Michael Billings Collection - Wallet 11 - Part 17 of 24

5/  
No doubt my weighty words will invoke 
a page or two from you. It will be  
fun drawing up a budget, the cost 
will put us on and back but will     
come good after a bit of battling.   
Very pleased you have a 
snap of yourself tied up, may I 
make a suggestion regarding the set-up? 
Better make it two, one full up face 
portrait and a half profile or nearly 
full if you gather my meaning. The 
full f face one fase fairly close up  
and t' other say 10 feet. No particular 
preference whether you are standing 
or sitting, the former would be better 
though I think. Don't know if you will 
welcome my ideas but you can't be 
knocked for trying. But above all, 
pet, no hats.

6/ 
I can then see for myself if your 
comment about your decline has any 
foundation. I have a hunch you are 
drawing the long bow a trifle, you 
hussy.   
Well, I certainly like the airy 
way you dismiss my moan about 
blowing all the coin on that Mycosal. 
Youre a beaut. a few weeks back you  
were solemnly laying down the law 
about our need for economy and 
here you are talking like the heiress 
to millions.  Gertcha!   
As I near the end of your  
letter, the tone has brightened so 
much that it would seem your 
sorely tried tummy has become less 
chaotic. Your next letter is more 
than  ever awaited therefore.

7/ 
The sum total of the news 
from here would fit in a thimble. 
The old man feels O.K but they 
are working me too hard. Gee I've 
been flat out but thats my special 
war effort. Otherwise its just rise, 
eat, work & sleep, unexciting but 
safe. Too far from home though.   
[And so it is with  
great regret that we say farewell 
from the isle of boongs & taubadas 
etc. etc. and it cherishing vivid 
memories of your beauty grace & charm, 
we pass by yet another milestone on 
the pathway of life. All my love 
& kisses and a big hug for the gooing one]. 
Dad. 
  
tmHill

PR00610 
Australian
War Memorial 

8. 12.43 
AIR-MAIL 
Mrs. M. Billings 
548 Barkers Road 
East Hawthorn 
Victoria 

AUSTRALIAN 
MILITARY FORCES 
PASSED BY CENSOR 
2543 
  
tmHill

VX 38483 Cpl. M. Billings 
Dist. Accounts Office 
New Guinea. 14.12.43 
  
Darling Kay 
The mail has relented the  
last two days, those from you 
warming the cockles of the heart. 
They were dated 1st, 8th & 9th so 
that just about brings us up to 
date. Am pleased too to see you 
are not being left out in the cold. 
Whacko, yours of the 10th has just 
been handed to me, you beaut. 
So this bids fair to ramble through 
a page or ten. First lemme tell 
you I'm so pleased to know you 
are both in good form which 
prime condition I urge you to maintain 
and even improve. I can match 
your physical well-being for I 
feel pretty good considering the 
lousy dump I inhabit. Still 
well occupied at the office so the 
days pass quickly if somewhat

2/ 
som monotonous. I hope to go on 
to a new and more responsible 
task shortly so for a change I 
must be satisfying the powers. 
So long as a few more shekels 
go along with it, I'm easy. In 
all modesty though, darling, I do 
think the old show might have  
been more lavish to us blokes who 
knew the game backwards, as I 
am far from appalled with the 
duties & responsibility these hooks 
or more entail. I was glad  
to get some more news about 
John. Sure he will be gravid 
of mien for experience first hand 
of the work of Mars is  hardly 
conducive to the preservation 
of youth's freshness. After careful 
observation I have concluded that 
the impact affects the very 
young & the late thirty and over- 
groups the most.  & How like a

3/ 
woman, never satisfied unless 
you're rummaging around in 
wardrobes & cupboards and changing 
things from one place to another. 
You're a real fussy old homebody. 
Richard is certainly growing up 
to be a fine stamp of a lad, 
can now measure his weight by 
stones. In spite of the [[scarcity?]] 
of sound, he would be very 
precocious if he were able to 
do any coherent talking. He sounds 
very happy though with so many 
things to please his baby palate 
for pleasure. How marvellous 
him being able to sit up, that's 
another accomplishment to his 
credit. You're right dont try to  
hurry him, a fellow as sturdy 
as he is won't be late in 
giving evidences of his mental & 
physical development. Jolly 
fine kid in my opinion.

4/ 
It's a pity he has straight hair, 
that's one attribute I had hoped 
he would copy from his mother. 
Thanks very much for the various 
parcels, never fear, I'm not 
afraid of getting a surfeit of cakes. 
They have a brief existence. I 
think you are a bit previous in 
starting counting the weeks until 
I arrive, however optimistically 
one can look at it, its quite a  
few months. Probably be in 
the depth of winter and a fella 
will freeze to death, unless of 
course you can do something 
about it. Like you I'm ready - 
at the stage of the game to 
give away the solitary sleeping 
act. I'll be most happy to sing 
I've got my love to keep me  
warm. You're not telling me 
anything when you say this life 
of a few weeks at home and a

5/ 
few years away is on the snout. 
If I were a bachelor without 
ties, being away and living hard 
wouldn't worry me a bit. It's 
that rotten feeling that the best 
years are slipping by with such 
important things yet to be done 
that gets on the nerves. The 
strain of unnatural living does 
not lessen with the passing of time 
and there's no such thing as 
making up for lost time in 
that respect. Time aint just 
like that. In our case, we 
married too late in life to be 
able to afford the time taken up 
by long separations. Our sex 
cycle for one thing cannot have 
satisfied either of us, we don't  
have to be oracles to see that. 
I shall leave no stone unturned 
to try and stay around Melb. for 
a decent period next visit and a