The river is big, cold and wide. It twists and turns across my country. We used to swim near the old bridge and jump from the bridge into the river. We’d skim flat stones across the river. The one with the most bounces would win.

Nan and Gramph’s house was really big. It was made of old tin, newspaper and old bags. There was no glass in the windows and bare earth Dougo and Johnno, my cousins, loved to go fishing. Nan would cook the fish for tea. I never liked eating the fish. It tasted muddy and there were too many bones.

The kitchen had a huge fireplace. We’d sit around the ledge to cook our bread and potatoes and to keep warm. There were a lot of families living near us. Most of them were my Aunties and Uncles and cousins. We used to play a lot of fun games. Rounders, rolly pollys and marbles were my favourites.

We also used old tin to slide down the hill. It was good having all of my relatives near me. We all lived like one big family. The boys would carry the water from the river up the hill to Nan’s place. Nan had an old copper outside to wash our clothes in. Gramph would make a fire under it so that Nan could boil the water.

Bath time was fun. Nan would scrub our hair, backs, hands and our feet. Sometimes it would get squashy in the bath with my sisters and me. After we had our supper and our bath, Nan would sit with us and tell us stories. Stories of the old people and the old times gone. Our stories are special.

We would try to stay awake. It was important to listen. All of the stories that Nan told us were about how the land looks after us. Her stories made us feel loved and they made us feel warm. That is why our place is special. Our place is for everyone to look after. If we don’t look after it, we will not be able to keep telling our stories.