 Between 1930 and 1932, during the Great Depression, the boys lived in the bush for extended periods, relying on their hunting skills to survive.Raised as Roman Catholics, Ted and his younger brother initially went to school at the local Good Shepherd convent, before attending St Joseph's Primary School at Abbotsford.In 1928, at the age of 13, Ted moved to St Colman's School in Fitzroy; at the end of the year he won a government scholarship to continue his studies the next year at Parade College, in East Melbourne, where he completed his Intermediate Certificate in 1930.