Up the gangway part 5
We had a Non for profit shop that one of the boys would volunteer to run. It had treats and basic things that were not provided by the company. Batteries, Toothpaste, chewing gum, stamps, pads and envelopes were included so you could write to family. The only communication home was via the ships Radio Operator. I turned 23 on the Australian Pioneer and 28 on the Australian Progress. I had received a radiogram and we also had a Radphone if I needed to make call. It was expensive! Both the Pioneer and Progress carried about 34 crew members. It wasn't unusual to rarely see some engineers who lived on another deck. The age of the crew varied from late teens to 65 years of age. I was always one of the younger blokes. Television could only be watched in the recreation areas. The Cooks and Stewards had a room with a bar that was above the crew. We never had good enough reception to watch it until we anchored somewhere or were in a port. The reason we never had one in our cab...