Grandma's Memoirs

Gladys was born in her family home on a farm in the Great Dividing Range along the road named after her father on Comboyne, New South Wales. It was just before the Great Depression and Gladys already had eight elder siblings. Her father died soon after so, as she could not be with him in life, she chose to be with him in death. Both their graves can now be found in the far corner of the cemetery down the road from that house, although they were buried almost a century apart.

These are the short reflections of a strong woman whose determination to make a better life for herself brought her through many trials and tribulations. Perhaps more than most, Gladys typified the Aussie battler who let nothing stand in her way. Yet in the midst of all her struggles, she never forgot how to laugh nor let the weight of her woes stop her from ploughing on towards brighter days.

A champion carpet bowler who loved euchre and checkers, an avid gardener, a beautiful pianist, a collector of spoons who loved to travel but could seldom afford it. Gladys was many things, but to her two boys she was Mum, often tough but always there. And this is the journal she left for them, decorated with photographs and prepared for publication by one of her three grandchildren.

"I've had a hard life, but a good life." ~ Gladys Kennedy