4th June, 2024.
Today my aunty Shirley Rolph turns 95. She was of an era where women were homebodies, cooking up storms for fetes and sewing aprons. I remember the thrill of watching her pour the liquid golden sugar that was to set as honeycomb and hearing the warning to not put my fingers anywhere near it. I remember the excitement of the pencil-like wooden sticks that pierced the fresh apples to then be dunked in ruby red toffee. She fundraised for the school fetes of not only her own children but also the children of her nephews and nieces.
The Rolphs had their home in Regents Park. Later in life they owned Regents Park Hardware, where I had my first job learning about larry hoes and screw sizes. When my own mother was dying, Aunty Shirley took over care so that my sisters and I were able to continue caring for our families.
Aunty Shirley wrote a book about my family history calledI Was Born Lucky. In 1851 my great-grandfather purchased Charleville in Mulgoa. He then left nearly 2,000 acres of Mulgoa forest and Bents Basin to his descendants. The book allows me to feel the history of my family right where I live now. With an aunty like that, I was indeed the one who was born lucky.