Caddie, the Story of a Barmaid
Encyclopedia
Caddie, the Story of a Barmaid is the partially embellished autobiography
of Catherine "Caddie" Edmonds, who worked as a barmaid in Sydney
during the Great Depression
. Published anonymously in 1953 under Edmonds' nickname, which was coined by a lover who likened her to "the sleek body and class of his Cadillac
motorcar", Caddie attracted wide critical acclaim upon its original publication in London
, and became a bestseller
when it was adapted into a feature film
in 1976, one year after International Women's Year
.
and Florence James
at their cottage in the Blue Mountains. At the time, Cusack and James were working on their epic collaborative novel, Come In Spinner
. Edmonds initially took the job in the hope that the authors would write her story. Entertained by Edmonds' turn of phrase and her stories of working as a barmaid during the Depression, Cusack and James encouraged and coached her through seven drafts of an autobiography until 1952.
Edmonds married Frederick George Holloway on 25th January 1919 at St Stephen's Church, Newtown. The couple had two children in the early years of the marriage: a son named Ronald, and a daughter named Catherine. The couple were divorced in Sydney on the 20th December, 1929.
She married again on 24th February 1934 to Authur John Baden Surenne at the Methodist Church at Marrickville. This marriage lasted until 1948 when the couple divorced. She later changed her surname by deed-pole to Elloitt-Mackay.
Edmonds chose to write under a pseudonym because she was publicity-shy. John Ritchie's entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography describes her as plump, round-faced, with "narrow, grey-blue eyes, 'wavy, light brown hair streaked with grey', and deeply-graven lines at the corners of her mouth". Caddie Edmonds died of a heart attack on 16 April 1960 at her home in Regentville in Sydney. She was buried in Penrith
General Cemetery and was survived by a son and a daughter.
, during the Great depression
until the outbreak of World War II
. During this time Caddie overcomes numerous hardships as she raises her two children without the support of family or her estranged husband.
, in 1900 to a family living in poverty. They move to railway camps at Glenbrook
in the Blue Mountains where her father works as a railway fettler. His abuse becomes worse when her mother dies in childbirth and her brother is killed at the Gallipoli
landing. To escape her family, she moves to Sydney
to work as a shop assistant with her friend, Esther, while still a young woman. She meets and marries a middle class man, John Marsh, and has two children by him. She feels constrained by the control taken by her mother in law, living next door, who treats her as undeserving of her son, as Caddie is not "pure merino" (i.e. with only free settler, not convict, ascendants). Caddie leaves when she uncovers John's sexual relationship with Esther. John and his mother endeavour to retain custody of the children, although Caddie believes this is really only to spite her.
Caddie moves to the first available cheap accommodation, only to find that it is predominantly used as a brothel. Caddie finds better paid work as a barmaid, a morally suspect position- her first employer tells her to shorten her dress, for example, because "she was an artwork, and he liked his artwork on display." She places her children in the care of a Church- run home, having tried leaving them with carers who mistreated and neglected them. She visits weekly, often with her barmaid friend, Leslie. When the Depression hits, tips are less common and both women's incomes drop dramatically. Through Leslie, Caddie meets a Greek immigrant and business owner, Peter, with whom she establishes a loving relationship, with Peter buying gifts for weekend visits with Caddie's children. Caddie and Peter are distressed when Peter's estranged wife and ill father call him back to Greece to run the family business. The couple corresponds, with Peter reporting that his attempts to divorce his wife have been unsuccessful.
With the effects of the Depression deepening, Caddie takes additional work by running tabs for the pub's SP bookmaker. She takes back custody of her children and rents a house, furnishing it with fruit cases for chairs. She befriends Bill "the Rabbittoh" (rabbit seller), Sonny his brother and their parents, and Bill helps her sign up for the dole (sustenance food provisions meant for those without income). Caddie saves some money when she starts running the SP books herself, the bookmaker having moved on to legal bookmaking at the racecourse. Caddie decides to leave the city, having been offered work on a farm. She moves house to share with rabbittoh for a week to save rent before moving to mountains for other work, but remains there when the work offer is withdrawn. She emotionally supports, and is supported by, Bill's family, including caring for his elderly father before his death. Around this time, Peter's wife dies, and Peter asks Caddie to migrate. Caddie feels unable to do this, but Peter is tied to Greece to keep the business alive.
The story ends in tragedy when Peter returns, following the death of his wife, and the couple is finally able to make plans to marry. When he buys a new car, he takes the whole family driving and dies in a tragic car crash when swerving to avoid collision with a truck, only four days before their planned wedding.
Caddie makes a chance reacquaintance with Esther, who has been deserted by John, and has contracted tuberculosis
. Against her wishes, Caddie's son enlists at the outbreak of World War II
. Bill and Sonny go "on the wallaby track", searching remote areas for subsistence work.
Terry - Caddie's son
Anne - Caddie's daughter
Esther - Caddie's friend
Leslie - friend, barmaid
Jon Marsh - Caddie's husband, estranged for much of the story
Ted - SP Bookie that Caddie keeps tabs for
Peter - Caddie's Greek immigrant lover
Bill "the Rabbito" - friend and supporter in latter phase of story
Sonny - brother of Bill
At the time, Australian bars were segregated on gender lines, so the barmaid was the only female present in the main bar. As a result, barmaids had a bad name because a woman working in such conditions was regarded as morally suspect, perhaps luring men into spending their money in bars, perhaps soliciting commercial sex. Indeed, Caddie makes reference to the numerous sexual advances made towards her, both in her role as barmaid and in situations where it would benefit her, such as from the teacher at her children's school. She shows how she remained morally respectable in this regard, and shows how her other illegal activities - SP bookmaking, signing up for multiple welfare payments - were for the benefit of her family and friends.
The story makes reference to the six o'clock swill
, written at a time shortly after the war when it was presumed that the reader would be familiar with the phenomenon. In an effort to minimise alcohol consumption, the Australian government legislated that bars were to close at 6pm. The result was an extreme rush between 5pm and 6pm.
Cusack notes how Caddie was reluctant to give any signs of complaint, but to take everything in her stride in order to meet the needs of her children. Cusack had Caddie rewrite the book several times in order to give more detail of the difficulties she faced and her feelings about them. The stoic strength of an Australian single woman "battler" is an underlying theme to the story.
was a commercial and critical success, making nearly A$3m on a budget of A$400,000, and winning a San Sebastian Film Festival award. It was produced by Anthony Buckley and supported by, among other organisations, the International Women's Year Secretariat and Australian Film Commission’s Women's Film Fund. It launched the careers of Jacki Weaver
as Josie and Helen Morse
in the title role of Caddie for which she won the Best Actress AFI award
. It also starred Takis Emmanuel as Peter, Jack Thompson
as Ted, Melissa Jaffer
as Leslie, Ron Blanchard as Bill and Drew Forsythe
as Sonny.
This adaptation removes Caddie's early life story, suggesting she was from a middle class background, as well as a number of other minor adjustments to the storyline.
"
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
of Catherine "Caddie" Edmonds, who worked as a barmaid in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Published anonymously in 1953 under Edmonds' nickname, which was coined by a lover who likened her to "the sleek body and class of his Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
motorcar", Caddie attracted wide critical acclaim upon its original publication in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and became a bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
when it was adapted into a feature film
Caddie (film)
Caddie is an Australian film, directed by Donald Crombie, released in 1976, and belonging to the Australian film renaissance which occurred during that decade....
in 1976, one year after International Women's Year
International Women's Year
International Women's Year was the name given to 1975 by the United Nations. Since that year March 8 has been celebrated as International Women's Day, and the United Nations Decade for Women, from 1976–1985, was also established.-International:...
.
Author and origins
The book's anonymous author, Catherine Beatrice Edmonds (1900–1960), was employed for some years from 1945 as a charwoman by authors Dymphna CusackDymphna Cusack
Dymphna Cusack AM was an Australian author.Born in West Wyalong, New South Wales, Dymphna Cusack was educated at St Ursula's College, and graduated from Sydney University with an honours degree in Arts and a diploma in Education...
and Florence James
Florence James
Florence Gertrude James was an Australian author and literary agent.- Life :Born in Gisborne, New Zealand, she moved with her family to Sydney in 1920...
at their cottage in the Blue Mountains. At the time, Cusack and James were working on their epic collaborative novel, Come In Spinner
Come In Spinner
Come In Spinner is an Australian novel by Dymphna Cusack and Florence James, originally published in 1951, and set in Sydney, Australia at the end of the second World War.The title refers to a phrase used in the Australian gambling game of two-up....
. Edmonds initially took the job in the hope that the authors would write her story. Entertained by Edmonds' turn of phrase and her stories of working as a barmaid during the Depression, Cusack and James encouraged and coached her through seven drafts of an autobiography until 1952.
Edmonds married Frederick George Holloway on 25th January 1919 at St Stephen's Church, Newtown. The couple had two children in the early years of the marriage: a son named Ronald, and a daughter named Catherine. The couple were divorced in Sydney on the 20th December, 1929.
She married again on 24th February 1934 to Authur John Baden Surenne at the Methodist Church at Marrickville. This marriage lasted until 1948 when the couple divorced. She later changed her surname by deed-pole to Elloitt-Mackay.
Edmonds chose to write under a pseudonym because she was publicity-shy. John Ritchie's entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography describes her as plump, round-faced, with "narrow, grey-blue eyes, 'wavy, light brown hair streaked with grey', and deeply-graven lines at the corners of her mouth". Caddie Edmonds died of a heart attack on 16 April 1960 at her home in Regentville in Sydney. She was buried in Penrith
Penrith, New South Wales
Penrith is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Penrith is located west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Penrith...
General Cemetery and was survived by a son and a daughter.
Plot introduction
The book follows the story of the otherwise unnamed author, Caddie, from a brief outline of her childhood to her work as a barmaid and, later, SP bookmakingSP bookmaking
Starting price or SP bookmaking literally refers to taking bets at fixed odds, i.e. a fixed starting price, as opposed to the totalisator model of betting...
, during the Great depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
until the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. During this time Caddie overcomes numerous hardships as she raises her two children without the support of family or her estranged husband.
Plot summary
The book tells the story of Caddie, starting with her birth in Penrith, New South WalesPenrith, New South Wales
Penrith is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Penrith is located west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Penrith...
, in 1900 to a family living in poverty. They move to railway camps at Glenbrook
Glenbrook, New South Wales
Glenbrook is a suburb of the Lower Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 70 kilometres west of Sydney in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains. At the 2006 census, Glenbrook had a population of 5,138 people....
in the Blue Mountains where her father works as a railway fettler. His abuse becomes worse when her mother dies in childbirth and her brother is killed at the Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
landing. To escape her family, she moves to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
to work as a shop assistant with her friend, Esther, while still a young woman. She meets and marries a middle class man, John Marsh, and has two children by him. She feels constrained by the control taken by her mother in law, living next door, who treats her as undeserving of her son, as Caddie is not "pure merino" (i.e. with only free settler, not convict, ascendants). Caddie leaves when she uncovers John's sexual relationship with Esther. John and his mother endeavour to retain custody of the children, although Caddie believes this is really only to spite her.
Caddie moves to the first available cheap accommodation, only to find that it is predominantly used as a brothel. Caddie finds better paid work as a barmaid, a morally suspect position- her first employer tells her to shorten her dress, for example, because "she was an artwork, and he liked his artwork on display." She places her children in the care of a Church- run home, having tried leaving them with carers who mistreated and neglected them. She visits weekly, often with her barmaid friend, Leslie. When the Depression hits, tips are less common and both women's incomes drop dramatically. Through Leslie, Caddie meets a Greek immigrant and business owner, Peter, with whom she establishes a loving relationship, with Peter buying gifts for weekend visits with Caddie's children. Caddie and Peter are distressed when Peter's estranged wife and ill father call him back to Greece to run the family business. The couple corresponds, with Peter reporting that his attempts to divorce his wife have been unsuccessful.
With the effects of the Depression deepening, Caddie takes additional work by running tabs for the pub's SP bookmaker. She takes back custody of her children and rents a house, furnishing it with fruit cases for chairs. She befriends Bill "the Rabbittoh" (rabbit seller), Sonny his brother and their parents, and Bill helps her sign up for the dole (sustenance food provisions meant for those without income). Caddie saves some money when she starts running the SP books herself, the bookmaker having moved on to legal bookmaking at the racecourse. Caddie decides to leave the city, having been offered work on a farm. She moves house to share with rabbittoh for a week to save rent before moving to mountains for other work, but remains there when the work offer is withdrawn. She emotionally supports, and is supported by, Bill's family, including caring for his elderly father before his death. Around this time, Peter's wife dies, and Peter asks Caddie to migrate. Caddie feels unable to do this, but Peter is tied to Greece to keep the business alive.
The story ends in tragedy when Peter returns, following the death of his wife, and the couple is finally able to make plans to marry. When he buys a new car, he takes the whole family driving and dies in a tragic car crash when swerving to avoid collision with a truck, only four days before their planned wedding.
Caddie makes a chance reacquaintance with Esther, who has been deserted by John, and has contracted tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. Against her wishes, Caddie's son enlists at the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Bill and Sonny go "on the wallaby track", searching remote areas for subsistence work.
Characters
Caddie - central character and first person author, whose true name is not revealed in the bookTerry - Caddie's son
Anne - Caddie's daughter
Esther - Caddie's friend
Leslie - friend, barmaid
Jon Marsh - Caddie's husband, estranged for much of the story
Ted - SP Bookie that Caddie keeps tabs for
Peter - Caddie's Greek immigrant lover
Bill "the Rabbito" - friend and supporter in latter phase of story
Sonny - brother of Bill
Major themes
The book documents one woman's version of her experiences of the Great Depression, highlighting her battle to maintain her respectability while ensuring she can support her children.At the time, Australian bars were segregated on gender lines, so the barmaid was the only female present in the main bar. As a result, barmaids had a bad name because a woman working in such conditions was regarded as morally suspect, perhaps luring men into spending their money in bars, perhaps soliciting commercial sex. Indeed, Caddie makes reference to the numerous sexual advances made towards her, both in her role as barmaid and in situations where it would benefit her, such as from the teacher at her children's school. She shows how she remained morally respectable in this regard, and shows how her other illegal activities - SP bookmaking, signing up for multiple welfare payments - were for the benefit of her family and friends.
The story makes reference to the six o'clock swill
Six o'clock swill
The six o'clock swill was an Australian and New Zealand slang term for the last-minute rush to buy drinks at a hotel bar before it closed. During a significant part of the 20th century, most Australian and New Zealand hotels shut their public bars at 6 p.m. A culture developed of heavy drinking...
, written at a time shortly after the war when it was presumed that the reader would be familiar with the phenomenon. In an effort to minimise alcohol consumption, the Australian government legislated that bars were to close at 6pm. The result was an extreme rush between 5pm and 6pm.
Cusack notes how Caddie was reluctant to give any signs of complaint, but to take everything in her stride in order to meet the needs of her children. Cusack had Caddie rewrite the book several times in order to give more detail of the difficulties she faced and her feelings about them. The stoic strength of an Australian single woman "battler" is an underlying theme to the story.
Publishing details
The book was published in May 1953 by Constable & Co. Ltd in London to glowing reviews. By September it had been reprinted three times, although, at this stage, it was not a best seller. It was eventually published in Australia in 1966. The film adaptation in 1976 lead to a resurgence in the book's popularity and bestseller status, with it being reprinted seven times that year, sixteen years after Caddie's death.Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
Adapted for film in 1976, the film CaddieCaddie (film)
Caddie is an Australian film, directed by Donald Crombie, released in 1976, and belonging to the Australian film renaissance which occurred during that decade....
was a commercial and critical success, making nearly A$3m on a budget of A$400,000, and winning a San Sebastian Film Festival award. It was produced by Anthony Buckley and supported by, among other organisations, the International Women's Year Secretariat and Australian Film Commission’s Women's Film Fund. It launched the careers of Jacki Weaver
Jacki Weaver
Jacqueline Ruth "Jacki" Weaver is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. She is best known outside Australia for her performance in Animal Kingdom, for which she was nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.-Career:Jacki Weaver has been working in Australian...
as Josie and Helen Morse
Helen Morse
Helen Morse is an Australian actress who has appeared in films, on television, and on stage.-Biography:Morse was born in Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex, England. She was the oldest of four children; her parents were a doctor and nurse...
in the title role of Caddie for which she won the Best Actress AFI award
Australian Film Institute Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
. It also starred Takis Emmanuel as Peter, Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson (actor)
Jack Thompson, AM is an Australian actor and one of the major figures of Australian cinema. He was educated at University of Queensland, before embarking on his acting career. In 2002, he was made an honorary member of the Australian Cinematographers Society...
as Ted, Melissa Jaffer
Melissa Jaffer
Melissa Jaffer is an Australian actress who has made many appearances in television series, including Kings, Mother and Son, G. P., Brides of Christ, Grass Roots and All Saints...
as Leslie, Ron Blanchard as Bill and Drew Forsythe
Drew Forsythe
Drew Forsythe is an Australian actor, singer, writer, and comedian.He attended Atherton Primary School, far north Queensland....
as Sonny.
This adaptation removes Caddie's early life story, suggesting she was from a middle class background, as well as a number of other minor adjustments to the storyline.
External links
Biography of Caddie (Catherine Edmonds) http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A140090b.htm with different details to her own account supplied in the book."