Georgy Girl

The Seekers 1966

Hey there, Georgy girl
Swingin’ down the street so fancy-free
Nobody you meet could ever see
The loneliness there
Inside you

Hey there, Georgy girl
Why do all the boys just pass you by?
Could it be you just don’t try
Or is it the clothes you wear?

Today, in April, 1967, I am turning 16, so my mother and I are celebrating by having lunch at the Camden Valley Inn.  My mother gave me a bracelet with my grandmother’s hair in it which I think is just amazing.  It is sure to be a conversation starter when I’m with other people. I’m in fifth year at Bowral High School and my name is Isabella.

My family is very small.  There is my mother, Elsa, my grandmother Kay (she changed her name from Myrtle) and my Great Uncle Claude.  My father died when I was 10, of a heart attack. My mother married him when she was 18. She had left Lucy Secors in Melbourne and was working as a receptionist in a hotel in Goondiwindi. My father was staying at the hotel and the rest is history.  I wasn’t born until 15 years later in Mildura, which is in far west Victoria. I think my mother is the most amazing person. She is a very successful businesswoman and has turned the business around since my father died.

My first school was in Sydney but we all moved to the country when I was six. I love the freedom, the space, the animals and the peace and quiet and I’m used to my own company. Exploring the gully behind my home and riding my bike are favourite activities.

For the Higher School Certificate I am studying English, History, Maths, Science, Geography and Art.  My favourite subject apart from English is Art, because it is so creative.  My mother says that when I complete the HSC we will fly to New Zealand for a holiday. It will be my first trip overseas.

I’m hopeless at competitive sport which may be because I’m short sighted.  I choose swimming every summer and tennis, table tennis or athletics in winter. I am involved in the Inter School Christian Fellowship and have been chosen to be President next year. That involves organising and leading meetings every Friday lunchtime which is a bit daunting but will improve my confidence in public speaking.

I spend far too much time watching TV instead of studying.  My favourite TV show is Star Trek.  I have a picture of Mr Spock in the lid of my school case.  I love anything to do with Space and Astronomy is my favourite part of Science.

I’m learning the piano and enjoy it but probably don’t practise enough. My mother can play by ear and is very good. Sewing is another of my hobbies. I make most of my own clothes and used to take sewing as a subject at school but dropped it after the School Certificate.

Another hobby is the Argonauts Club.  It is a radio program on at 5 o’clock every afternoon.  They are always asking for contributions to do with art, music, nature, drama, current affairs etc.and award blue certificates for the best ones. Six blues equals a book so I have added considerably to my library.  I also get the Childrens’ Newspaper and won a Malvern Star bicycle this year by writing lots of contributions for six months.

When I finish my HSC I hope to get a scholarship to train to be a teacher.  I would like to teach English and History at high school but am also considering primary school teaching.  

I don’t go out much except to church at Colo Vale and Mittagong.  All my social activities revolve around church except for the school social which is held twice a year. We have to practise old time dancing for a few weeks before the social, including the waltz, Canadian Three Step, Pride of Erin and Progressive Barn Dance.

I do a lot of reading, mainly books by authors we study at school.  I have read most of Jane Austin, Charles Dickens, D.H. Lawrence and Thomas Hardy.  The saddest book is Tess of the D’Urbervilles which ends with the doomed Tess and Angel meeting at Stonehenge. That brings me back to my plans.  After I teach for three years I will resign, travel by ship to England and teach in London.  From there I will be able to travel all over Europe.  I don’t want to get married until I am 26 so I have a lot to look forward to.  The next ten years will be very exciting!