Roger Underwood

My wife Ellen was mulling over her treasures the other day and said to me “Have a look at this. It’s Granny’s tea set”. We got them out, cups, saucers, plates, milk jug and sugar bowl, and I photographed them on the kitchen table. Bone china, as light as a feather, with a simple but attractive motif.

Ellen’s grandmother was Linda Smith who, with her husband Neil was an original Group Settler on Group 11 at Boojetup (north-west of Manjimup in the lower south-west of WA). The tea set, which originally included a tea pot, now long lost, was given to Linda as a wedding present when she married Neil in 1914. It travelled with her when they moved into their first camp in tin huts in the bush at Boojetup, a century ago in 1922, survived moves to different Group cottages, and eventually became a wedding present to Ellen, when we were married in 1966.

But here is an interesting thing. In all those years Linda’s wedding present tea set was only ever used once. It wasn’t the sort of stuff that would be used for everyday life in a rough Groupie cottage in those days. Groupies drank their tea from enamel mugs, or from the sort of cheap heavy crockery that could survive rough treatment … or, as was the case with both my grandfather and Ellen’s, they tipped their tea into the saucer and sipped it, rather than drinking straight from the cup.

There was only one occasion on which Granny’s Tea Set actually did duty. It was an auspicious one. It was in the mid-1930s. The Great Depression was biting, Groupies were leaving their blocks in droves and things were tough. The then-Premier of Western Australia, James Mitchell (known derisively on the Groups as “Moocow Mitchell”), had finally been convinced that he should come down and have a look at what was going on, so he could appreciate the plight of the Group Settlers. A tour of inspection was arranged, and this was scheduled to include “an afternoon tea with a typical Group Settlement family”. Neil and Linda Smith were chosen to host the afternoon tea because (as Neil later dryly remarked) “We were about the only people around who could be relied upon not to whinge to him.”

A visit from the Premier! This called for something special.

So, Linda’s wedding present Tea Set finally saw the light of day. It was brought out and was the centrepiece of the event. The Premier and his entourage duly had their cup of tea and buttered scones. Unfortunately, any remarks on Granny’s afternoon tea, or on the beauty of her tea set went unrecorded for posterity. He departed, back to the city, and the tea set was washed carefully, dried and put away. It was not to see the light again for another 30 years, when it came into Ellen’s possession. So, my photograph shows cups, saucers and plates sullied only once, and by the state’s Premier, who later also became the Governor of Western Australia.

I was telling this story to my mate Jack Bradshaw the other day and he suggested I contact Premier McGowan, invite him for afternoon tea at our cottage at Gwambygine, and serve it on the precious Tea Set, so that he could become the second Premier to do so. I somehow doubt he would accept ….