Albert, barbecue man and cane cutters cook, 1930s and beyond

Albert Ascoli’s first job in 1928, aged sixteen, was as a cook for the cane cutters in the Clarence River district, around Maclean, Palmers Channel and Yamba, NSW.

Cane cutters gang at Palmers Channel, abt 1928.

From left: unknown, unknown, Bill Baker, Len Sutherland, Albert Ascoli, Jack Schipp, unknown. In front sitting: Fred Gard.

Albert (1912-2001), my Dad, left school at about 14 years of age and worked on family farms before he had his first paying job as a cane cutters cook. 

Grandad Alf Ascoli (1872-1956) carting sugar cane on the Palmers Channel family farm, about 1918.

Grandad Alf Ascoli ploughing the land on the Palmers Channel family farm, about 1920. Uncle Vince (Vincent Ascoli 1918-1997) on the back of the plough.

Albert worked as a cane cutters cook for about six years (1928-1936) before he married Bridget Gooley. After his marriage he was a farmer in the Clarence River and Richmond River districts.

Wedding Day, Albert Ascoli and Bridget Gooley, 1936

What did Albert learn in his first job? Firstly, he had to learn how to cook. He said he started by gathering recipes from his mother and sisters (especially Kate and Mary), and then he used the Commonsense Cookbook. He definitely learnt on the job.

The Commonsense Cookery Book. Revised edition 1970. compiled by the NSW Public School Cookery Teachers' Association. Publisher Angus and Robertson, Sydney.
My copy, well used by all members of my family, with a recipe written on the inside pages for mustard pickles.

The cane cutters cook had an important role to maintain the energy and health of the cane cutters, so that they could work the whole season (which normally went from June to Christmas). Cane was cut with a thrash and the remains of the cane either burnt or ploughed into the ground before the next planting. The cut cane was then loaded by hand onto punts and sent to the mills. The gang of cane cutters camped on the farms with the cook having his own tent and supplies. The gang could move camp sites six to eight times in one season, with the gang living independently of the farms on which they worked.

All the cooking was done in the open. No wonder my father was so good with barbecues all his life. T bone steak was his favourite barbecued meat. He must have also learnt to camp in this job but he never replicated that in our family.

Some of my barbecue books. Referenced under my Cookbooks Page

The cane cutters cooking equipment, camping gear, and cane carts, were supplied by CSR who owned the sugar mills at Harwood Island. Albert also had his own iron fuel oven and a camp oven. The camp oven was a cast iron container with short legs, with an area in the top to take the hot coals, so that the coals could be packed all around the container. At each new farm site, Albert built a galley around his fuel stove and cooking equipment and camped close to this area.

Food was served on large pine trestles which had to be scrubbed and cleaned every day with Sandsoap and scalded with boiling water. Sunlight Soap and ashes from the fire were used to clean the enamel places and mugs.

In our family, in the 1950s–1970s, my mother, Bridget, was the main cook (apart from when my father cooked barbecues), but Albert was always a willing helper with washing and cleaning up. He knew the work involved in providing nourishing food for a gang of labourers or a family. 

In our family kitchen, Steelwool was his favourite cleaning item (replacing ashes that he used on the cane fields) to polish the pots and pans. Our Sunbeam electric fryer was the shiniest one I ever saw used in any home.

My father recalled that a normal day for cooking for the cane cutters (8-10 men), started at 4am, when he prepared tea, coffee and toast. The men started their work by about 5am but stopped for breakfast (bacon and eggs, or steak and eggs) by about 7am.

The biggest meal (not breakfast) was at midday. The midday meal was often a roast but there were also lots of casseroles and dumplings. There were always desserts or “sweets”, with favourites being steamed puddings, lemon sago puddings, pies, cakes, baked custards, etc. Sugar was a friend, an energy giver, and the reason for their pay.

Lamb and Rosemary Stew. The Australian Women's Weekly Cook it Slowly. 2014. Published by Bauer Media Books, Australia. pp 54-55. A recipe similar to what Albert could have cooked for the cane cutters.

Afternoon tea was made by Albert, not just for the cane cutters, but for the cane haulers and other farm labourers. He used a special sling that he made that went over his head, so that he could carry a tray with scones and afternoon tea on it, which left his hands free to carry the four gallons tins of hot tea. As a young cook he said he always wore a clean white apron to make this a special event, as it was an opportunity for him to have a chat with all the men. As well as learning to cook Albert learnt how to listen and talk with people of all ages and occupations.

Scones. p180. The Commonsense Cookery Book. Revised edition 1970. Compiled by the NSW Public School Cookery Teachers' Association. Publisher Angus and Robertson, Sydney.

The cook had to do everything to provide food for the cane cutters. This included organising supplies and deliveries, planning and cooking the meals, washing and cleaning up, storing food and utensils, budgeting and organising accounts for individual cutters, chopping wood, moving and setting up sites, and in-between helping the cane cutters with any spare jobs. No wonder Albert was good at planning and logistics (especially later with his own building company in Canberra). One of his favourite sayings was "hard work never hurt anyone."