Papa owned a 1953 Ford Consul, "Connie", which my proud father had to have in the photo at right. Mum is holding my sister Janette, the eldest of the fours sisters, who totally failed to have any interest in cars until she turned 17.

My nana and papa (Violet and Douglas), my mother's parents, lived in Duke Street at Annerley. In fact, they lived about a half a dozen homes away from my father's parents.

When mum and dad eventually got married, they purchased a block of land at Nudgee on the north side of Brisbane, on the corner of Tufnell Road and Ellamark Street. When mum became pregnant, nana and papa moved to Nudgee too - their home in Duke Street was resumed by the government, for the construction of the South-east Freeway.

This pic (right) was taken when I was about a year old, at grandma and grandpa's place, at 37 Victoria Terrace, Annerley. The house was built in 1897 by grandma's father and still stands, even though it has been moved to one side of the original block, and the rest of the block has had another THREE replica Queenslander homes built on it (top)

I hate progress sometimes.

My grandmother and grandfather on my father's side apparently met at a shooting club, and after the appropriate courtship, went on to raise my father, who was an only child. The photo above was taken circa 1930's, and shows my grandfather Glen and grandmother Ursula in their 1922 Standard motor car, which Grandpa purchased from his employer.

Where would we be without family?

My family are all fairly normal people, although like everyone, they have their moments that cause the rest of us to go "What the...?" My eldest sister has spent a lot of time and effort delving into the history of our family, and has unearthed some fascinating insights into the life and times of the decades before we were born. The next few posts will be of some lovely old photographs of my family members from long ago...