’t be ridiculous, young lady. A woman could not possibly run a pub!’ Despite this, Mary took over the lease of an existing brewery and turned it into a very successful business.
The book brings new meaning to the phrase “Aussie battler”, or if not new meaning it certainly gives a sense of exactly why the phrase was coined. There are stories set during the Depression, where jobs were difficult to come by and families lived on very little, as well as stories set during the uncertainty of World War II. There were times when finding a job was often harder than the work itself, and boys as young as seven would find odd jobs to help out their families.
While Thorne includes a glossary of Aussie lingo at the back of the book, I often wondered if the frequent use of such language would put off some readers. Even so, the Australianisms add a sense of authenticity to the stories and they clearly have their place within the text and are used authentically and not simply for the sake of it. I quite enjoyed discovering some Aussie slang I hadn’t encountered before and, as I didn’t realise there was a glossary until I’d finished reading the book, I tried to figure out their meanings on my own.
Old-Timers certainly made me realise how much I simply don’t know about Australia’s history and the country way of life. The book is a great insight into some amazing Australians who have succeeded in the face of adversity and it made me wonder about my own family heritage. I found myself feeling rather patriotic as I read the stories, learning more about my country’s recent history. Whoever thinks Australia lacks culture would benefit from reading this book. In her snapshots of twenty great Australians, Thorne definitely uncovers the traditions and values that unite Australians together.
Allen & Unwin
$29.99
