PERTH ROYAL SHOW (Part 2)

Excerpt from 'THE CLOCK OF TIME' by Gertrude Ruston.  (pp 131-132)

"At last I felt I had had enough and asked them to find somebody else to run the Show.  They pleaded with me to continue to manage it and offered me extra money to do so.  I carried on for another two years and the money earned was put away towards Peg's twenty-first birthday party and her wedding.

Looking back at the Show I remember one evening when there was an open air programme which continued until late.  It turned very wet and cold and people pushed their way into the kiosk after closing time and begged us to give them a hot drink and something to eat.  We had nothing ready to serve but they looked so miserable that I mixed together odds and ends we had left over in saucepans, added some tomato sauce, heated it and served it on toast together with tea or coffee.  Everybody said it was wonderful and asked me what was in it.  I said it was a special secret receipt of mine and my helpers called it "Rusty's Special".  I could not have told anybody what it really contained but it was wholesome, much appreciated, and added to the night's takings.

While running the Show we still had to keep the home fires burning.  I had Harry and Peg at home and, before leaving for the Show, I would pack the fridge with meat pies, casseroles, cold meat and sweets sufficient to carry them over until I could get home for an evening to replenish stocks.

At that time the Show was only open for one week with two or three night programmes, so we shared duty sleeping at the kiosk and preparing the breakfast.  Eventually the old kiosk was demolished and replaced with a smaller and more modern one.  It ass probably easier to run although apparently not so successful financially as the original building.

By the time the new building was in operation I was no longer State Secretary as, **my husband having gone, it was necessary for me to earn a full salary, and I had obtained the position of Confidential Secretary to the General Manager and Secretary of Boucher's Industries in Scarborough Beach Road, Osborne Park.

Now, thanks to a legacy from Mrs Rischbieth, the headquarters at 7 Harvest Terrace, West Perth, belongs entirely to the Guilds.  It has been let profitably, and the rental pays for a delightful suite in the new Wesley Chambers, as well as the State Secretary's salary, so that running the Show kiosk is a thing of the past.  The central position of the new Guild headquarters at the Wesley Centre makes travelling easier and even I, at ***83, am able to attend "Unalla" Guild once a month by taxi at the same time as I visit the bank and carry out necessary shopping.

Some of the present members of "Unalla" Guild were previously members of the Night Guild for business women. which is no longer operating but of which I used to be a member.

I was very devoted to Mrs Rischbieth and, **after Harry had gone and Peg was married, I often spent weekends with her at her home *"Unalla" in Peppermint Grove.  Her death as a great blow and, as far as those of us who knew and loved her are concerned, nobody has taken her place.

I have in my possession two personal letters from Mrs Rischbieth which are included in these memoirs."

*Just for the heck of it I put "Unalla, Peppermint Grove, into Google and found the house that was once the home of the Rischbieths is now for sale and this is the picture shown by the real estate agent.  It was built ca 1903 and sits on one acre of land (4,360SQM).  It has five bedrooms and three bathrooms, a tennis court, water fountain, glass house and circular driveway.   The asking price?  Offers from $15,000,000!!  I wonder what Mrs R. would think about that price?

** Mum in her book does not elaborate about "my husband having gone" and "after Harry had gone".  It was mum's idea that they separate and I feel dad had no choice but to agree.   I somehow feel (as with the adoption) that she didn't want to broadcast it for all and sundry to read about in her book.  I felt very sorry for dad as by then he was about 70 years of age and had to set about finding somewhere to live.  It also put a stop to me seeing dad for a number of years which saddened me a lot but that is another story in itself.

***Mum was 83 in 1980 (the same age that I am now)