Dates

Pammy was born on the 29th September 1949 and I was born on the 27th March 1949.  I was 19 years and nearly 2 months old when I met 18 years and nearly 8 months old Pamela Joy Austin at 9:30pm on the 25th May, 1968 at Geelong's Palais Royal Dance Hall (now a Bingo hall) and she died at 1:30pm on the 29th of June, 2015 at home with me, so if my calendar mathematics is correct, I have known her as a living person for 47 years, 4 weeks, 2 days and 16 hours.  How I wish it could have been for at least 50 years.

A few days after I met Pam, I took this picture of her at her house, with my Agfa Isola 120 film camera...

 

and about a fortnight later I was invited to come with her family, father Arnold Austin, mother Mary, younger sister Val and of course Pammy for a bus trip to Mt. Donna Buang.  Arnold drove the Trans-Otway bus (he was employed as a driver by Trans-Otway).  It was Sunday the 9th of June, 1968.  Here are some photos of Pammy on the tower there...

 

 

and this one is at the Donna Buang campsite with Arnold side-on at the left. Mary as seen from behind as she prepares food on the table and wearing the white cardigan and skirt, Val watching her mother and has her left hand in her jacket pocket and Pammy on the right looking at me taking the picture.

 

 

It's sad that time has attacked some of the picture quality, but I thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world, and in the time I knew her, I learned that she was also beautiful of mind, extremely tolerant and happy to be alive and loved.