May Freame wrote: “Sorry to say the parrots are beginning to pick it too so I don’t know what there will be to harvest when ready." (Sheila Goodyear collection). This is the tenth in a series on Australia's early intelligence activities, the sixth on the life of Harry Freame.
Our understanding of
post natal depression is quite recent.
After the birth of
their son, May Freame seems to have become quite depressed. Finally, it became
imperative for May to return to England and her mother.
Harry pleaded with her
to stay, to wait until the following year when he might be able to go with her,
but May needed mother and home.
On 2 July 1922 May,
along with seven months old baby Harry and mother’s-help Josephine Clarke,
sailed for England on board the Benalla.
The Freames had found the money to hire Josephine, although it must have been a
battle given that they were still trying to establish the farm.
Harry was now alone
and would be for the next fourteen months. He missed his family. “I haven’t has
the pleasure of watching my little man …. changing out of babyhood to a little
boyhood” he wrote to May’s family in England.
Harry threw himself
into developing their little 43 acre block. He also continued to play an active
role in the developing Kentucky community, trying to build the social
infrastructure and facilities necessary for the community to prosper.
This series was
triggered by Harry’s colourful life and his role as spy. However, looking at
this part of our story, I think that his community life was just as important.
Harry was seeking to
establish a stable place for himself and his family, an acceptance as a part
Japanese Australian whose own life was complicated, into a new world where he
and his family had a secure place.
Despite the sadness
that is coming, I think that Harry achieved that.
On 28 August 1923, May
sailed from London for Australia, accompanied by Josephine and Harry Jnr. Her
mother was worried about her silent moods, although sister Emily though that
she was much better.
The party arrived back in Kentucky on 9
October 1923, an event duly recorded in the Uralla
Times. Josephine remained with the family as housekeeper.
May seems to have slotted back into the
rhythms of life on the Kentucky Settlement.
It had been a bad winter, one that forced
some of the settlers off the land. Harry was active on his block and in social,
church and Settlement activities. We know this from the Uralla Times whose short Kentucky reports frequently mention Harry.
My fancy was especially tickled by a report
(29 November 1923) on a Uralla Cricket Club Social. There we learn that the
Kentucky Sausage King (Mr H Freame) won the prize for the most original fancy
dress costume!
I wonder what it
looked like?
Note to readers: This post appeared as a column in the Armidale Express Extra on 17 April 2019. I am repeating the columns here with a lag because they are not all on line outside subscription. You can see all the Belshaw World and History Revisited/History Matters columns by clicking here for 2009, here for 2010, here for 2011, here for 2012, here for 2013, here for 2014, here for 2015, here for 2016, here 2017, here 2018, here 2019
5 comments:
White ockatoos were the ones to strip coastal corn crops Jim, I wonder if these ‘parrots’ were cockatoos. The maize plants shown are interesting as they are not F1 hybrids that become standard on North Coast dairy farms. Hybrid seed of course had to be purchased each year whereas the older varieties next seasons seed could be saved from this seasons crop.
Intended to post this link for hybrid maize history.
http://www.genetics.org/content/148/3/923
What an interesting sidetrack, John! Don Shand played a major role in the growth of the hybrid seed industry in Australia. Here http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/shand-donald-munro-11662, here https://floggerblogger.com/visionaries-and-innovators/. Shand Selected Seeds became Dekalb Shand Selected seeds. Looking at the time lines in your linked article, Harry's corn was well before the widespread use of the new varieties. I wonder when the dairy farmers adopted F1?
I just don't know enough about the distribution of birds to know whether May really meant cockatoos!
You have jogged my memory sufficiently Jim, it was Shand seed of course which would mean the adoption took place through the late 1950's. I can remember seeing samples of corn where the kernels had a black shading from the yellow and another with a red shading. I was hoping that one of your other readers with more localised knowledge than mine might comment on 'parrots v cockatoos'.
Quote from his Bio ''Believing that Australia could not reach its potential without regional development, I would comment Thatto be a fact rather than a belief.
'
You won't get an argument from me on the last, John! Interesting on the different colours!
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