Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Now for the Kings

I was amused as I imagined Nick Bergin struggling back up the slope from the creek with his anvil. It brought back many memories from earlier days, of events and of course the "stories". One such memory is from "New Years Days" at Lake Merrin. A sheaf tossing event was on the menu. There were two poles, like the AFL goal posts, but higher and closer together. A light pole or bar was raised by ropes and pulleys, higher and higher as contestants dropped out, a bit like the high jump set up. The sheaf was a sewn up Hessian bag, shaped like a torpedo and stuffed with straw and projected into the air with a 2 or 3 tined pitchfork.
See http://homepage.eircom.net/~irishthrowersclub/Sheaf%20Tossing.html
Sheaf tossing is classified as one of the heavy athletics.
Well, at Lake Merrin, there was this big man, big in all directions, I think his name was Ted or Harry James, he had balance rhythm and strength. He would send the sheaf even higher than the poles but sadly often lacked accuracy as the sheaf had to pass over the bar.
My own family has its own stories, two of my deceased brothers, Cyril and Murray were big powerful men. People from Quambatook still talk about Murray lifting his AJS 500 Motorcycle over the farm fences in order to take short cuts.
This is a picture of Murray, he makes the fence look low!




I am interested in genealogy, (this gene doesn't kick in until you are at least 60 years of age.
People talk about finding skeletons in cupboards but what they really want to find are "Kings".
My wife Peta, had Rudyard Kipling for a cousin! While Holt folklore has G/Grandfather Matthew having a brother who was the weight lifting champion of England. As far as I can see this has been a little exaggerated but I got in touch with Fred Holt from Koonwarra, whose grandfather was a cousin to Matthew. His Grandfather John was educated at Cambridge and had some notable heavy athletes in close ancestry.



John Holt, seated front centre, of course.

As I read Old and New testaments of the Bible I notice that to the Jewish people genealogy was very important, but I also take note that the Apostle Paul though his credentials through line of descent were impeccable, he counted all that as nothing that he might be found in the line of Jesus Christ ,(adopted by God as his child)
I will read again Psalm 147 verse 10
God does not delight in the strength of the horse,
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man,
The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in his mercy.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Of Cabbages and kings

The new year is off and running and though I am already a little out of breath I must return to the keyboard due to popular demand, well from some members of the family anyway.


"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

Some of the following verse is begging to be added here!

"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
"Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"

In my December blog I mentioned the Blacksmith who used to run his business near our corner, (before my time of course)
But even as I mention that another poem springs to mind, not Lewis Carol this time but Henry Wadsworth Longfellow himself:
Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
The folowing is from a Rowville History page


Stories abound about Nick and his blacksmith shop on the south-east corner of Wellington and Stud Roads. He certainly must have been a colourful character but also he must have been a skilful smithy as much of his work involved the shoeing of the Row family's team of high class show jumpers.

Ted Row showed his gratitude to Nick for his good work by presenting the show prize cards to him. By the time of Nick's retirement, all four walls of his shop were covered with the cards.

Gordon Dobson told me that, as a teenager, he used to take his horses to Nick to have their feet done. Nick was, according to Gordon, a strong man who liked boxing. One day a big Irishman came and invited Nick to put on the gloves and "He'd show him a thing or two". Nick obliged and knocked the Irishman backwards into the big trough of water he used for cooling the hot metal.

"On another occasion," said Gordon, "Nick came off second best when another powerful man, Jack Murphy of One Tree Hill, called in. Nick told Jack a yarn about how a very strong man had visited him the previous week and had lifted his anvil and carried it across the road. Jack saw that his reputation was being challenged so without a word he lifted the anvil, carried it across the road and heaved it over the fence. Nick had a terrible job getting the anvil back to the forge".


All of this reminds me of my early days at "Wattle View" Quambatook. We had the mandatory Forge, a shed clad with corrugated iron. The centre piece was the forge itself, energized by the bellows set at the rear of the forge. The bellows were operated by "pumping" with a long stick (read small straight limb from tree about 3 inches down to 2 inches in diameter), this stick reached from the rear of the bellows to the front of the forge and could be swung to one side or the other to escape the heat from the burning of the home made charcoal. Close to the forge stood a large and heavy anvil, and alongside the anvil, a barrel of water used for cooling, and of course tempering the hot metal. Along one wall stood the bench made from heavy bush timber.
On the bench was a large old fashioned vice, scattered around the vice lay various tools. One of the walls was adorned with tongs, different shapes and sizes. these were used for holding the hot metal as it was beaten into shape with a hammer on the anvil..
Outside the entrance lay a great pile of metal, bits and pieces accumulated over many years. This metal was absolutely essential for any manufacture or repair for there was no shop nearby or money to buy had there been such !

Here is a photo taken c1970 when there was still some evidence of existence of the forge.
Standing is part of an old chaff cutter. The circular brick construction is the forge itself on its original site.
Behind the forge and toward the tree lie the rotting bellows.
As I look more closely at the “chaff cutter” I believe it could have held the large round sand stone which was turned by hand




















I mentioned above the “home made charcoal” I remember a couple of occasions my Dad making the charcoal.
It went something like this, My Dad had dug a large hole in the ground about 4 feet deep and six feet in diameter. In the hole he placed all sorts of bits and pieces of hard mallee wood, including mallee roots, I think!
This large amount of wood was set alight and at the appropriate time (I’m not too sure exactly at what stage of combustion) a large cover was put over the burning hole, (a top off an old water tank) and this lid was covered with dirt. I imagine that this was left for many days before opening and saving the charcoal which resulted.

I realise I haven't got around to the cabbages and Kings but I will stop now while you are still reading avidly and return with the rest of the subject not many days hence

Thursday, January 05, 2006

2005 is History

It takes a December to bring the old year to a close and our December did it in style.





Ben is back from the UK and has found a job behind a rather large desk





Simon is back from Texas followed by Brenda and the kids after Christmas Day.

Simon is ensconced in Little Lonsdale Street Melbourne and has rooms with a view

Larry and family are over from Tasmania for their annual holidays and here we are enjoying one another's company at Central, just a short walk from Simon's digs.
You may notice that Simon is still suffering from jet lag!
Here we are with Larry and Jo enjoying a picnic at Mordialloc Beach










On New Years Day Mark preached his last sermon at New Market Baptist Church.
He in turn is on holidays before taking up the position of State Director of Global Interaction Australia and will probably spend some of the holiday time house hunting.


Greg is somewhere in Northern Victoria or New South Wales trying to get into his favourite state, which is "All up in the air"

Then last but not least there is Paul and his family camping at Skenes Creek.
We spent about three nights with them. It was a reminder of many camps over the years.
Many beaches, and Australia has some real beauties


The passing of time, Christmases rolling by, changes, comings and goings, and not the least camping, more and more serve to remind me of the transience of life.
As my old Dad used to say, we are here for just a moment of time, and there is such a lot of time that we are not "here".
It is really wonderful to know that though we are just campers,in and through Jesus Christ that we have a home in the heavens.
Hebrews chapter 11 and particularly the 10th verse
"Abraham dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise, for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God
Have a great year, appreciate your time and opportunities.