How did you manage money as a single mother in the 60s?

I couldn’t even afford croissants or prawns back then - I didn’t try my first croissant until I was in my 70s! I had to walk past cake shops and look in my purse, realizing I only had enough money for bread and milk. When you’re looking after five children, there’s not much room for luxuries.

The 1960s weren’t a good time for women, especially single mothers. I couldn’t even open a budget account because I didn’t have a man to sign the paperwork! I remember going to Straws department store in Sandringham to get the children’s school uniforms for Sandy Tech. I had to get special permission from the manager - that was the word they used, “allow.” I had to explain that I wouldn’t be able to send the children to school because I didn’t have enough money to buy the uniforms. He would sign a paper allowing me to purchase the summer uniforms, and if I paid that off in time, I could come back for winter uniforms. This went on for a couple of years until he saw I could pay the bills. Eventually, he gave me what they called a “credit rating” - it was like having a credit card nowadays. I could use it at other shops if I needed things for schooling, like at Pellegrini’s for Sandy Tech books.

There was some kind of centralized accounting system where they’d register your credit rating. They didn’t have computers back then, so they’d probably phone up to check your rating. I was so proud to get a credit rating as a woman on my own. By the time Brian was old enough to drive, I was even allowed to sign for his cars - those old bomb cars that he’d leave on the side of the road if they broke down! The shopkeepers were very surprised to see a woman signing for things.

But I was determined. I paid off that house myself - by the time Robbie passed away, there was only $2,000 left on it, which I paid with his superannuation money. Before that, I’d paid every penny myself. It wasn’t easy - Jack’s name was still on the house until 1965, and I had to divorce him to get it off. By that time he was onto marriage number three anyway - he went off with Lorna, who quickly tired of him and divorced him, and then he met another one.

I had to do everything - send them to school, clothe them, feed them. I did everything. Sometimes someone would come home with a tunic that needed washing, and I’d be trying to dry it because I didn’t have a dryer. I usually only had one change of things, so I’d wash them out and try to get them dry for the next day for school. Then I had to get myself off to work - I was always late and the boss wasn’t a very nice man either. He’d wait all day and then stand in the middle of the office to say “You were five minutes late this morning.”

But you know what? I got through it through sheer determination. You had to be determined back then, especially as a woman on your own.