A pet possum and a penny ice cream

A lifetime of memories from Stu Murray

Father was a dentist in the army and worked at camps from Waiouru northwards. Mum and and I followed him and lived near his camp though I don’t recall ever going to or seeing one.

First off we lived in Paihia. This was late 1942. To get there we travelled by steam train to Opua, ferried to Russell, then across to Paihia. When we arrived at Opua the ferry wasn’t in and the train driver asked Mum if she would let me on to the engine while they turned around. Mum lifted me up, the driver lifted me further and sat me where I could see the happenings. Gee it was hot.

The fireman shifted the points and we very slowly backed onto the turn table. The driver said “Look” and pointed to the fireman who pulled a lever and we started to turn a half circle. The fireman shifted more points and we moved onto the main line and backed onto the carriages with a crash bang. Lucky the driver was holding me.

Mum was waiting there as the ferry was waiting for us. The driver said “Hold this rope” as he lifted me down. It was the rope to the whistle, very frightening and I let go quickly. The driver was laughing when he handed me to Mum and said “I do that to all the boys.”

So we ferried to Paihia. The wharf and the house were all that there was to see in Paihia. The small house we lived in was attached to the back of a grocery shop that had closed down. We had a co-resident in a possum who lived in the store at the end of the passage separated by a curtain. Each night the possum would go down the passage and out a window left open especially. One night Mum forgot the window and our friend made quite a fuss till Mum opened the door. In the years since I’ve been told possums didn’t cross the Pakaru hills between Kawakawa and the Bay of Islands till the 60s so I guess this fellow must have been a pet.

We lived in Kohimarama and I was at this stage going to primary school, probably early 1944. Three memories come back. Pennies meant so much in those days as at a small shop just around the corner I could buy a penny ice cream. It was eyes down most of the time. The Yanks were in town, and very regularly a jeep would prang up on the water front, usually ending up on its side or roof. Lots of ration tins were washed up on the rocks which we opened. Inside were two biscuits and two lumps of sugar which we ate. There was also a sachet of coffee and a funny joke which we didn’t understand.

We also lived for a while in Gladstone Road with my grandparents and I went to the Parnell school which was on the opposite side of the road. I recall the milk we had at morning playtime. It was in quarter pint bottles and was warm as the crates were always left in the sun. I remember the milk delivery, it was by horse and cart before sunrise, the horse’s clip clop would wake me up. If you wanted milk your bottle was left at your front gate with the payment inside.

I remember the milk delivery, it was by horse and cart before sunrise.