22 William Street, Gore.

This is the home my father built, William Charles Archer, in 1937.  Mum, Alice Louisa Archer, (nee Roberts) and I was approximately three months old when we moved into the new home.  I shared a room with Nancy Somerville, Jill Milne and Alwyn Adamson.  Jill and I had to sleep in a single bed together for about three years.  Linley McMeeken and Rayna Telfer shared the front room and Robyn Archer and Watson Archer had the other front room.  Due to the expanding family Dad built a hut in the backyard for the boys.  There were usually half a dozen slept there in the weekend. I actually slept there the night before I got married.  We all walked school together along with the neighbours.  We always walked home for lunch where we had the main meal of the day, meat and three veges.  Robyn went off to Otago University, Linley to teachers training college in Dunedin. Rayna went nursing and in those days you had to stay at the nursing home, regardless of where you lived.  Nancy, Jill and I all followed in Rayna’s step and went nursing. Alwyn worked in Brownlee’s crockery shop. 

I remember always having lots of people at 22 William Street and having a water fight one Sunday when everyone was going to church.  We did not get into trouble as Mum was the ringleader. Because Dad was the President of the Gore Amateur Athletic Association, we always bulleted Yvette and Roy Williams when they were competing in Southland. (Hence one of my daughters is named after her).  Yvette Williams was my idol as she always treated us just like a sister.

Mum coached netball for the girls from the McKenzie’s department store.  They went to practice that night laughing their heads off as they had just seen the 4 older Archer’s taking a wheel barrow load of empty bottles to sell so they could go to the Gore A & P Show.  Mum also coached Louis Muir and was on the programme “This is your life” for Louis.

My next door neighbour Patty Hornby came over to stay the night and she slept with us in the bunk room and she said to me (about 1943) “I think my mother died today”.  She did not go to the funeral.

All the eight children got married from 22 William Street, Gore.