ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a picture of the material family support for older people in the "past" (the late 1930s to 1960s) as it emerged from the older generation respondents' combined recollections of the support received by their parents or other older kin, and the old age support they themselves provided. The material support that older people received variously came in the form of food or provisions such as sugar, soap or cooking fuel. The assistance that older people received from other relatives—typically nieces, nephews or siblings, was, mostly less substantial than that provided by children. The older generation respondents, in their accounts, pointed clearly to three key features of past support, which were crucial in underpinning and sustaining its adequacy. They were, the shared responsibility for support among extended family kin; the low costs of support in the past; and the particular reasons, motives and interests that compelled support provision to aged parents and relatives.
