Local History with Betty Laver – The life of Elvie Brown

Elvie, the eldest child of David and Annie Aldous, was born in Rockhampton in 1920. Both her parents were from Calliope and they married when David returned from WW1. Elvie is the fourth generation of her family to live in Calliope and she had four younger brothers. As a child, she listened to music on the gramophone and radio. She remembers living a happy childhood, passing the time, and visiting friends by walking to their houses, where they would make cubby houses. An Aunt taught Elvie to play the piano and she kept playing into her later years.

Elvie attended the only school in Calliope (at that time) and there were fourteen students in her class. Some of the students rode horses to school but most had to walk, including Elvie who had to travel one mile. Basketball was popular with female students and Elvie often travelled to Gladstone and remembers winning against the Gladstone State School. Her team never had much luck against Parsons Point School because they were much too good. Elvie had a passion for tennis, so much so that in later years she travelled to Melbourne to see the Australian Open. Every Saturday she attended dances wearing beautiful gowns made by her Grandmother and Aunts who were dressmakers. They taught her to sew, a skill she passed on to her own family.