"The Days of our Lives" at 318 Edgecliff Rd Woollahra

318 Edgecliff Rd Woollahra with 320 to the right

I’m completing the lists- cards from Mum and Dad’s engagement, my birth, mum’s graduation. Names from almost 70 years ago. I might be weird and obsessed.  I should be doing house work, gardening, exercising and volunteering. It’s been a long time between holidays but…..family history is addictive.

A few months back a couple of divorce files that I accessed from the State Archives got me thinking about the apartment block I was born in.  My grandmother Julia Kelf, who was estranged from her husband Frank at the time and her children Frank, Airdrie and Marlene had lived in a Woollahra apartment block 2/318 Edgecliff Rd Woollahra  for some years. They were friendly with most of the neighbours who were also long-term residents and also those in adjoining apartment blocks.

Woollahra was part of the Eastern Suburbs in Gadigal land of Eora nation.  It’s a leafy tree lined street of the Eastern suburb. Edgecliff Road was a fairly main road stretching from Woollahra’s Ocean Street through to the suburb of Edgecliff. It also has a rich Jewish heritage and houses several Consulate Generals.  It borders Paddington and Bondi Junction and is near the open parklands of Centennial Park. 

Airdrie horse riding at Centennial Park c 1948

The Kelfs had  moved to Woollahra around 1943 and the family loved everything the area had to offer. Besides shopping favourite activities were horse riding at Central Centennial Park ice skating and swimming at nearby beaches.

My grandparents became estranged. Frank Kelf Snr turned up weekly to contribute to the housekeeping for his wife and school aged daughter Marlene.  Julia supplemented this with a bit of housekeeping.  At various stages the older children returned to live there,  Frank Junior after returning from the war and Airdrie after nursing training in 1946. Airdrie had planned to travel to England to further her career. However after Julia had become ill, she stayed to nurse her.

Julia Kelf died in January  1954 leaving my mother Marlene to live alone in Flat 2 with occasionally her sister ( a nursing sister) and brother who were some years older. At that stage Marlene had just finished school and was working by day for the Department of Navy and doing a part time Degree in the Arts on a Commonwealth scholarship.

The electoral rolls for Woollahra East in the in the late 1940s and 1950s were relatively short and it was easy to find neighbours who lived at 318 Edgecliff Rd  and those living in a couple of apartment blocks either side of 318. The block was named “Neringah”

Marlene doing her sewing in the loungeroom

 

The names came flooding back to me.  I remembered I had all my parents’ engagement and wedding cards plus the cards given to me upon my birth.  I’ve been keeping them because  the cards were quite different to today’s cards. I wondered if any of the cards were collectible. I digress…

I did a quick sort of all of them and I noted  the names on the cards. Some were relatives and others were neighbours of my father. I tried to list the names against the Electoral rolls.  

I figured the neighbours would be willing to spoil recently bereaved Mum with things for her glory box. My parents lived in the apartment block after they married.   There were plenty of women with occupation “home duties” looking to welcome a little baby a little while later.  I lived there from my birth in  1955 until 1960. These were the days of women who didn’t work. There would be plenty of days when the women would meet on the stairs or in the backyard at the washing line.

Rear 318 as it is today.

 

The Electoral rolls only listed street numbers not apartment numbers. Some more details could be sleuthed from Army records and old envelopes.

We lived in flat number 2 of the six units a two bedroom apartment with no garage. Next door in 3/320 Edgecliff Rd lived Uncle Bryce  and eventually my Auntie Airdrie  when she married him. There were four units in her apartment block. Theirs was a  two bedroom apartment with a parking space. Both had big backyards for drying clothes, enjoying the sun, gardening  and kids playing. 

320 Edgecliff Rd

I know that post war there was a shortage of housing and a comparison of the electrical rolls  show a fairly smallish turnover of people in the two apartment blocks but perhaps some people bunking in or sharing flats.  I know for example my great Aunt Catherine listed it as her address after her separation from her husband. My Uncle Frank and his new wife Betty were registered as living there after their marriage in 1949 before moving in with another relative until their eventual separation and divorce.

My parents moved out in early 1960 after the death of my Neutral Bay  grandmother when they went to live with my paternal grandfather “over the bridge” in North Sydney while they saved and built a house in Carlingford which is the Northern Suburbs of Sydney. A bit of a horrifying move for many of the Eastern Suburbs friends and relatives- firstly moving over the bridge and then to a developing suburb in the Northern Suburbs. Yikes it is like “the sticks”.

Of course, the electoral rolls don’t show children so it’s difficult to see if families had children for me to play with. I do have a photo of Michael Dobes playing in the backyard with my older cousin Jillian. After a little bit of checking on Ancestry I suspect if most others didn’t. All the more  time to dote on me and my brother who came along 18 months after me. 

Michael Dobes playing in the backyard with my cousin Jillian Kelf c 1951

In putting this all together it strikes me as being a bit of a Number 96 soapie storyline. You know a type of Days Of Our Lives. There are multiple divorces or separations, widows, marriages, deaths, scorned men, a stateless couple, and a hotch potch of musicians who held soirees.

Of those living in Apartment block 318 a few  names spring into my memory- Josie or Mrs Josephine and Harold Rhule was one. They were an older recently married (1957)  couple. Josie has previously been Josephine Jack who had been living in the apartment block.  Mrs Garton (Ruby) lived there also  for most of the time. She was a  widow and she had daughters Lynette and Gloria and son Robert who had gone to war and returned as had my Uncle Frank. Her kids were similar age to Airdrie and Frank. 

Ruby Garton

I don’t remember Olive and Eric Foster whose names are on many cards or Barbara and Michael Dobes and their family.  The records show that Gertrude Clark, Esther May Wills and the Minahane family (Joan Martha, William Cornelius and Annie Winifred) lived there during my time frame.

In my aunt’s eventual apartment building next door was my Uncle Bryce , firstly married to Vera who he divorced in 1952. Bryce’s wife was a composer and pianist. They held soirees for the neighbours before she skipped off.  He visited Mrs Garton’s place (318) after  dinner quite regularly. She had been friends with his estranged wife. No doubt he ran into Airdrie and Julia Kelf also as he married Airdrie in 1956.Little Julie my cousin came along in 1959.

I remember Elsa Cohen and husband James(Flat 1/320), a childless and previously stateless Jewish couple who made their way from Europe and London escaping the Holocaust. They later divorced.  Out of nowhere in the electoral rolls springs the name Doriel Patton a presumably Jewish woman  widowed in 1951. Such an unusual name – Doriel. What happened to her? 

Airdrie and neighbour Elsa Cohn

All in all an interesting blast from the past. I recently helped my cousin Julie pack up her Mum's apartment for sale. It invoked lots of memories of visits as a kid.  It was a quality area but I must admit feel more at home in the suburbs.

One of our Sunday visits to 320- Me with Paul, Mum, Julie , sister Helen and Airdrie

How old is vintage?

Anyway are those cards worth anything?  

How old is vintage? We are talking over 65 years old and I don’t feel vintage.  My investigation shows they contain no famous signatures.  I kept them when I discovered them amongst my mother‘s things twenty years after her death.   They are quaint and  sort of thing a scrapbooker might covet. Some feature cut outs, glitter or embossing. Some are lined or  are decorated with velour, lace or ribbon

Although they have been packed away for 60+ years they are certainly not pristine.  

Pristine and unsigned they would fetch $15-$30 each. A little older, Edwardian or War memorabilia they may be worth something.  I’m still getting over the fact that they’ve been present for 65+ years.

At lunch, on Sunday we discussed the skip bin with the grandchildren. They would have liked them chucked out now but I’ll give them the pleasure of discovery and duty at some time much later in my life or death!

A Holiday House for 10 families for $20,000 - Bargain

 

A few weeks ago, I was awakened by the urge to write about the old family holiday house.  Luckily not   long ago I had scanned and saved all the memorabilia mum and dad accumulated from their time as part owners of Empire House at Empire Bay on the Central Coast of New South Wales. During that restless night my memories kept flooding back.

Why would I think tenderly about it? Let alone write about it? It was a rickety rundown holiday house on the water owned by a bunch of my parents camping friends. In the end they owned it for over 30 years and it was not only part of my my parents and siblings Family History  but also my own family‘s memories.

The house was built in 1906 originally as Sorrento house at another location across the Brisbane Waters. It was a single-story timber cottage- a former boarding house.

The building had been transported across the water in two parts to the Sorrento subdivision and was located on two parcels of land in Sorrento Road Empire Bay.  Being an ex-hospitality and former tourism teacher, I was fascinated that it was part of the early tourism of the Central Coast region; one of the few early boarding houses on the Brisbane Water when travelling from Sydney to Woy Woy was a big trip.  It predated  the Post Office and the General Store and its final resting place  was next to the 22-foot public foreshore area overlooking Empire Bay.

When my parents and their friends paid $20,000 in total between 10 families in  1978 the size of the  block and 3/4 parcel of land was the main interest. There was space to park their caravans.  Expansion of their homes had meant they needed space for parking their caravans which had outgrown the parking spaces in their suburban blocks back in Carlingford.

When it was purchased Empire Bay  was a small-town ship with only a small Progress Hall, Marina, some council baths and a General Store. Today, it is a vibrant suburb with Tavern, bottle shop, corner store, takeaway food etc.

For their $2000 per family ,the house was pretty rundown.  It had no electricity or running water. The foundations had tilted  under the house due to the stumps continuing to grow.  It was in need of much-needed repair as the elderly lady who had owned it was beyond caring.

Never mind- it had a big backyard and the 10 or so families of Carlingford Campers and their hordes of children  were experienced in the “working bee” having built their local Catholic school. All the trades came together  and loved  spending weekends there having working bees to reconnect electricity, install plumbing, concrete slabs and  and a bathroom.  Everyone else got together to paint and repair, clean and clear while enjoying weekends of fellowship and frivolity.

A few boats were parked out the front to add to the weekend fun. To the locals they became known as the “caravan park”.

 

As was usual of the times much was offloaded – ah donated to replace the curtains, linen, doors, floor coverings and household items.  The house came furnished with borer infested furniture and brass beds in the bedrooms but the camping ladies created the atmosphere with any necessary  titivation. 

One of the many brass beds

 

The old piano had stayed along with the fancy Chaise Lounge, the plum coloured sofa and side chairs and the huge old wooden sideboard cabinets.   A big old dining table filled the large lounge room and after the meal  cards, games and jigsaws were played into the night. 

 The kitchen had the original cupboards, the original range oven, chimney and even a  meat safe  which my mother painted fashionable fluoro  green.  It also contained a huge kitchen table with plenty of room for the food laid out for morning teas and meals.  Belinda remembers the really old stove in the kitchen with the anodized metal pots and containers.

The kitchen with original cooker, meat safe and the anodized containers

At some point the house was renamed Empire House. An old name sign was taken to a sign writer, painted up in gold and reframed. The front door on the reserve side  proclaimed its name. The house had an L-shaped Veranda perfect for housing some old church pews courtesy of our old Saint Gerard’s church building at Carlingford and they were  much used  to sit and watch early-morning walkers, foreshore visitors and passing boats. Of course, the veranda was very popular at drinks o’clock or morning tea.  

Around the side was a big shady tree and it was a favourite spot of the weekenders to gather. It was officially known as the “Beer Garden”. It was all class being built in a u- shape  of planks of wood supported  on concrete blocks. Low to  the ground and suitable for all assembled to enjoy the afternoon tipple and chat while watching the barbecue cook.

 At my 50th -The BBQ area and the salubrious Beer Garden seats

The kids were well entertained in the “CB” room which was a closed in  veranda filled with bunk beds sleeping six in which the kids used to operate their CB radios. The original Screen time!

Later to accommodate the crowds outdoor amenities, a ”Throne Room” toilet and concrete pads were added along with electricity  and water to each of the caravan sites.  Tracey remembers feeling Royal using the throne.  It was the butt of many signs and jokes and certainly not posh.  

Early on in its new life a freak cyclone hit the Bay one Friday afternoon 19th August 1984. Empire House was one of the worst hit with a couple of caravans overturned and the roof being ripped off.  Insurance paid for repairs and the internal timber ceiling and roofing irons were replaced with bullnose zinc alum and gyprock  interior.  The house got an  even better makeover than originally envisaged.

Empire House after the cyclone

Gradually the campers began to enjoy the serenity of their little holiday haven with long weekend celebrations and weekends away common. The  house was often rented out to relatives and friends to enjoy as well. It slept 14 and was perfect for family events. Christmas and  Easter were especially busy. The campers were a friendly bunch and much loved by the locals especially when they supported local events and spent money in the town.  I remember my six-month-old, Kylie eating ice passionfruit cream cones from the old General Store  during her first summer at the bay. 

Julie , second from L with friends 1995

During the off-season my relatives used to come and stay for a week or two. Cousin Julie and Auntie Airdrie loved the oldness.  Grand Pop who only lived around the corner at Pearl Beach loved it  for a short break and gifted a picture he painted of the old house to be displayed in the lounge room.

An early sketch and painting of the house by Frank Leonard Kelf 1980s

I asked my children for some memories of their time at Empire Bay.  Besides one saying that they were neglected (read “had the run of the place”) they vividly remember the morning of the Newcastle earthquake which occurred while we were staying there on 28 December 1989. We were sleeping but the girls were up at the playground when they earth shook.  Quite a shake was felt from this quake 114 km away. The girls got the blame from my mother as she thought they were under the house shaking it!

They loved the General Store which was so close and later being able to go and buy ice cream cones by themselves and mini juice cartons filled with orange and purple lollies when it became a corner store. My kids were among the first grandchildren born to the group. They were loved and teased;  such was the novelty of little kids. Kylie was called Freck as a nickname for her freckles. The kids remember long table New Year’s celebrations, fireworks in the backyard, guitar playing and the traditional Zorba dance at midnight.

New Year's Eve 1984

Of course, with such a large block there were always weekend mowing chores. My husband Steve will never get over the fact that they insisted on doing the lawns with  a mower you could only work backwards.

Remember that a house that is so dilapidated does not come with truly serviceable rowing boats and canoes. Many were tempted to try out the craft found stored underneath the footings.  One day my kids did try out an old craft only to find that the boat was not waterproof once they were in the water. 

Beware of old craft found under the house

 

Another day little Tracey was fishing with her new Christmas rod at the wharf.  She had an enormous tug and we were excited.  She had caught someone else’s brand-new fishing rod lost over the wharf.  I think she cried with all the fuss.

In years to come someone may well find my brother’s boat attracting fish down by the water‘s edge. Oh yes it was one of those things that came pretty cheaply, an old wooden thing from memory.  During a period when it was tied up it sank out the front. There was always lots of hope out the front for a catch of the day.  We took our boat out on Brisbane Waters.  I can’t say we were that successful but any crabs that came mum‘s way she devoured. The kids remember her pulling up and eating crabs under the beer garden tree. They had probably feasted on our Christmas ham bone. 

 

My girls with the Marina workshop in the rear

It was never quite the same after Mum died in 1992  and we stopped booking it for our 10-day holiday at Christmas -it held so many memories.

Nanna with Belinda 1984

I returned for the 20th year celebration weekend around 1997.  It was great to return to a place where so much “Carlingford” oozed out of the house. (You could read into that that not much had changed.) Even the back door was Carlingford- being our old front door from 26 Robin St.  Everyone had a grand weekend with even a video shown that was taken by my deceased mum  of a lengthy meatball preparation by a perfectionist- or was he just slow? Photo albums were unearthed of the weekend they were flooded in  and a newsletter recorded the history and fun of the house.

My sister Helen at the 20th reunion

Sadly, the Beer Garden tree had a Memorial plaque sporting the names of many of the prematurely deceased owners: Jan Carroll, my mum Marlene, Bill Daley and Bill Gibson.   

I always wanted to take my own camping friends  for a weekend to Empire Bay.  Finally, I chose my 50th birthday as a way to show it to my friends and  reunite with my kids and grandchild with our happy place. In October 2005 we had a great weekend of celebrations barbecuing breakfast, lunch and tea and having fun in the beer garden.  My dad took us on one of his bushwalks –“ Now I just want to show you something. It won’t take long” he said.  A good weekend was had by all despite the “bushwalking longer than you thought adventure” with Dad.

Kylie, Dale and Keyala inspecting a big aboriginal rock carving on Dad's walk

By this time the Bay  had expanded with lots of modern houses and a nearby Tavern. The corner store had expanded to add a  bottle shop and takeaway.

The Kanahooka camping friends at my fiftieth

We were lucky to get the gathering in. The house had been listed for sale the previous year. Some time in  2004 mainly because it was a non-income producing assessable asset some retirees in the group could not afford to keep it was it was agreed it had to be sold.  At 1219 m²  the house and land value of this waterfront land had high expectations of up to $1 million however the heritage order obtained to reduce the council rates held back the sale  and the price. Besides that the Council had finally cottoned to the fact that they were storing so many vans.  They had to go.

For Sale

It eventually sold in May 2008, the week my dad died, for $710,000 . It saved a lot of complications as dad’s two  shares were to be split three ways and my siblings were not keen to own part shares in the house they no longer visited regularly.  The Heritage listing was a bit of a joke in the end. By  the time our lot had finished the tiding up it had changed plus it had been heavily modified after the cyclone. 

I returned a few years ago. It now  a very done up house with a has a huge six bedrooms , four-bathrooms and a  four car garage. It has a “heritage look” plus a  huge extension and pool out the back. I almost cried.  

* all mistakes and exaggerations in the stories are mine*