Sharing Christmas Stories From Bygone Days

Christmas in 1896 – Proserpine Notes - “Mackay Standard” January 13, 1897

“Christmas passed off quietly but very pleasantly with us here, as is usual among all small communities. The usual custom of shopping on Christmas Eve was not forgotten and it was surprising the amount and variety of goods Mr Jupp and Mr Campbell, our two storekeepers, were able to display … Mr Jupp, on his recent visit south, had not forgotten that there were a large number of children … and brought with him plenty of toys, whistles etc … the rattle and screeches of the different instruments and the merry laughter of the little folks reminded one of being back in a large city …

Extracts from Memory of a Bush Kid’s Christmas (c1914) by Mary Hallam (1909 - 1996).

“We didn’t hang out stockings, nor did we have a tree. We just put our hats on the big rough timber table and into these our gifts were put. That special gift for each one; a lucky stocking and lollies and nuts and crackers – which gave the greatest joy of all … The stocking held lots of small things, each one a surprise and the fireworks were super special. Sparklers, Bengal matches that burned red or green when struck, rockets, jumping jacks and packets of little crackers ...

(After breakfast) we were sent off to the creek to get greenery to decorate the house ... We came home laden with palm leaves, ferns and a plant called ‘centipede vine’. It bore fruit like tiny pineapples, green when green and red when ripe – just the right colours for Christmas. We loved this decorating. We made the corrugated iron walls look a verdant rainforest.

(Then) it was time for dinner. We were called in and washed and dressed in white. I wore a white muslin frock; the boys wore their white coats. Mum wore a large white starched apron over her dress and Dad wore a white shirt.

The table was set with a big white cloth and hand-made paper flowers. Dad sat at the head of the table to do the carving … The pudding with money in it was great fun …

The afternoon was spent quietly with our toys. After tea when it was dark came the time for the fireworks … We wrote our names in the air with sparklers, watched rockets rise high into the sky and explode and let off little crackers with shrieks of delight.”

Christmas in Proserpine prior to World War Two – Reflections by Zena Price

“… the street would be decorated with palms and the shops open until 9 pm. Crowds gathered in Main Street while the town band played. … Santa Claus made his way through the street … Church services at midnight were well attended and afterwards the bandsmen crowded on a lorry or two … and drove around the back streets playing carols … (Later) the revellers would move off to the railway station and played ‘Silent Night’ to the passengers on the mail train that passed through Proserpine about 3am.

On Christmas Day visitors came and went. Even though it was the height of summer, Christmas dinner was traditional, such as grandparents enjoyed in the “old country” – chook or roast beef, baked vegetables and the Christmas pudding boiled in an unbleached calico cloth weeks before. … (with) threepences and, if lucky, even a sixpence. And charms! Silver charms!  (And) brandy poured over the pudding and lit up.

Story and photo courtesy of Proserpine Historical Museum.

William Baron Biggs and son William Biggs pictured wearing Christmas bon bon hats and sharing a tallie at Ernestholme on Christmas Day in the early 1930s. Photo supplied