The Australian Women\'s Weekly - June 2018

120 The Australian Women’s Weekly|JUNE 2018

the ’50s,” Annabel says. “When beef

was rationed in World War Two,

people had to look for other forms

of protein and what happened in

Australia is people started eating

offal and actually really liked it. It’s

a taste that really persisted past the

rationing years.”

Three months after our irst visit,

The Weeklyreturns to an unrecognisable

Ferrone family home. The orange

melamine and the red shag rug of

the ’70s are gone and in their place

is tasteful carpet and a white stone

kitchen bench that allows for free-

lowing conversation with whoever

is in the open-plan dining room. The

Ferrone family has tried fondue and

even eaten futuristic food in the form

of meat and three veg reduced down

into gummy lollies.

The family agrees they found the

’50s the most challenging week of

the experiment.

“I was extremely surprised,”

Carol says. “I think I was expecting

the ’50s to be all ball gowns and

dances. I shed a few tears in

the ’50s.”

For Peter, who loves to cook for

his family, sitting in the dining room

alone for dinner was unexpectedly

dificult. “The ’50s was, here is your

role and that’s what you’re expected

to do. For me, being segregated was

very hard,” he says.

Annabel says it was interesting

to observe how signiicantly the

design of a home shapes the lives

of the people who live in it.

“You don’t really understand

that gradual evolution of gender

roles until you’re thrown back into

a situation where you’ve got to live

the old way and see what effect that

has on your life and sensibilities,”

she says. Despite the jarringly

regimented gender roles, the freedom

from technology gave the already

tight-knit family a chance to bond.

“We had some of our best times in

the ’50s, too,” says Carole. “Because

there was no TV, we had some great

times together. The kids would

spend time playing board games,

playing outside and skipping. Olivia

loves art and loves to draw and paint.

So what does a ’50s child do that

doesn’t have a TV and an Xbox and

a phone? Draw and paint.”

Olivia relished playing board

games with her older brother

and sister, whose attention was

no longer being held hostage by

iPhones and iPads. A family trip to

the Drive In was a highlight for the

youngest member of the experiment.

“My favourite was deinitely the

Drive In because we had milkshakes,”

she says.

Another irm favourite was roller-

skating in the 1970s.

“We were all reluctant to do it and

wanted to pull out because we don’t

skate,” Carol says. “I’m paranoid of

people breaking limbs and I was just

so proud of us and we were so excited

that we actually did it. That had to be

a highlight because we did it together.”

Julian was thrilled when a

Commodore 64 appeared in their

’80s house, but frustrated his sister

Sienna when his exploration of early

dial-up internet meant she couldn’t

use the landline.

The food featured in the program

relects changes of the time. As

rationing is phased out in the ’50s,

mealtime becomes a richer experience.

In the 1960s, Elizabeth Chong taught

AUSTRALIA IN

THE 1950S

MARRIED WOMEN

Made up just 6.5 per cent

of the workforce in 1954.

HOUSEWORK

Occupied women for an

average of 77.5 hours

each week.

RATIONING

Was still in effect after the

war. Excess fat, or dripping,

from the Sunday roast was

an alternative to butter.

The family found the food

available for 1950s week –

including tripe and dripping

• a challenge to eat.