Protecting the Children from Drowning

When I was a boy during World War 2, our family visited my Uncle and Auntie at a lettuce farm at Wacol Queensland. There they had a large dam with cement sides for watering the lettuce which were flown to the American Troops in the Islands. My mother was afraid that I would fall into this dam and drown. The family had been swimming there during the hot summer afternoons. I was about three years of age. My mother took me to the dam and held me under for a few seconds enough to frighten me away from it.

Andy, Robbie and Jenny in the Congo

Now back to Africa the year 1975. David Rowlands  just older than Andrew had fallen down into a half empty 44 gallon drum (200 litres.) head first and was miraculously saved by the house boy name Ya Seba.

Our Andy and David Rowlands

This was a warning to Esther and I as at our back door were two water drums for catching rain water. They were also filled from a pump down in the valley. Often they were half - empty. Robbie and Jen just loved to play in the water leaning over the side of the drums which were lower down. The girls could stand on the verandah and reach in to splash in the clear water. The near accident with David Rowlands reminded me of my childhood. Yes, you guessed right.

Esther took the girls and dunked them under and held them there upside down for a few seconds just to give them the needed scare and make them keep away from those drums.

The girls came up screaming and yelling their heads off. At that moment Andy was in the bath. He heard his sisters screaming and climbed up in the window ledge stark naked and yelled at his mother in protective elder brother language, "YOU NAUGHTY MUMMY, YOU NAUGHTY MUMMY!!!" The girls never played in the drums again.

Off to the local river

They did have lots of fun down in the river with tyres though.