Early years in Australia: 1931 - 1932

Sydney, September 14, 1932

We are now living on Boundary Street, Roseville, next door to Norman and Pearl. Sverre wrote to me, about two weeks ago that he was giving up scrubbing and would be coming on the following Sunday, September 4. So on the Saturday I moved my things over here to Mrs Horsley's, but slept that night at Chaffer‘s, and waited there for Sverre. He arrived at about three in the afternoon after a good trip. We stayed there until evening and then came ‘home’ here. The house we are moving to will soon be finished. It is being painted and redecorated inside and out, so it will be a nice clean place to move into. It is on a hilltop, and from the verandah there is a wide view across Chatswood and Willoughby, It is not a very modern house, but the situation is beautiful. It has a garden, and of course also gas, electricity, W.C. etc. It’s just old-fashioned in style. We will only be paying ten shillings a week, and houses generally cost a pound or twenty five shillings to rent. Mrs. Horsley is also lending us some furniture. There are five rooms, two verandas, gas and wood stoves, laundry, kitchen and bathroom. Mrs Horsley is an elderly widow. She lives with her unmarried sisters and brother. They are all very agreeable and it is not difficult for me to get along with them. The nicest thing about them is that they are not cleaning fanatics, and a couple of footprints from Jip or the like doesn’t bother them. Our room opens with a door and a window, onto the front verandah, which is concealed from the road behind a latticework of lovely, sweet scented wisteria. Jip is allowed to run where she likes and nobody screams if she steps on a flower here and there.

I am so happy to have Sverre back. I missed him so much. He still doesn't have a job. I don't know if anything will come of the thing with Taylors. Sverre is going to try again with fish. Snowy will send his fish here and Sverre will sell them. Since the fish that is caught there is particularly good (the best in Australia) it may work. But that won't be for another two months so we will have to wait till December 1. But it doesn't matter. Sverre has a couple of small jobs to do till then.

Right now he is in the city, trying on a suit at the tailor's. He is getting a nice new blue one made for 6/15/-. His old one is already somewhat shabby. I had a day out yesterday while Sverre stayed home. Mrs Chaffer took me with her to the city. We did a bit of shopping, went through the stores, looking at all the new fashions and materials and had lunch in a restaurant. In the evening Sverre came over to Chaffers. Miss Crick was there too and we had dinner together. Lastly, as a special surprise, Arthur's bride, Laura Edwards from Queensland arrived, an extremely pretty, lively and sweet girl.

On my birthday we were invited to Norman and Pearl's. Pearl's sister Eva and another lady were there and it was very nice. Pearl gave me three glasses and a bunch of flowers. Sverre gave me a box of sweets and all the things you sent. Ivy had also remembered the day and sent me flowers in a beautiful little bowl.

On one day we were at Gilberts‘ and on another at Hindwoods. Then it was my washing day and once I went to the city with Sverre to order the suit and we spent the whole day wandering around the city. I am starved for the city. I am happy where there is a lot of noise and bustle. Just as you feel revived when you go to the country, I feel that I am more alive when I am in the middle of the crowd. Why, I don't know.

We got all our silver back from Pearl's. This evening, when Sverre comes home, he will polish it all while I read to him. He is also going to put a new element in my iron.
Jip now seems to feel at home here. First she nearly went mad with joy at the reunion. Sverre was victorious. She is not allowed inside the house, but she lies as close to the threshold as absolutely possible. I can see her black ears right now in the doorway.

Sverre is so good to me, every day and every hour and minute and second.

Sydney, September 20, 1932

I feel as though time has suddenly started racing ahead. We are very busy with all sorts of little preparations for our new home, and we also have to visit all our friends. The days are just too short altogether, especially since Roseville has no shopping centre and we have to go to Chatswood for everything, about twenty minutes each way. We get all our groceries there. We could buy meat, fish and vegetables from the trucks that come every day, but then you can't pick and choose, and besides they are more expensive than the shops. At the moment I am busy making a lampshade in silk. It looks as if it will be very pretty when it's finished. I still don’t know when we'll be able to move. The work on the house is still not quite finished. It will probably take about another week. It doesn’t matter too much though. I get on quite well with Mrs Horsley and have got used to living here, so one more week doesn’t make too much difference. We are paying the same for the room as for the house so we are not losing anything either.

Sverre has a bit of work this week. He is repairing a fence for Hindwoods. That will last for a week and bring in three or four pounds. It doesn’t look as if anything will come of the thing with Taylors.

Sverre doesn't want to start even. He is going to get a load of fish from Snowy Pedersen at the beginning of December and will sell them here. Murray cod that is caught in Burrinjuck is the best fish in Australia, and it's very popular. However, it's quite rare and expensive here in Sydney, and Sverre thinks he could make a good business of selling it, once he has a number of regular customers. It would have to be sold quickly, because it won't keep long in summer when the temperature is high. I think, too, that it could develop into a good business once he gets into it. However fishing is prohibited until December 1, so till then we can't do anything about it. Still, we're not broke, and Sverre is sure to find some more things to do before then. But not with Taylor, he says. He doesn't trust him.

I don't have too much to tell otherwise. Yesterday I went shopping in Chatswood and happened to meet Bryan Gilbert who was on his way to visit some relatives. He seemed to have plenty of time, however, and came with me. The result was that I forgot to get half the things I needed so I have to go again today, After Bryan had seen me home, he went off to his relatives, but he came back here around four in the afternoon. Sverre was home then too, and we all went to have a look at our house. After that Bryan stayed to dinner and was here till 11 pm. On Sunday we were over at Hindwoods to talk about the fence, and in the evening Mrs Chaffer was here. We wanted to invite the Gilberts to go with us to the pictures on Saturday, but they were going somewhere else, so we invited Hindwoods instead, and we saw ‘The man who played God’ with George Arliss. It was very good. It was the same film I saw a bit of the time when Mrs Chaffer got sick.

On Friday Sverre went to a meeting at the Ornithologists Union with Norman Chaffer. I didn't feel like going with them so I stayed home and read the newspapers you sent men, Thursday I went, for the last time to the dentist, whom I had to pay 42 shillings. Sverre broke a gold crown on one of his teeth, and a false tooth that was attached to it. Now he has an ugly black hole on the left side of his mouth. Tomorrow he is going to have it repaired. I hope the bill won't be too big.

September 21

I didn't finish yesterday because Sverre came home and I had to start cooking. This morning I went to Chatswood and bought salted meat and apples. Here they cook with gas, but Mrs. Horsley also has a wood stove which she uses once in a while when there is a lot of cooking and baking to do. They have their main meal in the middle of the day, whereas we have ours in the evening when Sverre comes home, but to save her gas I cooked the meat and made an apple pie while she had the stove going. When I have finished writing I will go over to Ivy's as I haven't seen her for quite a while, and as I have already done the cooking, I will have a nice long afternoon ahead of me and we will be able to sit and drink tea and take it easy.

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