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Barbara Bell Interview

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Telling it as it was

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Barbara Bell Oral History

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BiographyBarbara Bell was born in 1935 and married James Bell in St James Church of England, Carlton in 1954 at age 19.SynopsisBarbara came to Engadine as a young bride with her husband, Jim in 1956. Their block in Lantana Rd was in a rural landscape - mostly poultry farms - with dirt roads and few amenities. She and Jim built their asbestos fibro home with the help of their fathers, extending it when they had children. It was a lonely time in Engadine for young mothers, with few transport options and few services. The steam train from Sydney came through every 2.5 hours. Shopping was done at Rockdale or Hurstville. She witnessed the gradual development of the shopping centre, improvement in transport, influx of houses, the diversion of the Princes Highway and the building of the Lucas Heights Nuclear Reactor.

The Bells attended the first church service held by the Salvation Army in Cambrai Avenue. She and Jim organised the first few annual Engadine Fairs for the Church. Money was tight, and she describes how they got by in ways few Engadine residents could relate to now.

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Barbara Bell Interview Profile

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Barbara Bell Interview

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Oral History AudioBarbara Bell InterviewDate of interview17th September 2010IntervieweeBarbara BellDate of birth1935InterviewerElizabeth Craig

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PlaceAustralian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)EngadineSubjectsBell, BarbaraCollectionTelling it as it was