Allandorf’s had the other hotel across the road, but it burnt down a long time ago. Mr & Mrs McDonald had the café and small shop. We would buy our fresh bread the day after it arrived on the train from Dimbulah. Otherwise the women had to make their own. The ice would come on the train from Dimbulah. All the kids would wait for the train to come in and then we would follow Mr McDonald to the shop and watch him churn the ice cream before the ice melted. We had ice cream once a week. Mt Garnet had races once a year and then the big ball that night. All the ladies had beautiful long dresses. The kids were put behind the piano to sleep. We had one policeman, Sergeant Lyons, who had a very nice wife, and son, Jock.

Jock was our schoolteacher until he enlisted in WWII. Sergeant used to ride a horse. Mr Cook had a truck; he would go over to Herberton and bring back fruit and veggies. If you had to visit a doctor or dentist he would take you over and wait for you. There was a hospital, a big house really with verandahs on three sides. Our matron was Matron Edna McKenzie; she later married Mr Roberts from Garnet. She looked after people for minor complaints, but for serious complaints had to go to Herberton Hospital.

One time I got sick and Mr Cook took me to the Herberton hospital when I was seven, while mum had to stay behind and work. I cried all the way over – I had to stay there for one week – life was hard too. Mum would buy material for our clothes at Jack and Newell’s and also our groceries. We had catalogues from Brisbane for clothes and shoes and linen. The goods would come COD then the money had to be sent to whatever shop we dealt from. Mum married my stepfather, Ken Moffat, in St David’s church in 1939, then we moved to Tableland Tin (now Tabo). Mum had to resign from the Railways, as they employed no married women then. My sister, Carol Moffat was born in 1940. Mum had to go to Atherton Hospital for her birth.

The house had a tin roof and hessian walls that we whitewashed. The floor was rammed earth. We had a veggie garden and flowers too, all fenced off. We were there for a few years then moved to Brisbane in 1942 as the Japanese moved closer to our country. I can remember the McKenna families, Roberts, Smiths, Whites, Cooks Edwards and Allandorf girls. Jean and I would go to Mrs Lucey’s property for the weekend sometimes. Our best friends were the twins Vera and Veva Smith, Erin and the McKenna kids.