"The Dream Tie (Through the Eyes of Carden)" Robbie Cartier Le'Nepveu

Blue and White Light
a virtual chapbook of poetry by
Robbie Cartier Le'Nepveu

The Dream Tie
(Through the Eyes of Carden)

A large basin of brackish water, Captain Vlamingh declared,
A descent of terrain voyaged by Stirling who shared;
That this arm of the sea, the Canning River once revealed,
Nested descendants of industry and cleverness well-heeled.

And for twenty or so miles, this fresh run would etch,
From the doorway of the deep of Australia's vast west;
And the old brackish water all the same drifts today,
Flanked by buoyant trade and Mason's Landings' clay.

And on the Waymarna to Canning, arrived from England,
The Murdock couple settled brightened and visioned;
They borrowed a dwelling down a road in Woodlupine,
And took timber on credit with their children in mind.

For a house was erected shaped two rooms in span,
And the lady of the home sought labour in demand;
She secured skills in firms fostered amid clothing,
And saved precious pennies for a dream that was pending.

In next to no time pennies were devoted to fabric,
As she feverishly patched neck-ties by way of fine magic;
World War I followed suit for more orders,
This work, by the Murdock girl, fashioned a fortress.

Fortune tracked this lady, as clothing became her trade,
More materials were purchased and more ties were made;
Her pennies were increased, as repute further released,
And with one-pound profits the ties were increased.

One room was added to their humble abode,
Which transformed to a factory with work overloads;
Four more children were born and way of life enlarged,
So they moved to Railway Promenade and work recharged.

A treadle machine was purchased and so too labour,
The factory was lesser, and premises weren't favoured;
Aside the Coronation Hotel, a building came for sale,
And the old Jubilee Hall was paid for, flanking rail.

Offers of benches and eight power machines,
Set the small factory and the Murdock's routine;
For then came here and there, trousers and hats,
Dresses and pyjamas, and the dreamt tie chitchat.

For the Murdock girl fell asleep one night,
And there in her cradle, she dreamt till daylight;
It was a man's tie, not in fashion that time,
And copied it in white lawn and boxed one at a time.

Hundreds of dozens were sought by from men,
And the Dream Tie was honoured and scripted in pen;
The press at the time fell in fondness with this tie,
And the premises were remodeled, and doubled in size.

Argyle Factory remained the foremost chosen name,
Although changes followed suit and Reliance Works it became;
Production expanded and orders inflamed,
Mrs. Murdock's dream had now been acclaimed.

As generous as it ought to be, the business sold promptly,
And was purchased with pleasure by Iddon of Collie;
And his sons ran the business, expanded and thriving,
From the hard work, the resilience, and dreams from the Canning.

The old factory premises are now demolished,
And the memory of the Murdock's are nowadays cherished;
That girl's siblings and theirs, still remember the time,
That their mother, grandmother, and great, dreamt the Dream Tie.

Poem © 2001 Robbie Cartier Le'Nepveu, all rights reserved
appears here by permission

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Author Notes

This poem has been authored by the great-granddaughter of Mrs. Louise Murdock, myself, Robbie Le'Nepveu, featured in the poem. The poem was abstracted from the 1968 book Along The Canning, by F.G. Carden, Shire of Canning, Western Australia. Mr. Fred Carden wrote extensively about the Murdock family, and other descendants of the Canning region in Western Australia, and this poem is a tribute to him and the Murdock family. Mr. Carden passed away in 1993.

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