Queenslander

I experienced a blog milestone yesterday. My first guest post over at a fellow bloggers blog. Cate from Behind the Purple Door is having a special week on her blog to acknowledge having now spent more of her life living in sunny Queensland. I can relate, as my own journey started in Victoria also.

Below is my post, although you can find the original here & check out the stories from other bloggers guest posting this week too.

When I was 4 years and 11 months old, my family moved to Queensland. The year was 1988. Before that time we were living in the small town of Portland, Victoria, towards the end of the great ocean home and the place of the first convict settlement in Victoria. Looking back, it was a place filled with some fairly unique history.

While I was too young to remember it clearly, I have flashing memories of our big trip to Queensland. We travelled up in 2 cars. One was blue and the other brown. One may have been a Valiant Charger… still Dad’s favourite model of car. One of the cars also had a trailer attached. We had CV radios connecting us (mum, dad, my brother and I) to my sister and her boyfriend in the other car.

I remember going down Cunningham Gap as we neared Queensland and having mum say it was a bit ‘hairy’ and asking her how on earth the road could be hairy? What she actually meant was “This is really freaking scary as our breaks have failed and a truckie just said over the CV radio that his mate crashed over the edge last week and died”. Glad I was too young to remember that part of the trip.

We lived with my mum’s older brother and family for about a month or so. We lived in the big shed, while my sister and boyfriend lived in a caravan. I remember waking up for my first day of school in that shed, in my bed, unable to open my eyes as I had conjunctivitis and missed around a week of the start of grade 1.

Soon after starting primary school in Queensland we moved into our own home. An old Queenslander style double story house. I loved that it had a massive front veranda that I could play on and a window that opened from my playroom onto the veranda. Crime wasn’t really an issue back then compared to now.

We had an above ground pool installed in the backyard soon after we moved in. We spent so much time in that pool since the weather was hot enough for it. So much fun! I had a swing set and trampoline too.

3 years later we moved house again. Another old Queenslander, this time with a massive inground swimming pool and 1/4 acre block. So much of my summer was spent outside. I loved the summer weather and being able to get up and go straight for a swim in the morning, then lay in the sun reading a book for hours. That probably explains all the freckles I have now. Red hair and tanning isn’t such a great combination.

I am now 31. I’ve lived in Queensland since I was almost 5 years old. I feel like a Queenslander… not a Victorian. I am a hot weather loving, sunshine-type of gal. While I don’t necessarily need the beach nearby, I love being able to spend my days outside in the sun or get away with shorts and t-shirt most of the year. Winters in Queensland are mild, just the way I prefer it. Victorian winters can be awful!

Although if you ask me who I support in the state of origin… I will gladly tell you neither… as I am a Victorian, but in actual fact it’s because I simply hate football! But if you ask me where I’m from… Queensland comes to mind first these days.

Don’t get me wrong… I still love visiting my home state and seeing relatives and reminiscing. But I belong here in Queensland.

 

And look….even a retro family photo. I’m the cute little one in the front. Don’t ya just love those hairstyles?