Roaming Free - by Ron Graham (a digital story from the Lake Illawarra MAP Project)

MENTOR WRITER: Susan Kennedy
SYNOPSIS: Back in the day kids and animals just roamed free around Lake Illawarra.
SCRIPT: Growing up around Lake Illawarra was about roaming free.
 
We grew up with a cockatoo, Cocky, and an old cow, Bonny.  Cocky was a real character.  He used to keep shop for Mum when she was busy doing the laundry.  A customer would come by and hed call out, Shop, Mrs Graham!  And if she didnt come in fast enough hed be saying, Cup of tea, love?  One time he said it to the sanitary man who thought that it was mum offering him a cuppa.  And he said he wouldnt mind, thank you very much!
 
We never caged Cocky.  He had the run of the place and hed strut around the house and the yard chatting away in his beautiful voice.  He had a soft and lovely voice.  But he was a terrible show off.  Of course the kids all loved him.  

The kids all loved Bonny too.  She was beautiful - with big, brown eyes and a lovely colour.  All the neighbourhood kids used to come and have a go at milking her.  And shed let them sit on her back and go for rides.




The only problem was, she used to love to go exploring.  One minute shed be happily in the back yard eating the grass and then shed wander, wander, wander.  And every afternoon I had to go and find her.  Id be walking round the streets and everybodyd say, Are you looking for Bonny, Ron?  And Id say, Yeah.  And theyd say, We seen her up at so and so street.   And Id go up and find her.  One day I found her at Shellharbour.  And another day she was on Windang Island.  We all roamed free back in those days.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Lake Illawarra
• digital story
• cow
• cockatoo
• nostalgia
• memory
• childhood