Interview with Heather Toebes

Interview with Heather Toebes (nee Thomson), born in New Plymouth in 1928. Interviewer's summary:

Topics covered in the recording include: father's family background, upbringing, medical studies, war service (including Gallipoli, prisoner of war in WWII). Mother's upbringing: female teachers and role models, acquisition of domestic skills and knowledge, use of a spurkle (spurdle). Her father George Thomson's medical practice in New Plymouth and the family home: layout, hygiene, laundry, mother's role in practice, care of babies, encouraging Maori into maternity nursing, goods in lieu of fees in the Depression. Family life in wartime: household chores, power cuts, mother's social life, learning manners and table manners, fear of Japanese. Childhood: attitude to parents, discipline and punishment, treatment of domestic workers, food, ironing, use of starch, personal cleanliness, mother's care of babies, learning the facts of life, schooling, manual training, saving and swapping. Food and meals: mealtimes, puddings, supplies, healthy food, examples of meals, keeping food fresh, sterilising milk and water, preserving. Kitchen and laundry layout and appliances. Garden: vegetable crops. Mother: friendships, sources of support during husband's war service, attitude to community service, support of female patients and friends. Siblings: adoption of elder brother, younger brother's loss of hearing following measles, role during mother's trips away. Mother's old age. Recipes and recipe books: Olive Bone's Fudge, "The Nothing Succeeds like Excess Cookbook", mince, curry, marmalade, gravy. Heather's working life: Victoria University Law Library, Chen and Palmer, secondary teaching, scientific translation.

Marriage to Dutchman Kees Toebes: preparations for marriage, wedding presents, learning to cook Dutch and Indonesian food, learning Dutch pronunciation and language, husband's work. Family life: first home at Onerahi, meals and supplies, keeping food fresh, fishing, swapping food with neighbour, growing fruit and vegetables, drinking wine, daily and weekend routines, sewing, domestic furniture, ceramics and china, drinking coffee, kitchen utensils.

Current living arrangements: buying house, kitchen, shopping, washing, housework, garden, grandchildren, change in manners and table manners, teaching law students.

Interviewer(s) - Pip Oldham

Arrangement: Tape numbers - OHDL-001504

Quantity: 1 digital sound recording(s) digital sound recording(s). 1 Electronic document(s) (abstract). 1 printed abstract(s). 5 digital photograph(s). 13 electronic scan(s) of original black and white photographic print(s). 5 electronic scan(s) of original colour photographic print(s). 1 interview(s) over 2 days. 4.49 Hours and minutes Duration.

Physical Description: Sound files - wave files; Textual file - Microsoft word; Image files - Jpeg, Tiff

Finding Aids: Abstract Available - abstracting complete OHDL-001483, OHA-7400.

Colour photographs of: Heather Toebes in her kitchen; recipe book and spurtle; recipe book (all 29 April 2010). Scanned colour photographs of: Toebes' home at Onerahi; Annie Thompson with children (1939); Kees Toebes in the house; Heather's children Quentin and Harriet at Manakau with a Christmas Crown (c.1970); Heather Toebes at her farewell from the Law Commission (1995). Scanned B&W photographs of: Major George Thomson in uniform, and verso with handwritten details; George Thompson; Heather's mother Annie with her school hockey team; Annie Thomson with Heather (c.1929); Toebes' home at Onerahi; Heather with her mother, brothers and sister (1939); Heather's mother Annie as a your woman; Heather Toebes (1951); Heather's wedding party (1954) (OHDL-001484)

Search dates: 1928 - 2010

Original recordings not available for playback. Surrogate copies will be provided.

Alternative form available: Both printed and digital versions of the abstract are available