60 Stories for 60 Years 60 Stories for 60 Years 1947-2007, RESIDENTS OF WOLLONGONG REFLECT Looking north along Keira Street from Crown Street. Royal Hotel on right, circa 1952. The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor Alderman Harry Graham, fi rst Mayor of the Councillor Alex Darling AM 2007 City of Greater Wollongong 1947 FOREWORD Where have all the years gone? I was thirteen when the Greater City of Wollongong was gazetted by the State Government on 12 September 1947 and living in Harbour Street near South Beach at the time. How Wollongong has changed over the past 60 years. Back then it was a coastal working town, with steel making and coal mining its primary economic heart. Today Wollongong is known as a regional centre with a population fast approaching 200000 residents and an economic diversity in education, tourism and traditional manufacturing wrapped up in the tag “City of Innovation”. The past 60 years have indeed been exciting ones of growth and maturity and this commemorative book 60 Stories For 60 Years includes many stories that have infl uenced the lives of local citizens over this time. On behalf of Wollongong City Council I congratulate those whose memories were chosen to be published in this commemorative book and thank all residents who provided a memory of the past 60 years. Yours sincerely Alex Darling AM Lord Mayor City of Wollongong WOLLONGONG CREST The City of Greater Wollongong Council wrote to the Illawarra Historical Society on 13 August 1948 stating that the newly formed Council invited designs for a new “Council Crest”. COLLIERY The fi nal design included the motto: ‘Urbs inter mare montemque’ - The City between the sea and the mountains. The meaning of the Crest: The crest illustrates the history of Wollongong. The upper left quarter shows the outline of the Illawarra escarpment with cedar loggers at work. A cow grazing in the foreground reminds us that dairy farming was and is an important local industry. The upper right quarter shows Wollongong’s role as a port since the days of sailing ships. The lower left quarter represents the importance of coal mining in the district. Skips are shown coming out of a coal mine. The lower right quarter illustrates the importance of the steel industry. CITY OF WOLLONGONG FLAG In 1981 Wollongong Broadcasting Pty Limited (Station 2WL) promoted a competition for a Wollongong Flag which was sponsored by the then Bank of New South Wales (now Westpac). A panel of judges chose the entry of local citizen, Mr John Mulhall of Cringila, which was modifi ed to its present version. Incorporated in Flag design are: The City of Wollongong’s Motto - The City between the sea and the mountain The City’s offi cial colours - Blue and Gold (Blue of the sea - Gold of the sands) Interpretation of Flag Design: The blue top section represents the blue skies over Wollongong, the dividing diagonal strip represents the golden coastline of the area and the wealth of the land and blue at base represent the ocean. An adaptation of the City’s Crest, which also incorporates some features of the Coat of Arms of the State of New South Wales features the stars of the Southern Cross placed in the centre on a red cross. Stars on the bottom represent the constellation Orion which is at its brightest over Wollongong. It is the only fl ag on which two constellations are represented. WOLLONGONG CITY COUNCIL LOGO Wollongong City Council’s logo depicts, through a stylised ‘W’ various innovative situations relating to Wollongong. The Wollongong of today is very much a City of Innovation - innovative people from many cultural backgrounds, innovative natural and man-made environments and innovative industry and physical boundaries of our city - ocean and mountain range; culture and lifestyle; and the organisation’s progressive approach and pursuit of quality. The colours in Wollongong City Council’s logo were chosen to complement the city’s prominent natural environment. The colours represent the sun, sky, sea and mountain range. The brand slogan sends a consistent, integrated message to all stakeholders. It addresses how the organisation defi nes its business, what makes it unique and what it promises to deliver. The brand slogan for Wollongong is ‘City of Innovation’. This symbolises the progressive, highly creative and dynamic nature of the city. Evening entertainment in Wollongong in the 1940’s and 50’s revolved around the picture theatres of the Civic, Savoy, Regent and Crown. On Friday and Saturday nights, if you had not pre-booked a ticket then generally you would not be able to gain entry due to the popularity of the cinema at that time. The ‘pictures’ were a weekly highlight with thousands of locals visiting all the cinemas over the weekend watching the screen legends of Abbott & Costello, Allan Ladd, Gloria Swanson, Doris Day in fi lms such as Sunset Boulevard, Tea for Two and Tarzan & the Slave Girl. At interval, patrons would fl ood out of the cinemas and head to the many milk bars dotted on Crown and Keira Streets, including Silver Bell Café, Monterey Milk Bar and the Black & White Milk Bar to purchase snacks and drinks. I also remember the windows of stores such as Brickwoods Jeweller in Keira Street would have three or four persons deep all gazing at the fabulous displays of rings, bracelets and watches. It was the epitome of the true meaning of the words ‘window shopping’ as many would return on Monday morning to enquire about buying an item that they saw in the window Friday or Saturday evening. In the 1940’s and 50’s Friday and Saturday nights in Wollongong would always include a spot of ‘window shopping’ something that sadly does not occur much today which is a shame. Alex Darling AM, 73 years old, Mangerton, Year of story 1940s-1950s Great excitement! Queen Elizabeth was to visit Wollongong. School children were to gather at Wollongong Showground to welcome her with a few songs. Miss Farmer the Headmistress of my school, Wollongong Home Science arranged a special assembly requesting us to wash our hair that evening; give our shoes an extra polish and wear a clean petticoat. We had to look our best for the Queen. By today’s standards, strange instructions. A bright sunny day dawned. Our entire school walked to the showground, where we were herded into the dusty arena with thousands of other excited school children. So much for those clean shoes! The Mayor’s offi cial gold chains sparkled and glistened as he waited with dignitaries on a decorated dais, for the entourage of cars to complete the inner circle of the showground. As the Queen alighted from her car, I could have touched her, only a small barricade separated us. I have forgotten the colour of her clothes; they seemed so ordinary, nothing elaborate. What an anti-climax, she was gone in less than 30 minutes. So much for the washed hair and the extra starch Mum had put in my white school blouse. I had even worn my best petticoat with pretty cream lace! Barbara Street, 65 years old, Albion Park, Year of story 1954 The fortunes of the Illawarra Mercury and the city of Wollongong have been interwoven from the very beginning. As the city and region have developed, the Mercury has undertaken varying roles, such as leading the debate on important community issues and keeping our readers up to date on world, national and local news. Whether the residents have wanted to know the local footy scores or the vote in council chambers, the Mercury has always been there to keep them informed. The Mercury has always had a proud tradition of playing its role in the community, consistently campaigning on signifi cant issues. This activity has led to improvements in facilities for the residents of Wollongong and the broader Illawarra. The Wollongong of 1947 was very much an industrial city with the Port Kembla steelworks as its economic heart and soul. The Mercury refl ected the city, with the paper heavily reliant on the steelworks and associated enterprises for much of its reporting. Wollongong in 2007 is a vibrant, innovative city just beginning to take advantage of its natural beauty and resources. The city is home to a world-class university, and is making great strides in being recognised as a tourism and conference destination. Likewise the Mercury has also shed its industrial shadow - today we are a workplace of knowledgeable workers, publishing news that is not limited to the printed page. The future for Wollongong is a bright one, and the Mercury will be there to record and participate as it has done for over 150 years. Ben Marsh, 36 years old, Woonona, Year of story 1947-2007 North Wollongong Beach, 1956. Fishing at Coalcliff, circa 1950. In 1947 when I was 17, I belonged to the Comrades, a youth group associated with the Thirroul Methodist Church. As well as attending church we went around to Thirroul and Bulli on scavenger hunts, paper chases and had social nights in what is now the Community Centre at Thirroul. On Sunday mornings I would call for up to eighteen children that lived in Beattie Avenue, Tyrwhitt Avenue, Sturdee Avenue, Allenby Parade and one from Hobart Street and take them to Sunday school. In the summertime, the footpaths would be overgrown with paspalum grass and we would walk on the road to avoid the sap from the grass. I also went to fortnightly dances held at the Railway Institute where I had my fi rst date with my husband to be.