Annandale on the Web
Established 1998
Established 1998
Christine McKay's family moved back to Annandale, from Hurstville after the war ended. Christine, her sister and parents lived in Taylor St. At the time, the tram ran down booth st, then down Taylor st, before crossing Johnston's Canal and up the crescent to Ross St, where it followed the current 470 bus route into the CBD.
Christine recalls, raiding the Melocco Brothers Marble yard for firewood for the bonfires they had in the park between the tram lines and the yard. Tram at the Corner of Booth and Johnston St Annandale, 1955
Later, Christine went to stay with her grandfather in Wells st, from where she would walk to the Annandale Public School. The tuckshop in Trafalgar St, across the road from the school is still as Christine recalls it - though no longer in business.
At the end of Primary school in Annandale there were three public school options - Leichhardt Domestic Science School, Fort Street Girls High and Burwood Girls High School. Her headmaster advised her mother, that she was too bright for Domestic Science and would have to work hard with the Academic Elite at Fort Street Girls. So, off she went to Burwood.
Christine recalls her mother doing piecework at home. This included stamping out rubber washers. As Christine had small nimble fingers she specialised in making tiny little red rings for the redcross and was paid 6pence a dozen.
After Christine left school she worked in Elizabeth St in the city for a Dictaphone company. The company provided a service of transcribing and scraping the wax cylinders of dictaphones.
Later Christine joined PGH Wood Products, whose yard was located between Whites Creek, Piper St, Whites St and Railway Parade in what is now Lilyfield. Christine recalls the logs being stored in Rozelle Bay to stop them drying out before they were sawn and made into Plywood. A manufacturing process that had been pioneered in Australia at the local Beale's Piano factory. PGH also manufactured Office Furniture. See Picture Australia and Benton'sImages of Logs being unloaded in Rozelle Bay
As a Comptomitrist, Christine's Job was to work a Comptometer to calculate the total price of pieces of timber. The device would work by pressing down the price of the item, in Pounds, Shillings and pence by the quantity of the item in square or linear feet.
"Significance: No. 5 The Crescent, Annandale has local historic significance. The site forms part of a local pattern of mixed residential and light industrial development. During the 1920s and 1930s, the site was the location of one of the many local furniture companies. After this time, it has an association with modern industries such as the application of latex in manufactory and electronics."....from www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
In 1959, Julie and her family, landed in Sydney after a six week sea voyage from Malta, via the Cape of Good Hope. After temporary accommodation with her mother in Leichhardt, Julie and her husband, moved into a house in Trafalgar Street.
Julie's three sons attended St Brendan's primary school and served as Altar boys for parish services.
While Annandale had provided convenient access to the city, via public transport, six years later a growing family, which now included two daughters, needed more space and they moved to a bigger home.
Story and Photographs courtesy of Julie.
Visiting Maltese Dignatories at the Sacred Heart Club, Annandale (1963)
This page www.ramin.com.au/annandale/story6.shtml last Updated: 16 April 2008.