Western Australia

Rocky Glen

I grew up on a farm called Rocky Glen outside the town of Kojonup, in the south west of Western Australia. It was quite a big farm, and in winter there was a little creek which my sister and I used to race bits of wood down like boats. There was also a dam we used to swim in and we would make rafts with our dad.

At first I was home schooled but when I was eight I started going to school in the tiny village. There were 20 kids and one teacher. Most of the time the older kids would help the younger ones. To get to school I would ride my bike and occasionally a horse. My bike was so big that once I got on it, I could not get off until my sister helped me off at school. When I became a bit older the school was closed and we would catch the bus to the Kojonup School.

In winter we would have quite good rain; in spring there were always wildflowers dotted down the side of the road and in summer it was warm but not particularly hot.

The roads are now wider, bitumen is used instead of dirt and the wildflowers are gone. There are many more cars, perhaps this is because when I grew up in the war, there was not a lot of petrol.

I have noticed that more young people are moving to cities, because of the hard physical labor involved in farm work, so there are fewer family farms, as some are being bought by big companies.  There is definitely a lot more machinery than there was when I was growing up, and there are fewer people living on the farms and more contract workers.

I think some of these changes are for the best; the schooling is probably better, but sometimes I just wish things were simpler like they were when I was growing up.

Links to further information:

Kojonup Visitors Centre
http://www.kojonupvisitors.com

Princes Hill Primary School
http://www.phps.vic.edu.au/