By MARG STORK
THE old master Henry Lawson knew full well what it was to trudge the back blocks with no place to call home.
There are broken-heart secrets and bitter-heart reasons, he wrote. They are sewn in a canvas or calico bag, And wrapped up in oilskin through dark rainy seasons, And he carries them safe in the core of his swag.
Cornerstone Contact Mission, a Christian mission in the heart of Dandenong, is looking for as many swags as it can.
They’re for hundreds of modern wayfarers around Dandenong and Casey. Now that the chill is in the air, they’re all the more needed.
“Over summer we’ve been giving away swags at a rapid rate,” says Pastor Don Cameron. “We’ve almost run out of the swags that the South East Dandenong Rotary Club bought for us. Anyone wanting to buy one can go to cornerstonecentre.com.au and type ‘swags’ in the message area.
“We’ll gather all the donations and get the best bulk-deal buying swags for people who desperately need them. We’re hoping the Swags for Homeless organisation will get some help from state or federal governments.”
Speaking of swags, I recall the swaggies who humped their blueys (swags) during the great Depression and who often visited our property at Lyndhurst, asking for food and shelter.
I’d hate to count the number of times my mother asked me to cut hefty sandwiches for them — they liked mum’s homemade bread, butter, apple chutney and cold roast lamb, to say nothing of her fairycakes iced and decorated with ‘hundreds and thousands’.
Often, the swaggies were out-of-work professionals: doctors, dentists, lawyers, and we’d let them sleep overnight in the workmen’s cottages.
Never once did our visitors betray our trust and often they’d offer to “cut some kindling for you, missus”.
When morning came we’d fill their blackened billies with hot water and they’d make a beeline to one of our outdoor bathrooms to clean off the grime. The fountain on the IXL stove in the kitchen held hot water day and night and cold water flowed from galvanised tanks.
Into the backyard’s underground tanks we’d lower the Coolgardie safes to preserve our food — that was before the ice chest was invented or an ‘iceman’ from Cranbourne dropped by.
If there were small pieces of ice from the blocks he’d give them to us as ‘refreshers’!
A kid’s-eye view
Three years ago a website for youngsters with info on local events and support groups was launched in Greater Dandenong. It gets hundreds of hits each week.
The site, dandenongkids.com.au, features tips for entertaining children during the school hols, parenting do’s and don’ts, a monthly newsletter and a lot more. The website is run by a partnership that includes the council’s family support team, Mission Australia and Best Start.
Do you have a milestone, memory or question for Marg? Email easteditorial@mmpgroup.com.au or post submissions to A Moment with Marg, c/o The Dandenong Journal, PO Box 318, Dandenong 3175.
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