Hilma Campbell 1920 (approx.)

Hilma Watson (born Hilma Eva Mclean Campbell) greatly valued her practical training – and like many Australian women of her era, she produced everything herself. Throughout her life she referred to her little school-book from the night classes in Home Management at Midland Junction Technical School. The now tattered pages, carefully written in ink more than eighty years ago, are full of useful information such as how to make soap, starch for collars, fly paper, linoleum cream and brass paste. The book also contains recipes for thrifty dishes and preserves for the family such as pie melon pickle and steamed treacle pudding.

The night classes, part of the continuation technical school program consisted of general subjects for those who had completed their compulsory elementary education.  Keeping students in the education system until they could gain apprenticeships, commence higher levels of technical or commercial training, or for girls specifically, to become proficient in cookery, laundry work and dressmaking, was considered important for the development of the nation.  Continuation classes were set up in the early technical schools including Midland Junction between 1910 and 1912.  By the time Hilma was a student, Western Australian had the highest ratio of students attending these types of classes than any other state.

Freelance and geometrical drawing were also a feature of the continuation classes to "quicken the intelligence and enlarge the mind".  Hilma took advantage of Mrs Landall’s (nee Le Cornu) light and shade charcoal drawing and velvet stencilling with oils classes. The stencilling she taught to her daughter Janey many years later. Hilma also learnt drawn thread embroidery and dressmaking. Although she did much embroidery prior to marriage, dressmaking (including shirts for her husband and son Des) was to carry on for many years. However, her real love was for millinery. She dearly wanted to take an apprenticeship in Perth in this trade but her father insisted she stay home to help her mother look after her four younger brothers.

The only paid job Hilma had was when she sometimes helped out at in Mr Padbury’s Department Store in Guildford. Padbury’s was one of a chain of department stores which commenced operation as Padbury & Loton in the late 1800’s.

After Hilma married her cousin Francis Robert Watson (Frank) on the 8^th of November 1930, they spent six years on his father’s farm near Woodanilling. However drought following the Depression brought an end to this. They then bought the property next door to her father in Helena Street, Guildford. By then her father had bought into four of the original Padbury stores, one of which he let. The others with partner Mr. Grant continued to operate as department stores known as C&G STORES.

To help pay for their property, Hilma decided to continue with poultry as she had done on the farm. As the Guildford C&G had an egg candling licence she was able to sell the eggs there. Her son Des was to later become the delivery boy, setting off with a basket of eggs balanced on his bicycle. In 1948 Hilma’s father and Mr. Grant sold the department stores to the Midland-Guildford Co-op, so she then turned to raising ducks. Those that were not sold through the Poultry Grower’s Co-op in Perth were fed to her family. Duck meat, duck dripping on toast, in cake along with home grown and dried sultanas, and sponges made with duck eggs plus the fruit and vegetables she grew in her backyard became their staple diet. Hilma and Frank also grew and sold shelled almonds. All this was produced on one sixth of the property that Hilma and Frank’s great great grandfather William Edwards had farmed to support his family 100 years earlier.

One great sadness in Hilma and Frank’s life was the accidental death of their son Des in 1950 just short of his 18^th birthday.

At ninety-two Hilma was still scraping weeds from the garden path with her spade whilst leaning on her Zimmer frame as her daughter was occupied elsewhere on the property.

One of Hilma’s last joys before she died on the 23^rd of May 1999 was to see her father’s Guildford shop restored to its previous dignity. For years it had been used as a second-hand shop, fascinating to those who liked to fossick amongst the bits and pieces of yesteryear. However it was greatly disappointing to Hilma who remembered it as a well run department store stocked with grocery, hardware, drapery, haberdashery, millinery, liquor, and chaff wheat and oats bought direct from the farmers.

Thanks to Miss Janey Watson for assistance with this profile.

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