Australia - Monday May 16 - Rockton House and Roseville

Monday, after an early breakfast, we piled in the rented car and drove to David's first area, called Chermside. If you recall your family history, David arrived in the first batch of new elders to come into the newly-formed mission headquartered in Brisbane. There weren't enough trainers to go around, so David and another elder were officially assigned to more senior elders. Their "companions," however, had other responsibilities, so these two greenies trained each other in Chermside.

We prowled around the streets, located the chapel, and then stopped at a news agency (think 7-11) for a Referdex (street guide), an ice cream, and a soft drink. Fortified with the Referdex, we located his first flat and the shop where he used to buy banana Paddle Pops. Banana Paddle Pops are legendary, because (David said) after you lick the banana ice cream, the melted part refreezes, contrary to every known law of physics. Naturally, we were anxious to test this, and stopped for a sample. But as we approached the shop, we stopped because we saw two elders coming toward us down the street. One of the elders was named Elder Donald Bradshaw; he was from Hurricane, Utah. Small world. We visited briefly and made our purchases.

Armed with banana paddle pops (and they do refreeze--amazing!), we then drove to the mission office and popped in to say hello. Next door to the mission office was an Australian souvenir wholesaler, so we stopped in to do a little shopping. We walked out with 5 kangaroo skins (rooskins), 6 boomerangs, 3 sheepskin dogs, 1 sheepskin cat, 15 rooskin koalas, and 5 seamless coin purses. I'm not sure, looking back, if we actually walked out with all of that, or if we had some of it shipped. But we walked out with the dogs at least, because the kids carried them around.

Then on to Ipswich, another of David's areas. On the way, we stopped at a chemist (drugstore), who recommended a decongestant for Karren instead of a cough suppressant, so we got one and dosed her and continued on. Once at Ipswich, we drove by Rockton House, a mansion whose wealthy owners had been charmed to rent rooms to the missionaries, and had hosted Christmas dinner while David was in that district. No one was home, so we went to Queen's Park and let the kids play for a bit.

Next project: find Gloria and Vera Munroe, whom David had baptized back in the day. We stopped at the Munroe house and they were home, so we went in to visit and wait for Gloria. But she was running late, so wetook the kids out for lunch at a local place where we got fish 'n' chips, bickies (cookies), and drinks. Then back to the Munroes. Gloria was there, so she and David visited for a while. A single mom, she had a six- or seven-year-0ld daughter. After a bit, we headed to Vera's house; she had married and had two or three little boys, so we said hello for a few minutes before we continued on.

As we retraced our path through Ipswich, we stopped at a little antique shop and browsed around. David found three pocket watches that he really liked, so we bought them. One was a nice gold watch, one was a nurse's watch of presumably World-War-I vintage, and one was badly worn; they were all made locally.

We stopped at Rockton House again, and this time the family was there. Mrs. Rockton's daughter was the current occupant; old Mrs. Rockton had died and old Mr. Rockton was in a home for incurable lushes, leaving it in the capable hands of the daughter and her family. The daughter kindly invited us in for a visit. The house was charming, different from the usual style of Australian house, and well over 100 years old even then. The grounds were large, well-laid-out, and beautifully kept. Inside, I remember a cool dimness, very pleasant in the tropical weather, with wood floors and two little boys, just older than Gordon. They had a vast collection of Lego which kept them all happily occupied while we visited. David was particularly interested in what had become of old Mrs. Rockton's first edition Book of Mormon, but the daughter was unfamiliar with it and could not recall ever having seen it. David was very disappointed.

We drove back into Brisbane, cleaned up and ordered sandwiches for the kids, and then the Pascoes brought Christine and Andrew to babysit while we adults went out for a nice dinner. David had asked Brian, who was a taxi driver, to pick out a really nice restaurant, and after some consideration, Brian selected Roseville, to satisfy a long-held ambition to eat there.

Roseville was a lovely and romantic house in a stunning setting, and the food was elegant indeed. The menu was French, so we had French onion soup, salad (which was served in bowls for two, without utensils or plates for individual servings), tournedos of beef with vegetables and bearnaise. When it was time for dessert, we looked over the dessert menu, but all the desserts on the menu featured liqueur. So we spoke to the waitress, and she suggested the eclairs, which could be made up with plain cream filing instead of creme de menthe cream filling. It turned out to be a very special treat. When our eclairs came to the table, the pastry was still warm, and the cream slightly melting. They were fabulous. We were very impressed, and made sure to get a menu on our way out, to frame for our dining room.

The rest of the evening was spent visiting, and we collapsed into bed about midnight, happy but exhausted from a very full day.