Looking Back with Mick Roberts

THE legendary story of how 22-year-old Samuel Clout drove 'Her Majesty's Royal Mail Coach' across a flooded Bulli roadway has become part of local folklore.
Click on the pointing finger above to find out more.

The region's pubs were the principle venues for entertainment early this century.
From simple singalongs between coal miners at the bar, to paid musos belting out favourite songs of the era on the piano, the pub was the place to be entertained prior to the popualrity of licensed clubs in the 1960s.
Some "localised scribble" in the late 1990s from an anonymous 77-year-old correspondent recalls the days of the pub entertainer at Bellambi Hotel in the 1940s.
"I have been living here, near the hotel for over 50 years and remember a young man entertaining customers at the hotel every Saturday. There was lots of singing between the radio broadcasting of horse racing, while the bookies were taking bets. The bookies were always keeping a watchful eye for police raids."
The Piano player, named "Ted", lived nearby and he was paid by the publican with a bottomless mug of beer, which always sat in arm length on his trusty instrument.
Ted used to play in Sydney for the Soldiers during the war before they left for Europe. "Oh how the miners loved the old time songs, a lot of singing and dancing till closing time at 6pm."
With the rise in popularity of licensed clubs in the 1960s new venues were built to accommodate the entertainment needs of the people of the northern suburbs.
Pubs were replaced by clubs during the 1960s as places to be entertained on weekends.

PICTURE: Ron Muir (on sax) and James "Double" Orvad (piano) entertain the crowd at Woonona Bulli RSL.

THE Looking Back website is a collection of short history articles about the Wollongong region of NSW Australia.

Mick Roberts is a journalist specialising in local history and has been writing on the subject for nearly 20 years. He has been researching and writing the history of the Illawarra region of NSW Australia in various newspapers since 1987, working currently as a journalist based in Sydney (see biography).

Mick also specialises in hotel history and culture and has been working part time for a number of years on a comprehensive history of the liquor industry in the Illawarra region in view of publishing a book on the subject. The book will highlight the role the hotel and liquor industry has played in the development of the region, featuring tales, yarns and a detailed listing of all licensed publicans, brewers and liquor merchants in the Illawarra region from when the first hotel was licensed in 1830 to 1930.

There are over 30 articles on northern Illawarra history in this site ranging from profiles on local characters and identities to events and tragedies that have contributed towards shaping the region's unique identity.

Mick encourages visitors to the site to make comments or suggestions for future articles in his guest book section where you can view his previous published works.

For a full list of stories and a brief review on Looking Back feature stories in this site click on the "stories" link to the top left.

ABOUT the same time as the Palm Court Hotel opened for business as the Corrimal Family Hotel almost 100 years ago quite a lot of excitement was being created by "a small coterie of feminine busybodies" to abolish the barmaid, according to the Australian Brewers Journal of 1902. A year after the Corrimal Family Hotel was licensed by Lancelot Riddle in 1901 a deputation of 50 women waited on the NSW Government to pursued the Treasurer to introduce a clause in the Licensing Act prohibiting the employment of barmaids in hotels. Click on the image for more...

The best way to sought out differences in colonial pubs was to head outside to see who was "the best man". Often the fights turned into a circus with bets being placed and set times organised for the tussel. This was the case in one of Bulli's early watering holes during March 1880. The Black Diamond Hotel (1876-1889), on the South Coast of NSW, wasn't a place for the faint hearted with hard and tough coal miners frequenting the bar. A fight between two men, Robert Crompton and Richard Covil, arose from a quarrel on a Saturday night in the Black Diamond's assembly room. At 9am the next morning the two men confronted each other for 15 shillings a side in "Campbells Padock". The 48 rounds was fierce and savage, both men covered in blood, with "the bigger man" taking the pickings. The crowd of 50 onlookers had no worries about their entertainment being interupted with the local constable being sent on "a wild goose chase" when he was told the fight was to be held on the Bulli Pass.

Light fingered William Anderson learnt the hard way after his heavy handed binge in the Black Diamond Hotel.
Like many tipplers of his time, Anderson put in a heavy rum session in the bar of the Bulli coal miners' pub in October 1878.
The drunken patron soon did his money leaving the bar and heading outside.
Broke and full of Dutch courage he spied a cigar box through a window of the pub and decided to help himself to the pickings.
Inside was a gold locket, two gold studs, jet brooch earings and six pocket hankies. The hankies would come in handy later! The publican's wife, Annasatia Wilson, yelled a warning as Anderson reached through the window and, with his prize firmly in hand, took off towards the Bulli Jetty. Next day Mrs Wilson confronted him, but Anderson had lost all memory of the incident: "I was drunk and didn't know what I was doing".
She gave him the opportunity to return the goods without pressing charges but stupidly he walked away. Naturally he ended up in the Wollongong Court House, denying the charges, but unwisely stating that he would repay the two pound value of the goods.
Sadly, he revealed, he had spent all his money at the bar of the Black Diamond.
He was sentenced to 12 months hard labour in Darlinghurst Gaol.

-Source Illawarra Mercury November 5 and 22 1878.

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		*Do you have memories of the Illawarra that you would like to share with Looking Back?* *Email us:* *slackyflat@hotmail.com* JOHNIE Bolton* wasn't much to look at but he must have been made of iron. He was renowned as one of the hardest toilers in the pit (coal mine). From the time he 'knocked off' until six o'clock he was in the pub getting full, but on Friday nights he really gave the grog a bashing. On a number of occasions he crawled along the gutter on his hands and knees for some distance before struggling to his feet to stagger home to his 'missus' for a fight, which could be heard around the district, putting on a performance which usually attracted a large audience. Apart from his hard drinking he smoked to excess, ate the wrong things or not enough of the right things, swallowed enough coal dust to give silicosis to an elephant and lived to a ripe and healthy old age. Johnie got drunk every Friday night almost as an act of faith but his star turn was not wife beating. The pub was at the top of the hill and at the bottom the road crossed over a narrow wooden bridge which spanned the swamp [over Slacky Flat]. Johnie was cocked-eyed and on leaving the pub he wheeled his bike down the hill to the bridge where he attempted to mount while the bike was on the move. On many occasions he wobbled into the swamp but he always came back to the starting point and tried again until he succeeded in getting across. When he succeeded he acknowledged the cheers of his mates with a low bow and then rode a zig zag course home. -William Evans memories of the Bulli Family Hotel in the 1930s. Johnie Bolton was not his real name. In the latter years of the depression, my father Ernie and his younger brother Ron Swan, came up with an idea to make a few bob by oranising a raffle with a duck as the prize. The problem for the enterprising Swan brothers was, that whilst having the initiative to oranise the raffle and some raffle tickets, neither their fiances nor intentions extended to providing the lucky winner with a duck of the feathered variety. The winning ticket was held by Mrs Luscombe who, with her husband operated the Bulli Family Hotel. The ever resourceful brothers obtained a crate used by the local shop keeper to transport breakables and wheeled it, with Ron inside, to the hotel. Mts Luscombe was then presented with her prize "Duck Swan", a nick-name that Ron (Uncle Duck) carried proudly till his untimely passing. - Barry Swan. * Cartoons by Paul Dorin