Stories of a Simpler Australian Childhood

By Op-Ed Frank is Back

Every now and then, a reader sends in a memory that instantly transports us to a gentler time -  when kids roamed freely on red Cyclops trikes, mulberry bushes grew tall on the hill, and the best birthday gifts came with four legs and a wagging tail.

Tomatoes grew abundantly and his father fed the leftovers to the chooks after the Fowlers vacola outfit had run out of jars. Yes, we grew up in a time of abundance. Abundant food, abundant joy, abundant freedom and abundant hope and optimism for an exciting future. 

Welcome to From Trike to Tail-Wags: Frankie’s World -  part 2 in a gentle collection of tales from young Frankie’s boyhood in Australia. These are stories of freedom, family, backyard adventures, sparkler-lit birthdays, and the kind of lifelong friendships that often begin with a yip and a lick.

I hope you enjoy. 

The Mulberry Bush and Magic Eggs

One of my earliest and fondest memories begins with the house we moved into when I was very young. In the chookyard stood a large mulberry bush. Every summer, it hung heavy with dark, sweet fruit.

That’s when I made a wonderful discovery: the chooks that ate the fallen mulberries started laying eggs with the most beautiful, deep orange-red yolks -  almost like they’d been painted.

Not long after, a friend showed me his brand-new Dr. Seuss book: Green Eggs and Ham. From that moment on, I couldn’t separate the two in my mind. While Sam-I-Am tried to convince his friend to eat green eggs, I was eating blood-red ones from our own backyard chooks. The connection enchanted me, and I’ve been hooked on Dr. Seuss ever since.

It’s such a small memory, but one that has never faded.

Yes, it could have been Dad's decision to feed the chooks all the leftover tomatoes, but somehow that does not make for a better story really. I think I will stick with Mulberrys. 

Frankie’s Seventh Birthday: The Day Nancy Arrived

In a house on a hill, where the mulberry bush grew tall,
Lived a boy named young Frankie, just seven years small.

It was his birthday -  hooray! What a marvellous day!
With balloons in the air and cake on the way.

His schoolfriends came hopping, all bouncy and bright,
With presents and laughter from noon until night.

They played Pin the Tail on a wiggly old mule,
And musical chairs with a “whoops-a-doodle” rule.

They munched on red punch and cookies with sprinkles,
And ran in the yard making sparkler twinkles.

Frankie’s cheeks glowed like two cherries so red,
As he blew out the candles -  seven flames -  on his head!

Then Father stepped forward with a grin wide and grand,
A box in his hands with a ribbon so grand.

He set it down gently and lifted the lid,
And out popped a puppy -  oh, what Frankie did!

A tiny golden cocker spaniel with ears soft as silk,
And eyes full of wonder, as brown as choccy milk.

Her fur was like velvet, all golden and fine,
And her tail went a-wagging like a flag in the sunshine.

“Nancy!” cried Frankie, his voice full of glee.
“She’s mine? She’s all mine? Just for little old me?”

Yeah OK, AI missed the age thing. Monty. 

Father laughed warmly and ruffled Frank’s hair,
“Yes, son, little Nancy will always be there.”

Nancy yipped once, then twice, then a third,
She licked Frankie’s nose -  how perfectly absurd!

The friends gathered round with a chorus of “Wow!”
And Nancy dashed circles, a fluffy wee pow!

She chased after balls and tumbled in laps,
She snoozed on the rug after all of the claps.

Frankie hugged her close as the party grew late,
And whispered, “Dear Nancy, you’re simply first-rate!”

So that’s how it happened, on Frankie’s big seven,
A day full of friends and a puppy from heaven.

With cake in their tummies and joy in their hearts,
Frankie and Nancy made wonderful starts.

And if you should listen on birthdays so grand,
You might hear a small yip from a cocker-spaniel land.

Why These Stories Matter

These simple childhood moments -  secret expeditions to “The Bank” at age three, blood-red mulberry eggs, sparkler nights, and the arrival of a golden cocker spaniel named Nancy -  capture something precious about growing up in a different Australia.

An Australia where kids had real freedom, where nature and animals were part of everyday life, and where the smallest things -  a mulberry-stained egg, a wagging tail -  could create memories that last a lifetime.

If you have your own stories of a simpler childhood -  whether they involve trikes, chooks, mulberry bushes, or puppies that changed everything -  I’d love to hear them. Some memories are too good to keep to yourself.

Read Part 1 here

https://patriotrealm.com/4535-from-weet-bix-to-wanted-my-toddler-bank-heist-on-a-cyclops-trike