Johnston, Garnet (Garnie)

DESCRIPTION

NameJohnston, Garnet (Garnie)OccupationFarmer, Security GuardPlace of Residence'Marks Villa', Albion ParkBiographyGarnet Hedley James Johnston was born at Albion Park, in 1923, to John Alfred and Jemima ‘Mimie’ JOhnston (nee East).

As a child, ‘Garnie’ worked on the family farm at Albion Park, 'Marks Villa', milking cows twice a day and doing various other jobs required of him. Milking was done by hand, using a bucket. A strainer was placed over a milk can, and the milk from the bucket poured into the can until it was full. Then it would be on to the next can. Milk was taken to the factory by horse and cart until motor vehicles came into use.

Garnie remembers going with his Uncle to deliver milk from the farm, across the aerodrome to the Illawarra Co-operative Central Dairy Society at Albion Park Rail. 'Marks Villa' was around 200 acres and the family ran Australian Illawarra Shorthorn Cattle.

Another of Garnie’s jobs on the farm was to destroy any cattle that were lame or sickly. Garnie can also remember having to rid the farm of litters of kittens that were born to farm cats. Cats were needed on the farm to rid the rats and mice, however, at times they had too many kittens and some had to be destroyed.

Garnie had a couple of jobs when he left school. He worked in Lances in Wollongong for a short while and also went to work at Metal Manufacturers at Port Kembla but did not stay long.

Garnie joined the Army at the age of 19. He was placed in a medical unit, the Casualty Clearing Station. He was posted to Sydney, Narellan, Cowra, Western Australia and Queensland.

In 1942, Government authorities resumed his parent’s farm, 'Marks Villa', for the building of the aerodrome at Albion Park for the defence of the country. All of the farm buildings and the house were moved to a new location across the paddock. Garnie was exempted from the army in 1942, because things were so bad at home, and had to return to help with the running of the farm.

Garnie considers his time in the Army to have been a good experience, and one he doesn’t regret. He learnt two attributes in the army as a member of the CCS; to accept how fragile life is, and to compromise with other people of different cultures, religions and nationalities.

After leaving the army he returned to the family farm and continued to work there until he was 46 years of age.

Garnie worked at Tallawarra Power Station for 19 years and 11 months, after farming. He did not have a trade, and so began as an unskilled labourer for seven years. He worked in the administrative section as a cleaner and recalls ‘there were times when I felt a bit different because all the people in the administrative section were professional engineers or this and that and I was the cleaner, but it doesn’t matter, that worked out pretty well’. The General Station Foreman promoted Garnie to a security job on the gate of the station, where he had to prevent people from taking bits and pieces from the power station, something that he says happened quite a lot. Garnie worked at the power station until he was 65 years old, after which, he helped his son, delivering milk on a milk run in the area.

‘Dairying was a way of life I don’t regret…you know, I’m quite happy I was born and reared on a farm, quite happy that I have had what maybe some people would call disadvantaged, but they’ve been made up for by the good things….You know I can’t complain, what should I complain about, to live in a place like this, in a country like this…’

Contributed by Garnet Johnston 2006.

External LinkTo Make a Home at Albion Park

Garnet (Garnie) Johnston, c.1990.

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CollectionPeopleFamilyJohnston (John)BallEastIndustryTallawarra Power StationLocalityAlbion ParkPersonEast, JamesPlaceMarks Villa

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Johnston, Garnet (Garnie)