Peter thought this picture deserved to be posted. I records a remarkable moment that happened about sixty years ago in Townsville. His mum, Val, visited the home of Max her husband to be. She had travelled by train from Brisbane and made a stop in Townsville to lunch with her future in-law's. Max was not there, so she met them for the first time without him. That was a courageous act, to be entertained by a large family all focused on 'checking the new girl out'. Max's sister Shirley picked her up at the station and dinked her on her bicycle about 5 Km to their home in Guliver. During the lunch, Max's brother John ceremoniously sliced the bread and showed his expertise by flinging the slices onto Val's plate from the other side of the table. Those memories especially stuck with Val.
The photo was taken probably by Max's mum (Pete's Nan). What is remarkable is just how young Kelvin and Geoffery look. The older brothers John and Colin looked old enough to have already left home, but must still be doing high-school. Shirley might have had a job at that stage and is wearing a nice dress that she may have made herself. It must have been a weekend day since they were all at home. Pete's grandfather (Da) seems to have been called to join them from hosing. He has that look of only being there for that moment. He seems very old looking to be their father, sporting white hair at that stage in his life.
All the males were wearing white shirts, making it likely that they had all been to church earlier, pointing to a Sunday. It is a very interesting photo made all the more remarkable seeing Val positioned top centre with the look that she had taken the measure of them and embraced them as her own.
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