South West Life

It seems that Thursday was the day for shopping even back in the 1930's in Cowaramup.

The train only came twice a week from Perth to Cowaramup. On Mondays and Thursdays. Because the Monday train left Perth near midnight on Sunday, it often didn't carry a lot of goods. The Thursday train, however, always had a big load of mail, food, newspapers, and other supplies.

Thursdays, or Mail Day as it was known, became the best time to do your business in town. This was especially the case on the first Thursday of each month, when the monthly cheque would arrive for the dairy farmers and their families. The size of the cheque would vary depending on the season, but one thing was for sure - "cream cheque day" was shopping day.

Lots of families lived out of the main town, so it was quite a journey to the post office and train station. Even on horse it could take a couple of hours. Families would make a day out of it, packing a lunch and riding on the horse and cart to town.

At the post office itself, the first people would begin to arrive around 11:30am. First one, then another, then more and more would trickle in, until eventually the street was alive with a crowd of people, horses and dogs, all milling around the entrance.

It must have been a sight to see. People chatting, laughing, the occasional dog fight, kids running around and playing games. For many of them they wouldn't have caught up on the latest news and gossip since the last cream cheque day a month ago.

And then the sound of the train whistle would blow, and everyone knew it wouldn't be too much longer. The post office manager would then drive down to the railway station, collect the mail and some other goods and return. The crowd would watch expectantly as he pulled in, took the mail bags inside, and shut the door. They would have to wait a little longer while it was all sorted.

A queue would begin to form at the door and then, eventually, it would open and everyone would file inside. Whole families would stream in, checking to see what mail had arrived. The opening of the "cream cheque" was always a special moment, usually done first, and only for the eyes of mum and dad. The size of the cheque would determine how many supplies could be bought, or alternatively how much "belt-tightening" needed to be done.

Once mail was received and posted, it was off to the shops to get some of the supplies needed for the next month. Cheques would be cashed, money would be spent. The cart would get piled high with boxes and crates, and often the kids would need to share a seat on the way home, or sit on mum's lap.

By mid-afternoon, it was time to go home. Kids were rounded up, goodbyes were said, and the cart trundled home. By late afternoon the street was empty again and people were back in their homes.

Today we can do in an hour what took these people a whole day to achieve. But I think that if I'd lived in Cowaramup at that time, Mail Day would have been a blast.