Australian Farming Families and the CWA

Rae and Deb Hunt

Members and friends of the Berry Branch of the Country Women’s Association of NSW packed the Berry School of Arts for a talk by Deb Hunt, whose third book, Australian Farming Families has been published. Deb is an entertaining speaker—not all authors are good presenters, but she is a storyteller as well as writer.

I met Deb when I was ‘Writer in Residence’ at Broken Hill facilitating a community life writing project ‘Belonging in Broken Hill’. I was delighted when our classes were mentioned in her previous book, Love in the Outback.

High Afternoon Tea at the Berry CWA

After living in Broken Hill and working as a writer for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Deb became intrigued by stories of people living in isolated rural areas. She travelled throughout Australia,  gathering stories to ‘provide a window into a way of life that defines the Australian spirit at its best’. She said that the experience made her a good listener. Prior to publication, Deb forwarded the final draft to each family for approval. At the end of her talk Deb said that since her previous visit to Berry, she had joined the Country Women’s Association.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BalldaleHall.JPG

I attended my first Country Women’s Association meeting in the supper room at the back of the Balldale Hall in 1965. The women were organising supper for the Scottish debutante ball. They planned for three sittings in the trestle-tabled supper room. Everyone was volunteering—to roast fowls and mutton; boil ham; make salads and pavlovas. Who’ll do the trifles? Silence, then eyes were on me. I thought, ‘Oh well at least I can bash up a trifle’. Then I’m given one hundred oval-shaped cut-glass bowls to take home. 

Balldale Police Station and Residence

‘We like them done with sliced jam sponge, sherry flavouring, egg custard, then a layer of whipped cream decorated with rainbow rings of piped jelly.’

Piped jelly??? 

And so my battle with the ancient Bega fuel stove, baking jam sponges and stirring gallons of custard began. The trick with the jelly was to have it almost but not quite set. Not too hot or it melted the cream, not too runny or it wouldn’t hold its shape, and not too firm to push through the nozzle at the end of the calico piping bag. Eventually it was just right, and like baby bear I cried and cried as I piped concentric circles of Aeroplane port wine, lemon, strawberry, lime and orange jellies.

The night of the ball, parents made beds for their kids in the back of cars ready for when they were exhausted from sliding up and down the hall to spread the Pop’s floor dressing, or dancing with parents in the barn dance and strip-the-willow. Two years later I was President of Balldale CWA, and yes we baked and baked just like Berry CWA.