DescriptionThis interview consists of two audio recordings and transcripts. Diane Reid was interviewed on 17 November 2001 at the Whitlam Library, Cabramatta by Shirley McLeod.Interview SummaryDiane Reid was born in the Crown Street Women’s Hospital, Sydney in 1953 to parents Mary Elizabeth Stirton and Patrick Joseph Reid. Her family originated from Dubbo NSW but the Stirtons moved to the Fairfield area in 1912 with her mother being born in a house on Rawson Road in 1923.
Diane moved to a large Victorian era house on Polding Street, which had been in her mother’s family since 1929, when she was 8 years old. Diane describes a happy childhood. Although she had no siblings she was surrounded by many cousins close to her in age who lived locally. However, tragedy befell her family a few days before her 17th birthday when her father passed away suddenly.
She attended St Gertrudes primary school in Smithfield and then went onto Cerdon College in Merrylands. After finishing high school, she went on to Liverpool Technical College and undertook a Secretarial Certificate. She was employed as a typist at Valuer’s General Department in Sydney and eventually became a stenographer for the police department.
She gave birth to a daughter, Clare-Elizabeth Ann in 1985, and continued to live on Polding St where she raised a new generation in the family home. She goes into great detail about what it was like to grow up in the area, the shops and local people and provides interesting insight into the way we were.
