Christmas Afternoon at Hinemoa Park

We lived for a time next to a draper's shop run by a man called Edgar Wallis with his family, which included his two daughters, Freda and Joan, both of whom were older than I. I remember the name Wallis well, as at the same time, the other "Wallace" was well known for his mystery stories. The shop is now known as the Gumdigger’s Restaurant. One Christmas afternoon when I was a rather shy boy of nine or ten years I went with my grandparents to Hinemoa Park for a swim while my parents had a spell after the midday festivities. To save time, I had my togs on under my clothes. (I was a junior member of the Birkenhead and Northcote Swimming Club having learnt to swim out to a raft that used to be moored out in the bay.) Called in by my grandparents, I then had to go and get changed, as I couldn't put my clothes on over wet togs. BUT .... the green corrugated iron dressing shed was full of men, all older than I, so I decided I'd go behind the shed and strip off, dry myself and dress there. I did this in a leisurely way as it was a warm summer's afternoon and I was completely "hidden" - or so I thought, until I looked up the hill behind the shed and there were the members of the Wallis family, including Joan and Freda, watching my every move...

Granny and Grandma wondered why I was so quiet on the walk back and Mum and Dad never could understand, thereafter, why I would never go into the Wallis establishment again - even to borrow a shilling for the Gas meter.

John Davenport 1995