Garage Days - by Ron Gooley (a digital story from the Lake Illawarra MAP Project)

MENTOR FILM MAKER: Sandra Pires
SYNOPSIS: Oak Flats was a paradise for struggling working class families, building their houses and their community bit by bit as money and time allowed.
SCRIPT: I left school aged 15 years and became an
apprentice carpenter and joiner. I bought a block of land in Oak flats in 1958 on which I built a garage which, with my wife Judy, I moved into, following our marriage in 1960. We lived in this garage until we built a house, which we still live in today. In 1963 we moved into the main part of
house, it wasnt finished yet, but we
thought we were made.

I have fond memories of Oak Flats as a
struggling working class suburb near the
lake. People, like us, were attracted to it
by the good, cheap land available. We were surrounded by many different nationalities such as Finnish, Dutch, English and Germans and we got on very well together, all of us struggling to get a roof over our heads, living in garages and temporary dwellings until we could afford to build ourselves a house.

We did have a policeman in those days who worked from his house in Barton Street; Digger Lewis was his name.

By the time we had our two children, Geoffrey and Jennifer, the house was finished. They were both educated in Oak Flats Primary, and Oak Flats High School. Children in the area spent hours fishing for mullet in Muddy Creek, which flows in to the lake. It was and still is a great place to bring up children with plenty of green areas and open spaces.

After around 50 years of living and working in Oak flats our love for this lovely little village by the lake is just as strong as it was all those long, hard years ago.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Lake Illawarra
• Oak Flats
• digital story
• nostalgia