Annandale on the Web

Anecdotal History of Annandale

1945-1969 - Post War Migration

"2/33rd Battalion, Annandale Masonic Hall, Trafalgar Street, 1.30pm" - The Sydney Morning Herald Tue 23 April 1946 (page 5)

Besides continuing development at Auburn, the company purchased the firm of C. Elliott, of Annandale in 1947. This company’s name was changed to Annandale Engineering Co. Pty. Ltd. and now operates from its own premises adjacent to the Auburn plant....History of Wallbank Engineers. Founders. Patternmakers.

Railway Viaduct, Witches Houses and Federal Park Annandale from Jubilee Park, Glebe

"One of them, Raymond, remembers that in 1947 when he was in first class, 2/3 of the playground was covered with brick air raid shelters. The crane with the ball and chain demolished them while the children were in class and the noise was deafening...Family Ties Annandale Public School

The reverand Old, a long serving Rector of St Aidens, never drove a car. He visited his parishners on a Bicycle, which lead to local children giving him the nickname of "God on a Bicycle". When his bicycle was stolen in 1947, while he was out visiting, the Parishners bought him a replacement. - Annals from AIDAN's in Annandale (p42)

In 1961, the Greek Orthodox Community wer allowed to use the hall for an after school child-minding and teaching about cultural and religious heritage. However, the 1964 minutes note "it had come to Mr Hemming's notice that there was sme communist influence apparent in the faction of the church wich was using our Church hall for after school instruction, the lease was terminated in 1969, but reinstated in 1970 a further instruction from the Church council to terminate the lease in 1975 was rejected by the Rector, but the popularity of the service had waned anyway. - Annals from AIDAN's in Annandale (p26)

Annandale Imitation Realists

In the late 1950s, three Annandale-based artists Ross Crothall (1934–), Colin Lanceley (1934–) and Mike Brown (1938–1997) formed the Annandale Imitation Realists. By 1960, they were working and living together at Crothall's studio in Annandale....en.wikipedia.org/Annandale_Imitation_Realists

Sydney artist Colin Lanceley first came to notice in the early 1960s, when he and two other very young painters founded the Annandale Imitation Realists, a spoof art movement with some serious intentions....www.abc.net.au (14 March 2011)

Brown's philosophy was simple: ''We have forgotten that art isn't some special condiment you splash on life to make it taste a little better. If it's anything at all, it's everything there is, or was or will be, everything that a person can do, think or say to another. It's a way of thinking and living.''... www.theage.com.au (November 12, 2011)

Crothall’s experience of art in New Zealand meant that he was able to present new possibilities for the work of a group of Sydney art students, some of whom would become the Imitation Realists. Their work was shaped by the awareness of indigenous art forms of the Pacific but adapted to their context in contemporary urban Australia...www.doubledialogues.com (Winter 2007)

Christine's Memories of Annandale

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.

When two cars collided at the corner of Trafalgar and Collins Streets yesterday, Sidney Berg, of Ronald Avenue, Revesby, gashed his leg. He was admitted to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.-The Sydney Morning Herald Tuesday 7 October 1952 page 3

The Hunter Baillie

The Rev. Leonard Mervyn Williams and his wife Dilys came to the Hunter Baillie in 1956. The church was in decline and the threat of falling masonry had made it impossible to obtain public liability insurance. (p39, Hunter Baillie) Dilys conducted alternate services at Leichhardt and Hunter Baillie Presbyterian churches with her husband and was inducted, in 1969, as the first woman Elder in NSW. (p41, Hunter Baillie). Ferguson Library Archivist mentioned in her talk at the church on 4 September 2010, that Dilys Williams in the 1930s had applied to the Presbyterian Church of Australia General Assembly to be Accepted as a candidate for the Ministry. Her application was "laid on the table" and was never dealt with. The stained glass window on the northern side of the church was restored in memory of the Williams' time at the church.

"Back in the 1950's after first attending Sunday School in the morning the older children were then taken into the church for the last part of the service. One of these Sunday School students recalls the time when entering the church a number of them were whispering and giggling as they entered and took their seats, girls in the first pew, boys in the second, when Mrs Williams picked out one child and instructed her to take a seat further back in the church.

As a result, this child made an effort to check, as to who was doing the service each week to avoid any further humiliation by Mrs Williams.

Annandale Theatres

Olympia, Parramatta Road

Royal, Johnston Street (adjoining post office)

Peter's first experience of the Annandale Royal was when his Mum took him along, when he was just 3 months old (no child care then) to see "The Third Man". He, recalls living at "163 Johnston St, about 2 minutes walk from the cinema. My mates and I went there every Saturday afternoon. There used to be a very dark Milk Bar next door as well that sold McNiven's ice cream (the lime ripple was fantastic). The milk bar acros the road next to the chemist sold Peter's which was dearer. The Royal used to get the Disney films-I saw "Peter Pan" there and "Snow White". It had bouncers rather than ushers-real thugs some of them. A shilling (1/- = 10c) in for a downstairs seat. For that you got the Cinesound newsreel, a serial, Warner Bros cartoon and the B feature. After Interval you got the main feature. If you decided to go posh upstairs was 1/6 (15c)!

Peter was in the Glebe branch of what was then the Police Boys' Club. On Friday nights they use to give free passes to local cinemas and the Olympia was always referred to as the Olympia Annandale. The bank on the corner of Parramatta Rd and Northumberland Ave was always referred to as the Bank of New South Wales Annandale branch.

No. 5 The Crescent

"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

Visiting Maltese Dignatories at the Sacred Heart Club, Annandale (Photo 1963)

This page www.ramin.com.au/annandale/story6.shtml last Updated: 1 February 2012.