The year 1987 saw the publication of a delightful book which in its 120 pages presents an evocative account of growing up in Collingwood during the 1920s. Introduced by Ivy thus: 'Looking back, my childhood days appear in an atmosphere of tranquillity that is far removed from the bustling, sound-filled life of today'.

Ivy Mulder was born at 53 Mater Street Collingwood. Her mother was Caroline Harriet Neaves. Her father, Harold Lucius Mulder, hailed from Cape Town, South Africa, while her mother's forebears had lived in the Collingwood area since the arrival of Caroline's grandfather Thomas from Ireland. Ivy, an only child, writes in detailed and loving memory of her early family life, the house, and its contents. 'The narrow verandah was a secure place for small children to play ... there was even a small seat built at one end where one could sit and read or watch the passers-by on the footpath or the horse-drawn traffic on the road.' According to Ivy, terrace dwellers took great pride in their homes ... the "front" was swept daily, the step blackened, and the brass polished regularly. In the front room, reserved for visitors, the mantlepiece was graced with gilt-edged vases embossed with flowers and Arcadian shepherdesses, souvenirs from Belgium and France, and, glory of glories, a phonograph: the ultimate in post-war luxury. Ivy slept in the second room which she shared with her parents.

The kitchen was the heart of the home. The house was lit by gas, and a small gas ring was used when the fire in the black iron stove had gone out. The lightwell at the side of the kitchen, with its pots of ferns and geraniums, was also where Ivy played on wet days. In the backyard was a narrow flower bed, edged with bricks, filled with geraniums, Easter daisies, sweet peas and arum lilies. Adjoining the house was the wash house with a copper, two wash troughs, and a bath made of the same rough concrete. Next to this was father's domain: a woodshed, workshop and retreat. A metal last was called into service when footwear needed repairing. By the back fence was the W.C. (Collingwood was connected to the sewerage system in the early twentieth century, but toilets often remained in the same location as the old privies). Grandma (Caroline's mother) occupied a small room behind the kitchen. Looking at the 21st century floor plan (see below), we can see that in Ivy's day the kitchen must have been what is nowadays the living room and Grandma's bedroom the modern-day kitchen, while the exterior laundry/bathroom has been superseded by a modern bathroom and toilet incorporated into the house proper.

As well as the minutiae of household life Ivy describes a range of activities ranging from visiting cousins, shopping in Smith Street, walking to the pictures at the Lyric Theatre in Johnston Street, and admiring the MacRobertson's chocolate factories where her mother had once worked. While the family were nominally Presbyterians and also had a lot of interaction with the Salvation Army, Ivy attended Sunday school at the Methodist chapel in Mater Street, probably due to its proximity.

The day came when her father obtained work at the Northcote brickworks and the family made the momentous move to Preston from the closely settled, paved streets of the inner suburbs to a recently established area where there were still some farms, and many dirt roads despite the subdivisions, to live in a house standing in its own gardens where a child could run right around the building. Furthermore, there was the wonder of electricity which flooded rooms with light, a room with a smooth white bath and hot water heater, and a separate laundry (though MMBW sewerage had not yet been connected).

As Ivy grew she showed an aptitude for writing and drawing, submitting items to the children's sections that proliferated in newspapers of the time, such as Corinella's Page in The Sun and Chatterbox Corner in The Age, in which she won a prize for an essay in 1935. Later she undertook some art training at Melbourne Technical College. Ivy joined the Australian Women's Army Service and attained the rank of sergeant.

In 1944 she married Preston boy Arthur Arney at the High Street Church of Christ, wearing a frock of white crepe with a Juliet cap of seed pearls and a Limerick lace veil. The couple built their own house at Mitcham, then began farming at Steel's Creek (near Yarra Glen) around 1951. Here she put her writing and artistic talents to practical use, winning a 'Better Kitchen' competition conducted by The Herald which gained her £150 to renovate her kitchen. This also provides us with our only photos of Ivy, then in her 30s, a far cry from the little girl in Mater Street with her wide hair ribbon and pinafore. After her husband's death in 1988, Ivy published further memoirs, as well as editing her father-in-law's World War I diaries.

Arney, Twenties child: a childhood recollection

Arney, Musings of a country mum: verses and drawings

Arney, Skipping ropes and slate pencils: a story of the twenties and thirties

Arney, Steels Creek as I knew it 1951 - 1989

Arney, Arthur E, The World War I diaries of Arthur E. Arney

Trove list: https://trove.nla.gov.au/list/218056

Ivy's dream comes true

Kitchen plans win prize

Ivy feeding her calf

Ivy in her kitchen