37 Things Only People Who Grew Up In The Hills Understand

The Hills wasn’t always the bustling hive of activity it is now and anyone who grew up there knows it’s not without its quirks.

But, it’s those quirks that make us love the Hills even more. Here are 37 things only people who grew up in the Hills understand.

1. Having to answer the question, “Do you even have any shops up there?” every time you’re talking to a non-Hills resident.
2. Not being able to visit Kalamunda Central without bumping into someone you know.  
3. Everyone knowing everyone else’s business.
4. Primary school swimming lessons spent freezing your butt off in the Kala pool.
5. When Matteo’s was the only pizza joint up there and you had to wait more than 1.5 hours for a Hawaiian pizza to be delivered to your house.
6. Making cubbies in the bush at recess.
7. Knowing the phrase “I’m just going into town today” refers to Kalamunda.
8. Any activities that aren’t in the Hills are referred to as “down the hill”.
9. As with 9/11, everyone remembers exactly what they were doing when the Carmel fireworks factory exploded.
10. Spending more of your time in the bush than on the playground.
11. Friday nights at Rollerama were life and you were a total pro at the “Superman” and “Agadoo”! And then we were all devastated when it closed down.
12. Summer’s signature scent was bushfire.
13. The fruit and veggies were delicious and you probably went to school with someone whose parents owned an orchard.
14. Saturday mornings playing netball or basketball at Ray Owen were not complete without a visit to the snack bar for some Wizz Fizz and a Killer Python.
15. Love was making out at Lions Lookout, the Zig Zag, Lesmurdie Falls or near the pinball machines at Rollerama.
16. The school bus that took an hour to get to school because it would go ten minutes out of the way to pick up one kid.
17. Honky nuts were sporting equipment (not to mention a serious tripping hazard), and if anyone from down the hill tried to tell you they were actually called gumnuts, they were wrong.
18. Easterly breezes are THE WORST.
19. Annual school excursions to Kalamunda History Village because your school couldn’t afford the bus ride down the hill.
20. The rivalry between Kalamunda Senior High and Lesmurdie Senior High is real. #lesmurdie4lyfe
21. You either smoked pot in the bush after school or you didn’t.
22. The BMX track outside Ray Owen was where you went to pick up cute boys.
23. If you refer to the supermarket at Kalamunda Glades as Charlie Carter’s, Cheap Foods, Rules or Woolworths everyone will know what you’re talking about.
24. You LOL’d at the Telethon presenters every year when they pronounced Gooseberry Hill as “Goose-berry-hill”. #idiots
25. Stoners = anyone who lived in or near Roleystone.
26. Catching two buses and a train to get to Scarborough Beach every Saturday morning was common practice.
27. If you were Italian, you were related to all of the other Italians in the Hills.
28. Your car was written off more than once because you hit a kangaroo.
29. The Kalamunda Show was the event of the year because your parents wouldn’t let you go to the Perth Royal Show.
30. You were always up for a 30-minute walk to your friend’s house, through the bush no less.
31. Pileups on the Kala Waterslides were common practice.
32. Bribing your parents/grandparents/older siblings to take you to Maccas in Forrestfield because the only fast food joint up the hill was Chicken Treat.
33. Going through the Chicken Treat drive through on roller skates because you were hilarious.
34. Thursday nights at Kala Pub were THE BEST!
35. Pre-drinking on the bus down the hill on Saturday nights and never finding a cab driver willing to take you back up the hill at the end of the night.
36. Finding a friend with a pool was like finding gold.
37. If you move down the Hill, you are a traitor.

Don’t live in the Hills? Here are 25 Things Only People From The North Understand.

Image credit: Garland International