The black cat

A story by Tim Ross inspired by the Frank and Eunice Corley House photographs collection currently on show in Home: a suburban obsession exhibition. Listen to his podcast.

The sign out the front of the old house in Clayfield said Free Kittens and before he knew it the little cat was sliding across the bench seat of his EH as he battled the grind of the aging three speed gear box as he spun around the comer and up the hill to their house. As he pulled into the driveway the kids burst out through the flywire door and launched themselves at the while pole above the steps and propelled themselves down to great their Dad.

The new kitten caused a great deal of excitement and it was quickly named Blackie because well. . .that’s what you called black cats in those days.

Blackie quickly developed a fetish for the flywire door and would climb up it and hang off it until the mesh started give way.

His claws tightened as he enjoyed the ride as they created tears in the screen.

They tried to keep Blackie away from the screen but no matter how hard he screamed “Get out of it, you stupid cat.” Blackie didn’t take any notice. In desperation he taped the base of a cardboard banana box to the bottom half of the door, but the combination of the humidity and the frequent use of the door meant the box didn’t stay in place for more than half a day. He upped the ante by using a coping saw to expertly cut a piece of ply that he riveted to the frame exactly where the banana box had failed.

Blackie was momentarily defeated, finding the ply an unsatisfactory sensory experience on her claws but soon she was eyeing off the screen above the ply. With a significant run up she now found that she could leap up to the top section and she found the extra height even more thrilling and within a day the top section was in tatters, the torn sections dangling in the wind like those colourful strip curtains at the milk bar.

The next day the kids came home from sports training and the fly wire screen was sitting out the front resting against the front fence. Dad was sitting inside on the couch watching the channel nine news, patting the cat and surrounded by flies.

Home: a suburban obsession exhibition ends 14 July 2019. Discover more about the exhibition at explorer.corley.slq.qld.gov.au. Find your home. Search the Corley Explorer.