On my eleventh birthday I became a member of the 2nd Northern Division of Lone Guides. Our Captain was Miss Madge Welch, who lived with her parents at 66 Williamson Street, Bendigo. Our activities were carried out by means of a "newsletter," once a month. Our examiners were our parents. Miss Welch asked us to read carefully and "learn" the work for each month. When we were ready for the test, Mother or Father would test us and sign our papers, which were then posted to Miss Welch in Bendigo. We began with the Tenderfoot tests.

The Perris Family came from Oakleigh to the Mallee. After a short time at Nullawil and Culgoa, they moved to Ultima in 1925, and settled on a farm east of Ultima, off the Swan Hill and Lake Boga Roads. In 1932 Perc Perris and his Dad opened a Butchery Business in Ultima, which this family had for 24 years. The eldest son, Frank, did not come to the Mallee, as he was employed in the E. S. & A Bank (now A.N.Z.) in Melbourne.