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Oral history of Dorothy Packer
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Collection SummaryThis interview with Dorothy Packer of Honor Street, Ermington took place on 12 September 1997. It is one of over 160 interviews conducted 1997-1999 to form Recording Ryde's Oral History Collection
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DescriptionDorothy moved to Ryde at the age of two and has lived in the Ryde area ever since. She describes her childhood in Ryde in the 1920s and her teenage years in West Ryde in the 1930s. Details of home, school and leisure activities and the impact of the Depression on her family are detailed. The impact of WWII and her career in the armed services, working in a hotel for men on leave is described. Her family's strong Labor sympathies, the dynamics of a large family, discussion of various social attitudes towards childbirth, sex and death and the role of Methodism in her life provide interesting insights into her life at the time. The interview also includes lists of names of shop owners in Ryde and teachers at Ryde Public School.
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SubjectsDorothy Mary Packer, 1920---InterviewsSarah McPhail, 1847-1926New South Wales Home for IncurablesRyde Public School (Ryde, NSW)West Ryde Methodist Church (West Ryde, NSW)Empire Day--New South Wales--Ryde RegionRyde (NSW)--HistorySydney Harbour Bridge (Sydney, NSW)--HistoryDepressions--1929--Australia--Social conditions--Personal narrativesWorld War, 1939-1945--New South Wales--Ryde RegionRyde (NSW)--Armed Forces--WomenRecreation--New South Wales--Ryde Region--HistoryMeadowbank Baths (Parramatta River, NSW)Recording Ryde's Oral History CollectionRyde (NSW)--Social life and customs--AnecdotesRyde (NSW)--DescriptionGlebe Street (Ryde, NSW)Hermitage Road (West Ryde, NSW)"Forty Thieves" Gang (Ryde, NSW)CollectionN,O,P,Q
Sarah McPhail, 1847-1926New South Wales Home for IncurablesRyde Public School (Ryde, NSW)West Ryde Methodist Church (West Ryde, NSW)Empire Day--New South Wales--Ryde RegionRyde (NSW)--HistorySydney Harbour Bridge (Sydney, NSW)--HistoryDepressions--1929--Australia--Social conditions--Personal narrativesWorld War, 1939-1945--New South Wales--Ryde RegionRyde (NSW)--Armed Forces--WomenRecreation--New South Wales--Ryde Region--HistoryMeadowbank Baths (Parramatta River, NSW)Recording Ryde's Oral History CollectionRyde (NSW)--Social life and customs--AnecdotesRyde (NSW)--DescriptionGlebe Street (Ryde, NSW)Hermitage Road (West Ryde, NSW)"Forty Thieves" Gang (Ryde, NSW)CollectionN,O,P,QOral history of Dorothy Packer. Ryde History Hub, accessed 16/03/2026, https://historyhub.ryde.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/6142