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We lived on a farm and in 1968 still had the old wooden box phone on the wall where you wound the handle, held the big speaker to your ear and talked to a horn on the box. It was a "party line" connected to a local exchange so you had to wait until your neighbor had finished talking before calling. In emergencies, you would interupt the neighbor and ask if they could finish their call so you could call emergency services. While you where doing this YOUR NEIGHBOUR WOULD COME TO HELP !!! ( remember that )
When they where bored the exchange operators ( usually young local woman ) would listen into your calls and later that week, everyone in town would know your private business. 
Other thoughts on 1968 - Going over to "grandmas" farm Saturday mornings to watch disney cartoons on the B & W Telly., Home made clothes. Church and Sunday school every week ( Like nearly everyone else ) If you didnt go to church, you where considered a useless layabout and probably drunk most of the time.
Going to local footy Saturday afternoon, parking the car around the "other" side of the oval if running late or close to the goals if very late. Eating HOME MADE sultana cake and if very lucky, given 5 cents to buy a finger bun and sherbet, milkos or red skins.
Rain - The seasons where good on the farm in the sixties and early seventees. We would pick baskets of mushrooms and clover was high, giving huge hay cuts. It was easy to make a buck and inputs where cheap. Unlike today. The same area is marginal, prices are consistently close to cost of production, driven down by globalisation. The 5 year rain cycle of one boom year, 3 average and one drought in 5 has been replaced by more summer rains, late starts to cropping season and early spring cut-offs, making the country very marginal. The last big clover hay year was in 1979 when we cut 12,000 bales from 100 acres. It all had to be carted in the heat of summer on an old Bedford truck and placed in stacks up to 5 metres tall ( watch the edges when building, but boy what a view )
Climate change is already showing up strongly in the marginal farming areas. Those who dont believe the climate is changing rapidly, dont live close to the land and seasons or live in the greener parts of the country that still get plenty of rain.
@lloydslights wrote:The school tuckshop (trestle table on the school verandah) was operated on Mondays for a devon and tomato sauce 'sammidge' on fresh bread.
Or if you brought your lunch to school, it may well have been wrapped in the waxed paper of the bread packaging.
And the term "tuckshop lady arms" came about.
DEB
And lets not forget the warm bottles of milk and apples under wet hession bags at school. You had to sit and consume them in the "shelter shed" under the watchfull eye of the supervising teacher before being allowed to go and play at recess.
The whole school singing god save the queen while the flag was raised at assembly before marching in pairs to the beat of a large drum to the classroom. ( what did you have to do to get the drum beaters job ? I know I always wanted to do that .)
Another fond memory was waiting outside the principles office for half an hour or more ( deliberate I,m sure ) before being led in to get the " Cuts " from his yard ruler for some terrible misdemeanor. ( Probably cos my marching was out of step 
)
HAPPY DAYS
