Today I captured the lovely Kathleen. Who kindly left me with her beautiful hand knitted blanket as a thank you, & I gave her some of my plants for her collection.
Kathleen asked if she could wear no shoes for her session as it makes her feel more grounded & balanced with the earth. When I asked if that was a common thing for her, she said that it was, & may be because of her Aboriginal Ancestry even though it was hidden from them for much of their lives. Her Mothers real dad wasn't listed on her birth certificate to protect them from any implication being indigenous would bring in those days. When I questioned Kathleen about her bikini photos she said she had it taken because she wanted proof when she was old that she used to look like that once..
She also bought along treasured cards & notes from her recent 90th birthday & her sash & Tiara.
KATHLEEN CECILA SOMERVILLE.
Born: February 1936.
Age 90 years
Kathleen had 10 siblings 4 sisters & 6 brothers with a set of twin boys in the mix
Her father was a licensed fisherman, he had an interest in gardening and was a carpenter. He built the home they lived in.
Her mother was a stay at home Mum, as they were in those times.
Her childhood wasn't an easy one...she was bought up in a very strict catholic household, where we all had jobs to do...picking peas and beans/feeding and caring for the cow for milk.
The kids used to go to the well each morning to collect a bucket of water for the garden before school. They had no shoes and often the well was frozen over in Winter.. Kathleen said, we all did as we were told!
Kathleen fondly remembered the cow Old Winnie who used to go wandering to the school and turn the tap on with her mouth to get a drink. The Nuns used to contact her mother angrily to take the cow home, ... She also recalls their mum used to hang their washing between the trees down in the gully. She had a stick to prop the line up.
They lived in a 4 bedroom house where we had to sleep 3 to a bed.
Childhood memories include her Dad taking us all out in his boat on a Sunday for a swim and going to Gumma with cousins. Then sitting in the back of the truck and stopping for ice cream on the way home.
Her first jobs included pea and bean picking in the school holidays, then cleaning at the bank. She also worked in a furniture shop as a sales person. Cared for the local doctors kids and cleaned the surgery. She said she fell in love at 18 but religion kept them apart as her father threatened to disown her if she married him.
She married in 1959. and at 23 (1960) she had first baby while they lived in Shortland. After some financial trouble her husband got into. they were forced to live back with her parents in Macksville.
Kathleen became a single mother when her husband deserted her while they were living there. Left in a difficult situation Kathleen went into nursing at Macksville
After a family upset she felt it was time to move on & moved back to Newcastle 1963. She ended up back with her husband despite him disappearing on her, and had 3 more children, Unfortunately history repeated again & she was a single mother again in 1972
Kathleen had been in the same Shortland house since 1964
She now has 9 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.
She is a real homebody so her hobbies and love besides family are: her garden, sewing, knitting, crocheting, reading and crosswords.
She also loves to sit and watch the waves roll in at the beach.
