I think back to what Sydney was like in the 1960s. Oh, so much has changed since then. On a Sunday you would see hardly any people in the city, Outside cafes? Not in your dreams.

I cannot recall that I noticed then a lot of homeless people. When our daughter became sick with the polio virus, she received in Sydney the best of medical care paid for by the Hospital Fund. We were recent migrants. My husband was on very low wages, but we had no money problems, none whatsoever!

Our diet in the 1960s included of course fish and chips and meat pies, also topside steak (which was very affordable) and minced meat and occasionally a leg of lamb roasted in the oven. I never liked to eat chicken, but I cooked it for the family. Of course we could always afford to buy fresh vegetables and fruit. We thought Australia was the best country for our young family. We had three children within three years, and I was able to stay home with them! We were also able to save up for our own block of land to build our own house on with a loan from a Building Society. So we were able to get by on my husband’s low wages. We were never without some kind of accommodation or basic food. We did not spend a lot on clothes. How about that? Unheard of today!!

We never borrowed any money. Our only debt was for a second hand car and later for a very low priced house.