Page 34

1974 - 1976, Penang

Butterworth Air Force Base, Malaysia

Family memories from Penang/Butterworth posting, with extensive quotes from daughter Judy about amah (maid), activities, swimming, clothes-making, weather incidents, and accident with son Will.

Memoir page 34

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"We had an "amah", a maid. This was the first time Mum wasn't working and now she even had a housekeeper and cook! Mum was on holidays for two and a half years! Poor Dad had to go to work everyday on the "stinky bus" and the "stinky ferry". That's what we kids called it! Now I believe there is a bridge to the mainland. As kids, we only had to walk 2 minutes to school. Penang is now very touristy and up-market." "We went to the "Hostel" and played badminton, tennis, netball and went to dances there too; now that building is sitting idle and in disrepair. Mum used to play a lot of badminton and she did learn to cook Chinese. A guy would come around on a bicycle with a box on the back full of crabs! A lady came around with the eggs. She was peculiar, really; she wore lots of diamonds! The groceries were delivered by a fellow on a motorbike. One time Mum came home on the back of the motorbike; don't think she ever told Dad about that! We did a lot of swimming too, in a beautiful rock pool on the edge of the sea. We were very lucky to have these experiences as we grew up. We got to meet lots of different people during our time and it really was very special. Mum and Dad went to dinner parties on Penang in the big hotel there." Judy recalls it all being very exciting to have their clothes made there especially for them. They used to see what other people were wearing and try to keep up to date but they came back to Australia she recalls she felt "very daggy!" Recalling the weather conditions brings another story to mind. After the monsoonal rains the drains were full of rushing water and an accident occurred when Colan was playing with his much younger brother, Will. Will fell into the drain and cracked open his head which required stitches; Colan felt terrible, but it was just one of those things because he had been doing a good job of looking after his little brother.

People: Mum (Pat), Dad (Derek), Judy, Colan, Will

Places: Penang, Australia, Hostel, sea, hotel

Interesting facts