In1916 with the idea of earning money to buy a bicycle I started on a morning paper round. After being given my supply of The Age and The Argus at the Malvern Railway Station I had to walk to the corner of Wattletree Road and Finch Street. The delivery area was bounded by Finch Street,High Street,Burke Road and Wattletree Road. Payment was four shillings & sixpence (45c) per week. "Christmas comes but once a year, when it comes it brings good cheer, when you're in the midst of joy please don't forget the paperboy". This verse on a card delivered in the newspaper brought in some extra money at Christmas.
Our family attended the East Malvern Baptist Church. It was at the corner of Tooronga Road and Claremont Avenue. Senior classes of the Sunday School at times held social evenings in the school hall, the combination of musical items, recitations and indoor games followed by refreshments made these evenings enjoyable.
The Sunday School Picnic was held each year on Melbourne Cup Day. Horse-drawn furniture vans fitted with wooden forms for seating were hired to transport the children and equipment to the selected locality for the picnic. It was not necessary to travel far to reach a suitable place out in the country in those days. The Sunday School anniversary each year was a special day. A tiered structure for seating the children was erected in the Church, the children sang special religious songs and they were accompanied by a small orchestra. Gradually over the years membership declined until finally, the church had to close down. The property was sold to a religious organization.
For entertainment at home we played Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, Bobs etc. These games usually ended in a squabble, each player accusing the other of cheating. "I won't play with you again", but always did. Playing Cards were not permitted in our house as it was considered they could lead to gambling.
We had a gramophone, it was driven by a spring mechanism and had to be wound up by hand. The quality of the sound it produced was poor compared with the Hi-Fi equipment of today, however, we enjoyed listening to it. In summer months the Malvern Tramway Band, winners of many competitions, performed on Sunday afternoons in the Rotunda at Central Park and on Sunday evenings at Malvern Cricket Ground, near the Town Hall. There was a kiosk in the corner of Central Park near the Wattletree Road tram terminus and a tram shelter on the footpath in front of the kiosk. The kiosk could be hired for Dances, Wedding Receptions and Parties etc. The Rotunda, Kiosk and Tram Shelter have been demolished.
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