Quote:
Originally posted by Ehrys:
Oh no, another one I can't make out... urgh. I need lessons in... ? what kind of slang is this again?
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This is another story from turn of the century Sydney. The accent of the time would have been a cross between Cockney (London) and Irish. So if you can try to read the piece with that in mind, it should become easier.
I posted this one because it illustrates how hard life was back then. Twelve year old boys having to work to help support their families because their own fathers had been worked to death. Certainly no thoughts of school or indeed University every crossed their minds. Health care didn't exist at the time, and you went to hospital to die, rather than looking for a cure to your illness. Living conditions were very poor, and the diet of most generally consisted of potatoes and little else.
Food for thought in these days of opulence we now enjoy.