Monday Was Always Wash Day
Remember how Monday was always wash day as we were growing up in the boomer years. My own recollections of the mammoth effort that went into the weekly family wash came back after Mrs M Chamings of Hope Valley sent me a clipping from The Advertiser of some years ago, of people’s memories about washing […]
Adelaide and the Redex Trials
Remember when the Redex Trials were all the rage in the mid 50’s and remained very popular until well into the 60’s? I vividly remember as a kid, all the publicity, with regular and dramatic reports on the wireless about the tough conditions the drivers had to endure, as they drove through the outback of […]
When Boy George Came to Rundle Mall
Rundle Mall was absolutely packed on the 5th of July 1984 as some 25,000 fans turned out to welcome British pop star sensation Boy George and his group Culture Club. There had been bitter disappointment earlier for the band’s local fans when it was announced that the group would not perform in Adelaide due to […]
Radio Days, When Wireless Was King.
“In the days before TV, South Australians were spellbound by radio”. I wrote that column in Boomer magazine in the Advertiser March 3rd last year. Stan James of Aldgate wrote a few weeks later with his own wonderful memories of those halcyon days. Here’s what Stan wrote; “Bob Byrne’s comprehensive cover of radio days before […]
Adelaide Lost (Pt 1). Photographs by Frank Hall
We drove or walked passed them regularly when we were younger, the buildings that were part and parcel of our everyday life in Adelaide until the 60s and 70s. Then they were suddenly gone, demolished to make way for a new structure or development. One enterprising photographer decided to capture some of the old buildings […]
A Chookhouse, the Dunny and a Hills Hoist.
There was a time when almost every backyard in Australia had a chook house, an outdoor dunny, a vegetable garden and either a Hills Hoist or a clothes line propped up with a stick. Here’s a photo (below) from 1960 of a typical Australian suburban backyard which also includes a number of fruit trees. One […]
Coles Cafeteria, Balfours and The Buttery
Cole’s Cafeteria, Balfour’s Tea Rooms, the Buttery at John Martins and Cox Foy’s Dining Room. Long before the fast food chains arrived in Adelaide, the main emporiums and department stores catered for their customers with a cafeteria style dining room offering the ‘fast food’ of the day. Ahhh! The memories! To a kid, on a […]
Remember Those Early Years At School?
Going to school in the 50s, 60s and 70s was a completely different experience from that which our children and grandchildren might have today. In fact, from the very first day, for many, it was a traumatic event. Unlike now, there was not a lot of preschool activity such as play group, kinder gym or […]
Remember When the Milky Came Every Day?
Remember when you would be woken each morning to the clinking sound of glass bottles as the milky delivered fresh milk to your home? It was a daily ritual that lasted right through my childhood and up until the early 80s. Indeed many milkies even continued to use the old horse and cart for the […]
The Innocent Times of the Beach Girl Quests
Remember when there were ‘Beach Girl Quests’ at Glenelg, Brighton and Semaphore beaches during summer? Below is a photo from the 1954 Beach Girl Quest at the bay which attracted a crowd of some 25,000 people! Entrants to the quest were judged on more than just beauty, according to the organisers, but also on poise, […]