Tin Tails and Tall Tales

Don Perks has been a story teller all his life. Friends and relations have said, ‘You should write the stories down before it is too late’.

Finally heeding the advice Don started writing his book ‘Tin Tails and Tall Tales’ in 1989. “To say the least, it’s been a rewarding experience.” Don mused.

The book he has written covers the time in his life from 1941 to the 1990s. It’s a tale of his life experiences whilst living and working in Greenbushes and includes some history of the Greenbushes mine operation.

Don’s book has just been purchased by the Bridgetown Library which will make it available to more readers.

Don, who is 84 years old and still has a bright mind, tells of his book, “Debbie Walsh and Leanne Green from Talison have contributed to the book with photographs and the history about the mine, giving background and substance to my stories. The book’s title, ‘Tin Tails’ refers to the tailings heaps left behind after mining, and the ‘Tall Tales’, well that’s for others to decide.

“There were stories that didn’t make it into the book, one in particular was when I was around two years old. My father was being visited by his friend ‘Bunny’, a possum trapper, who’d dropped his hessian work bag by the back door and gone inside for a cuppa.

“I was of course a very inquisitive child and I started going through his bag to see what was inside, traps and knives, but a vial of a white substance caught my attention. Removing the lid and dipping my finger into the jar to get a taste was a sour experience that was witnessed with disbelief by my father and ‘Bunny’.

“This started a commotion, having to rinse my mouth out, fingers being stuck down my throat, more washing out of the mouth, being told to keep spitting, then I was given salt to make me vomit even more.

“The trappers put strychnine on the possum traps, so when a trapped animal licked its wounds while being in the trap it ingests the toxin resulting in a quick death.

“Luckily for me it was just an unforgettable experience, and for my father it was a relief, because all ended well.”

Just in case the story has thrown up some disgust, the wealth which makes Australia the place it is today, allowing our governments the luxury of ‘sharing of the wealth’ produced by our forebears from the abundance of what was around, possum pelts were once sought after, and yes, the possums are protected today.

Don has lived most of his life in Greenbushes, though he did spend a few years overseas from 1962 to 65. On returning to Greenbushes he visited the pub, and within an hour he had a job with a contractor on the mine, then later in 1965 he returned to working for Greenbushes Tin where he worked until he retired in 1997.

The tales he tells have either amused or have started arguments as to the accuracy of the tales, but so it is with most memories, we all remember the same episode of life from our own point of view.