From Bondi to the City

The long way

This book is a history of what it was like to grow up in Sydney during the 1950s and 1960s. This world was observed through the eyes of a child and young man. The memories travel through Bondi in the 1950s, from the Astra Hotel, boarding houses, flats, small struggling shops, going to school, playing cricket and tennis all at a time when Australia itself was young and growing. The golden fifties launched people into expanded hope through cars, weekends, their own homes and plentiful work. There is the tranquillity of Pittwater, a glassy stretch of water and deep bush where people cherished their weekends in small fibro cottages and tiny boats. The journey goes to the old harbour of ships and wharves and nights at the speedway.Life included Anzac Day marches, sample bags at the Royal Easter Show, street football, Empire Day bonfires, and the lady who read the tea leaves and the Menzies sympathisers and Commos in the family.The world of work was also a journey through running deliveries in school holidays, small factory life in Balmain and office work in the city.The city moved quickly in terms of what jobs disappeared, the rise and fall of businesses and what they sold; and the flattening of old buildings and the rise of the glittering towers. The city was part of life; it sparkled, enticed, threatened, expanded freedom, challenged everything and never let you forget what it did and what you did.