Rabbits
 | As kids they often sold rabbit skins to the skin store for pocket money so they never had to ask their parents for money. |
| They seldom went to Coleraine 2 or 3 times a year - Show day, Christmas etc. |
| After the War, Ballie was never paid on the farm so he made his money out of rabbits. |
| The best area he ever worked was done on the 'Artikey soldier settlement'. |
| At that time Ballie walked everywhere because of the poor financial state after the War. |
| Ballie got up well before sunrise to be at the place to get the rabbits when first light began. He left about 6. |
| He worked over to Roe's and where Ray Gore lived carrying a heap of ferrets, traps and tucker on his back and hauling the rabbits home. Often wet and cold. You can imagine at the end of the day when I came home and had to face that final steep hill. It was a hard life but Ballie enjoyed it. |
| Later Ballie got a horse and spring cart. It wasted a lot of time going down Doels Hill and down the Tarrenlea Rd and into Roe's. The advantage was to bring the rabbits home. |
| (audio) He then bought a 27 Chevie 4 car cut down into a ute from a cook called Haladay in the pub for 80 pound. |
| As a test drive they went to the Wannon Bridge. Ballie bought it and it never let him down. Even going over to Murdal. |
| Ballie sent down bulk skins to Younghusbands and got a fat cheque back of about 40 pound which was big money in those days. Many local people at that time were working for a pound a week. |
| Also Wagga who owned the freezer business in Coleraine would bring his truck out to 'Arkey' settlement to pick up Ballies rabbits and it would nearly be filled up. |
| Ballie alway knocked off before the little rabbits started to breed at the end of March so that the new supply would come the following year. The ferrets had the habit of eating the young ones and then going to sleep so you couldn't get them out of the burrows. |
| The myxomatosis put Ballie out of business in 51. The old Chev sat out in the weather for years - it was only used for carting in hay with a frame on it. Ballie did all his harrowing with it. John O'Neil's kids came years later. Ballie gave it to them and it started straight away after sitting there all those years. It was one of Ballies biggest regrets giving it away in the mid 60's |
| March to August. Ballie sometimes got 100 a day for 5 days a week. The average was 60 a day. Ballie used to get 1 shilling each for a rabbit. A pound was a lot of money in those days. |
| Before the chillers, Ballie only sold the skins for 6 shillings a pound. 6-8 skins to a pound. The skins were used for hats. |
| Ballie bought a Chev 4 cylinder 1926 in 1950. It was bought from a cook at the Hotel for 80 pound. It never let Ballie down even driving through the steep hills of Tahara. Ballie even carted hay in it. O'Neil's came here and drove it away after it had stayed idle for 3 years. |
| Fox skins were used for making coats. Ballie got 5 to 6 pound for each one. |