As for the daughters of Robert K., Whose story I recounted a few days ago, they led very different lives, the one from the other.

My maternal grandmother, Beatrice (or 'Bea' as she was customarily known), had two children. In the following photograph, she is sitting on the left. This snap was taken in 1969. She was born in 1901. On the right-hand side is Reba, who remained a spinster all her life. Born in 1899, she was always very proper, and ended up living in the house behind Bea's, in suburban Melbourne. She was very fair, while her sister was dark.


About their father, my mother has this to say:

I wish I had had the opportunity to know him beyond the slight, plump, balding figure who made rare visits on some Sundays, in the front room of Glen Eira Rd., never offered a seat or refreshment.

Bea, who was the one withholding a cup of tea on those Sundays, is shown in the following photo with my two-year-old brother (Peter James) and a galah. My mother thinks this was taken while she was busy giving birth to me, in 1962.