COMMUNITY STORIES TALES SUBMITTED FOR THE SOUTHPORT ... · Working for our future – today...
Transcript of COMMUNITY STORIES TALES SUBMITTED FOR THE SOUTHPORT ... · Working for our future – today...
Working for our future – today
COMMUNITY
TALES SUBMITTED
FOR THE
SOUTHPORT
HERITAGE WALK
2009
SouthportSTORIES
Opening day for the Southport railway, 1889Image courtesy of Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library
The following stories were submitted to the Gold Coast City Council by March 2009 in response to a postcard calling for people
to, “Help us to remember Southport through your stories”. Postcards were placed in libraries and other public places and sent to
schools. Many of the stories submitted helped provide information to enliven the Southport Heritage Walk. You can read some of
these stories on the walk’s totem poles if you take this discovery trail. The walk was a joint project with the Community Renewal
program which is coordinated through the State Government Department of Communities (Housing & Homelessness Services).
The response to the call for stories has resulted in the rich collection of material which has been compiled for this book. We received
a range of stories in different forms – some by email, some written by hand, with most written on the tear off section of the
postcards. A number of pieces were quite long, particularly from those people with many stories to tell. A few of the pieces were
accompanied by photos.
The material has been sorted not edited. This means the stories retain the freshness and style of each author, along with their
spelling and grammar. We have treated each story like the primary source historical material it is, so that future researchers
and general readers can apply their own interpretations to the material they read. In two cases a line has been added to clarify
information. This is marked and remains obvious to the reader.
We would like to thank each person for sharing their stories and contributing to the many voices of Southport.
Foreword
Contents
Gold Coast City Council Southport stories 1 Community tales submitted for the Southport Heritage Walk 2009
The Southport Call for Stories Postcard 4
Gold Coast Hospital by Joanne Adair 6
Southport Surf Club by Robert Akes 7
Southport CBD by Polly Anderson 9
Growing up in Southport by Erica Bates 11
Southcoast Dairy Coy. by Peter J Bracken 16
Regent Picture Theatre by AJ Burrows 17
Council Bathing Pavilion, Southport by AJ Burrows 18
Huntington Lodge, Marine Parade by AJ Burrows 19
Town Water Supply, Southport by AJ Burrows 20
Gas Street Lights, Southport by AJ Burrows 20
Maddock Hughes House, Southport by AJ Burrows 21
The Pacific Hotel, Southport by AJ Burrows 21
"Martin's Corner", Southport by AJ Burrows 22
The Pier Theatre, Southport by AJ Burrows 22
The Pier, Southport by AJ Burrows 23
Nuns dressing/change hut, Southport by AJ Burrows 23
Stories of Southport by Bill Chandler 25
Pier Theatre, Heritge Places by Penny Clementson 27
Southport by Grace Cornwall 28
The Gold Coast Hospital, Southport by Gloria Cronk 31
Page
Contents (continued)
Sandown Hospital, The Southport School by Joan Davidson 32
Theatres, schools, drive-in by Sybil Davis 36
The Pier Theatre, Southport by Don Deutscher 38
My Southport by Don Deutscher 39
Stories of Southport by Joan Fabian 40
Johnston & Freeman Sawmill by KB Freeman 41
Playing in the railway carriages in Railway Street by Kathy Gaven 43
A Southport Story by former Southport resident 44
Southport stories1935-1945 by Robert Hart 45
Southport Hotel by Peg Hillier 49
Benowa Post Office by Nola Hollindale 50
Southport Stories by Nola Hollindale 51
The Broadwater, Southport by Joan Lethlean 53
Southport Story by Anne Littlejohn 54
Businesses by Bev Lloyd 55
Memories of the late 1950's in Southport by Shirley McLean 60
Main Beach by Mrs V Menge 61
Southport Surf Club by George Mills 63
My Southport Memories by Neville D Milne 64
Various places by Herbert Morris 66
The Pier Theatre, Southport by Mrs V Navie 67
Gold Coast City Council Southport stories 2 Community tales submitted for the Southport Heritage Walk 2009
Page
Contents (continued)
Southport Croquet Club Inc. by Jim Northcott (President) 68
Southport Indigenous by Rory O'Connor 70
Southport Stories by Sue O'Leary-Biddle 71
Southport Stories by Dawn Pointon 72
The Milk Factory and Southport Pier by Bryan Smith 75
Stories of Southport by Paula Stafford 76
Southport Stories-New Years Eve Celebrations by Kiri Stinson 77
Southport Stories by Mavis Veivers 78
Southport Early 70's by Gabrielle Vining 80
Southport Memories by Brian Whelan 81
Southport Stories by Karen Wright 84
Southport Stories by Jennifer Zerna 85
Gold Coast City Council Southport stories 3 Community tales submitted for the Southport Heritage Walk 2009
Page
Gold Coast City Council Southport stories 4 Community tales submitted for the Southport Heritage Walk 2009
The Southport Call for Stories Postcard
Gold Coast City Council Southport stories 6 Community tales submitted for the Southport Heritage Walk 2009
My husband and I arrived at Surfers Paradise in 1963 and bought a block
of 4 flats, he working at the Co. extracting minerals from the beach sand.
At Surfers one could dress in almost nothing, but Southport still acted
like a country town and a dress with no straps caused looks of horror
and stares. Shopping required formal dress of gloves and stockings! In
August, 1964 our daughter, Tiana, was born at the Gold Coast Hospital
(we knew of no other on the coast), which was a small hut-like structure
with one doctor in charge of everything. Dr. Taylor was efficient and
formal with no fraternising with staff outside of the hospital. A year or
two later he got a young inexperienced assistant. What a change in 44
years!
Place : Gold Coast HospitalTheme : Heritage PlacesAuthor : Joanne Adair
Southport 1966Image courtesy of Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library
Gold Coast City Council Southport stories 7 Community tales submitted for the Southport Heritage Walk 2009
In the 1940’s the Southport Surf Club housed its surf boat at McKenzie’s Shed
on the Nerang River, Brighton Parade, Southport (situated where Rivage Royal
now stands). One morning the boar crew were left without a vehicle to transfer
between the club and McKenzie’s. The only transport any of us owned was my
army BSA side valve motorbike.
In later years I was able to relate the story of a mystery to Police Inspector Jack
Kerr at his retirement testimonial dinner. I asked Jack if he remembered one early
morning when a melee of men passed him on the Jubilee Bridge. He laughingly
said he often wondered who those people were. That day the Jubilee Bridge saved
our skins.
One of the peculiarities of the Jubilee Bridge was that it was made of cross planks,
with four lineal planks spaced to support the car tyres – one set east and one set
west. No overtaking or u-turns were possible. The bridge also was made with a
high point so that boats could navigate underneath. These together proved to be
the salvation of the Southport Surf Boat crew of 1948 consisting of Syd Rogers,
Stan Cronk, Bob Akes, Don Wight and cox Neil Middleton.
Early that morning “The Grey Ghost” – the name given by all to the only Police
car in Southport, driven by Jack, was heading to Main Beach and on the crest of
the bridge encountered an apparition somewhat like the Hindu God “Kali” – 10
arms and 10 legs, because he was unable to see us coming before the top, or turn
Southport Life Savers, circa 1930sImage courtesy of Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library
Jubilee Bridge, 1933Image courtesy of Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library
Place : Southport Surf Club, Jubilee BridgeTheme : Heritage PlacesAuthor : Robert Akes
around once we were spotted. The five of us continued to Brighton Parade,
jumped in the surf boat and did our training.
Thank goodness Jack was retired – I had to admit to being the driver of the
motorcycle on which were perched the whole 5 member boat crew. One on
the tank, one in front of the seat, one on the seat, one on the pillion and
Missile Middleton on the luggage stand at the back. Jack shook his head and
laughed!
Jubilee Bridge, 1933Image courtesy of John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland
Gold Coast City Council Southport stories 8 Community tales submitted for the Southport Heritage Walk 2009
Gold Coast City Council Southport stories 9 Community tales submitted for the Southport Heritage Walk 2009
We arrived in Southport on a steamy hot Sunday afternoon in early January 1938 after a long train journey from Kingaroy – my Mother and Father (who was to start a new job as a linesman with the P.M.G (Postmaster General’s Department), my sister Mary (14), brother John (6) and six months old baby sister Lenore. I was eight years old.
Our first home was in the centre of Southport in Lawson Street – one allotment back from the corner of Lawson & Garden Street – a high set timber house with a glassed-in front verandah and an outside timber “dunny” which stood obtrusively in the middle of an otherwise bare backyard. In wet weather it stood like an island at the bottom of the back stairs.
No missing school on wet days – all we had to do was to slush happily bare foot across the spare allotment and across the road to the Southport State School (opened in 1880). In 1938, with about six hundred pupils from grade 1 to Junior High School level, it was the largest State School on the 20 mile Coastal Strip.
All are now gone – our first home and spare allotment – in turn the Smekel family home and their Bus company terminal – then a car park and now since July 2002 the new Southport Library and car park.
The Southport State School was rebuilt and resited to Owen Park in Queen Street in the early 1990’s. The old school with its memories of school days in war and peace, dusty games of marbles on bended knees – the horse drawn pie cart under
the camphor-laurel tree across from Headmaster Mr Hibbard’s office – ALL GONE.
Southport Post Office, circa 1930Image courtesy of Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library
Theos Pies, circa 1920Image courtesy of Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library
Place : Southport CBDTheme : Pioneers, Identities and Family StoriesAuthor : Polly Anderson
As is the milk factory down the block a bit from the Scarborough Street front
entrance – where for a penny (1 cent) we could buy a bottle of milk and eat
our “sangers” on the tine quadrangle of grass outside – and Spiers’ fruit
shop (just past the Salvation Army) where for another penny we could buy an
apple or a frozen orange.
2009 – on these sites today stand the three forty-storied towers and shopping
complex of Southport Central and nearby shops of Australia Fair.
History replaced!
Gold Coast City Council Southport stories 10 Community tales submitted for the Southport Heritage Walk 2009
Southport State Primary Infants School, circa 1950Image courtesy of Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library
Gold Coast City Council Southport stories 11 Community tales submitted for the Southport Heritage Walk 2009
The EsplanadeGracious homes and gardens, sunlight glinting and playing on the waters of the
Broadwater, oysters hugging the concrete between high and low tide marks on
the sea wall.
The humpty back Jubilee Bridge stretching from the end of Queen Street across
crystal clear water to Main Beach and the ocean.
The bathing boxes in front of the Pacific Hotel where the nuns used to get
changed to go for a swim. We never seemed to see them do it, but everyone
knew that’s what the little buildings were there for and that the nuns supposedly
used them.
The palm trees in the park along the sea wall, and the steps down through the
wall where we could reach the water. Sitting on the bottom step and watching
for crabs on the racks and sand below.
Huntington Country Club. Weddings and celebrations. It was very posh.
WalkingFrom my home at the Broadwater end of Queen Street, to Southport Primary
School. Shortcuts through the Tennis Courts and along the edge of the Bowling
Club. Stopping to watch the bowlers all in white with woollen cardigans. Hearing
the gentle “clack” of the bowling balls as they found their mark. The little
blackboards and chalk hung at both ends of each green were a sore temptation
Esplanade 1930sImage courtesy of Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library
Bathing sheds at Southport, circa 1900sImage courtesy of Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library
Place : Growing up in SouthportTheme : Businesses – Pioneers, Identities and Family storiesAuthor : Erica Bates (nee Shepherd)