And I went up to the Snowy Mountains, looking for work, and a <?> went to the employment office, and they said, yeah, ok. So they put me on. And I started there, had to join the union first. Kaiser Perini Morrison Raymond, that's it. I started there, and I was there until Sigrid was born. It was the biggest snowstorm I've ever seen, when we went down to Cooma to see the girl. Boy oh boy oh boy. I thought we'd never get back, oh gosh! Anyhow, everything went alright. It was so much snow, you couldn't see the road at all. You could see those big wooden sticks on the side of the road so you could make sure you stayed in between them, otherwise you'd be slipping off. Oh, gosh! Anyhow, and then a few days later the weather sort of gets much easier. So we went down, and picked up Sigrid, and Maria took her back to Berridale.
One of the Australian <Rigas?> sons, Jack, he came down with me, and he picked up Maria and Sigrid, and we took her to Berridale, and he took me back to Cabramurra, back to work. And because there was one bloke, an engineer - he was living in Berridale too - Roland, I used to come down with Roland on Saturday evening, and on Sunday night we packed up and went back to Cabramurra again. {a 90 minute trip} That was every week the same. That was lucky because, he was living just about a stone's throw from Frank and Blanca, and he had a VW, and we used to drive his VW, and used to get up, at, uh, what was the name of that place, was going up the hill, we used to get up and stand on the back of the bumper bar because it was slipping, there was so much snow up there, oh boy oh boy. That Cabramurra is unbelievable! I have never seen snow, and blizzards like up there! The barracks were just covered, over the roof, everywhere! And when you drove down, with the manhole, down to the dam site, where the work was, there was no snow down there. It was sort of slinging down, down, further down, past the power station, and further down, to where the dam site was, yes. That was some work, I tell you what. Ha haaa. It was some work, alright. The best surprise was, when we brought Sigrid back to Berridale, I went back to Cabramurra, and gave notice, because I'll be going, we'll be going back to Sydney, looking, and finding a job and accommodation for Sigrid and for Maria, and so she'll be coming too. So I did that.
And I came down, and left for Sydney, and said in about four or five weeks time I'll have enough time to get the accommodation, so she can move down. So I came down, and I stayed with Archie Hunt for a couple of days, and I get a telegram on the third day, from Maria, I'm on the plane arriving in Sydney in the afternoon. Mai! And I didn't … I thought I have a few weeks time to look for accommodation and everything! Well! I tell you what, I was in <?>, looking for … and I found just, for emergency accommodation in Merrickville. There was about one, two, three, I think four families living there. A bloke converted that house into flats. The bathroom was a different place, and the kitchen was in a different place. The room was in the front. Oh gosh, I tell you what! Anyhow, I've got to go and meet Maria now! And I went to the airport and she came. I said, "What's happening? What happened?" And she said, she was outside, because her room in Berridale was on the outside, to enter into her room - I don't know what she was doing outside, and Blanca and Frank were talking in the lounge room. And Frank had some remark about her, I don't know what it was. Well! She wouldn't take it, so she packed up and left. And I was in a slammer to get something quick enough!
Anyhow, we where there for about, oh, I don't know, about six weeks or something, and then, opposite that place where I was working in Annandale there was an Italian bloke. He was fixing up a couple of flats, just across the road. Only about ten steps from the factory. And I asked him, can I have <one>, and he said yes, yes, alright, when its finished, in about a week's time, and then I can move in. And we did that. So, I brought Maria back over to Annandale, into that flat on the top. We stayed there until we left back to Germany. Yes. (Oh boy, I was in the <slam?>, gosh, Thursday, I've got to shop!)
Anyhow, the Italian bloke - that was a funny bloke, the woman really loved Sigrid, Sigrid used to run around. They had a shop underneath, in the front, sort of a general store. Maria used to take Sigrid down there, and Sigrid would walk on the top of the counter, backwards and forwards, and the shop was full of people. There was two blokes working there, the man, the Italian bloke, and his wife. She apparently would leave all the customers, wouldn't work anything, was playing with Sigrid, going, walking up and down the counter! Oh gawd! :) Maria said, that bloke nearly got jump off the counter. I said to her, don't take her down anymore when there is people there, else, likely, we'll have to move out. Anyhow, and from there, we moved then back to, what's the name… Every time I went to work, Sigrid would be up on the top of the <?>, on the high chair, looking out…
tape ends
is there a second tape?
the answer to this mystery question is yet to be answered...
