A Different Time and Life

meetoo · Guru

A Different Time and Life

Tony Bev · Guru

I do remember those sort of shops, but many, many, years ago

They are very few and far between, these days

JayDee · Guru

back in the late 1940 and 1950 my parents owned a corner grocery store.

Now did you know that back then Dad had to place shutters over a large number of items as they were not allowed to be sold after 5.0pm. Dad Shop was open until 8.0pm each night.

I guess that it was something similar to the way the sell cigarettes etc today.

His shop was something similar to the photo that MEETO posted.

The sign in the photo "Need help to quit smoking"' was never thought of back then.

Aussie brand cigs and tobacco we rationed just like butter and sugar etc etc, for those who remember,

But I reckon that life was great then, as we had no idea as to what life would be in 2017.

Jay&dee

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Dickodownunder · Guru

Great pics..

If anyone is ever in Quorn in SA a place to visit is a shop called Emilys Bistro.

It was originally an old general store emporium which sold a variety of items in days gone by.
It still has the original cashiers office with the pantograph wires that conveyed the money from the point of sale and then returned the change to the customer....some on here may remember that method.

Today it does great economical meals, tea coffee, home made cakes etc but it still has retained a lot of the old stock which one may have expected to see back in the days.
It is a very interesting store.

g.co/kgs/e2y66e

-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Sunday 21st of May 2017 03:02:12 PM

-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Sunday 21st of May 2017 03:02:43 PM

Dougwe · Chief one feather

I liked the air chute where the money was put in a cylinder like thing and 'woosh' up the chute then it would come back down a minute later with change.

I was in a supermarket a few moons back but can't remember where now and they had the same thing set up at each register for when extra change was needed

meetoo · Guru

Dickodownunder wrote:
Great pics..

If anyone is ever in Quorn in SA a place to visit is a shop called Emilys Bistro.

It was originally an old general store emporium which sold a variety of items in days gone by.
It still has the original cashiers office with the pantograph wires that conveyed the money from the point of sale and then returned the change to the customer....some on here may remember that method.

Today it does great economical meals, tea coffee, home made cakes etc but it still has retained a lot of the old stock which one may have expected to see back in the days.
It is a very interesting store.

g.co/kgs/e2y66e

-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Sunday 21st of May 2017 03:02:12 PM

-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Sunday 21st of May 2017 03:02:43 PM

Yep, been in that shop Dicko, it is something else isn't it, especially the museum type part in the rear section.

Just about worth the drive up there to see it.

Cheers, John.

Dickodownunder · Guru

Yes John Got to agree. I had friends that lived in Quorn and we used to visit quite often. My wife and I enjoyed going to Emily's and having breakfast and always an interesting look around.

Dougwe I remember those "wooshers" The system in Emily's appears to work on wire type cables that run over a series of pulleys.

Well worth a look if you are in the area..

-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Sunday 21st of May 2017 05:17:29 PM

Dougwe · Chief one feather

I do remember the wire and pully one you talk about Dicko and if memory serves me right and Uncle Al didn't get up first today it was hand operated.

Dickodownunder · Guru

Hahaha Doug,

Don't let uncle Al interfere mate.
I believe that you are correct.. at least in this case this one appears that it would have been hand operated.

I remember those "wooshers" in shops when I was just a boy and I was fascinated with them. :)

Cheers

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Phew! Beat the bugga for a change biggrin

Sorry Meetoo, just a little bit 'off topic' sort off.

meetoo · Guru

That's alright Doug, I'll get it back on topic for you. smile The wire system is hand operated and actually still works. They let customers have a little 'play' with it.

Cheers, John.

Kisha · Senior Member

dickodownunder great post which bought back nice memories for me of my childhood watching money whiz under the ceiling in Montgomerys Store in Kalgoorlie. Here's a small portion of an article written by someone who worked there and a picture.My understanding is Montgomery Bros were the first chain store in Western Australia. By Norma French.

The Lamson Rapid Wire System

Montgomery Bros was also famous for the system they used to organise their money, it was called The Lamson Rapid Wire System, named after the inventor.

This system allowed cash to be sent along a system of wires and pulleys from each department to a central office. There the change was given and returned back to the customer at the counter along the same wire system.

There were many other stores that had this system, but here in Kalgoorlie, Montgomerys were only one of three that only had one centre cash point.

Of course this system was prone to many a trick being played on unsuspecting workers. Sometimes the system of wires would perhaps deliver you a dead mouse or an apple core.

Joe50 · Guru

Dickodownunder wrote:
Great pics..

If anyone is ever in Quorn in SA a place to visit is a shop called Emilys Bistro.

It was originally an old general store emporium which sold a variety of items in days gone by.
It still has the original cashiers office with the pantograph wires that conveyed the money from the point of sale and then returned the change to the customer....some on here may remember that method.

Today it does great economical meals, tea coffee, home made cakes etc but it still has retained a lot of the old stock which one may have expected to see back in the days.
It is a very interesting store.
________________________________

Thanks for that Dicko, I was in Quorn last weekend to take a ride on the Pichi Richi Railway but didn't look around the town. Will be going up there again this week so will check Emilys Bistro out.
I also remember the pneumatic tubes, but from my time working in a city post office in Sydney - telegrams (remember them?) lodged over the counter were placed in a cylindrical container and sucked up the tube to the GPO a few blocks up the road.
Cheers, Joe

Dickodownunder · Guru

Kisha,

Thank you for the info on the wire system, very informative.

Joe50,

Well worth a visit for a look into the past and they serve great food at reasonable prices as well.

Cheers

newhorizons · Senior Member

That brings back memories. I worked in Kalgoorlie in 72 and 73. I remember the chutes at Mongomery's (mentioned by Kisha) and they had the same system at the Kal Post office. Even then, it was something from times gone by and was fascinating to an outsider. Times have changed very quickly!

macka17 · Guru

Youngster in UK. "BINNS" Biggest store in town.
Junior storeman. Mid '50's.

Carting, wheeling trolleys to different departments on the 3 floors.
up the lifts. (Oh Lift boy too for coupla days.)
with those brass Vacuum tubes. whooshing every coupla seconds around your head.

That place was built in mid 1800's and still going today (I believe).
I worked there for about a month. Couldn't stand not seeing the sun.

Back to trawlers.. Ship laid up for repairs, coupla months.
She was the last of the old steam trawlers "Longscar".
I spent my first two trips raking the coals in the ovens.
To prove I wouldn't be sick at sea. and strong enough to do the work.
13 yrs old.
I slept well. 2 on. 2 off. Unless boards came inboard while on offs.
Or shooting. (Laying the net)
EVERYBODY on deck when cod(end) came aboard.(all 11 of us)

In those days. No work. No wages. Was ALWAYS fish in those days..
Was a GREAT life though.

We were kings of the town. Deckie on fishing boats.
(Mid, late '50's) there were still Cod in the water.
Fishing factory's were just being invented. Russian. Spanish and others

Best paid men in town. 3 days t'ween trips. choice of any bird.
Lots of knuckles with their boyfriends. Was great fun.
Only the miners and Steelies put up anywhere near a decent knuckle.
we were pretty hard in those days. Lots of it was still Manual work.
on Open decks mainly.
Not like the shelterdecks nowadays. we regularly had blokes washed over.

What you were. Certainly makes you what you are today.
I'm still a rough old Geordie git at times. Sometimes.

-- Edited by macka17 on Monday 22nd of May 2017 11:13:56 PM

-- Edited by macka17 on Monday 22nd of May 2017 11:15:54 PM

Tony Bev · Guru

I also remember Montys in Kalgoorlie, but living in Boulder, I do not remember every going into the Kalgoorlie post office, and was unaware of their system

meetoo · Guru

I remember as a kid seeing those chutes sucking up the tubes, and pretty quickly too. Hmm, stuffed if I can remember where it was though... Somewhere in Adelaide. Reminds me too of the receptionist pulling plugs on long cords and plugging them in to different holes at lightning speed, to connect phone callers to different offices. As much as I hate my mobile phone, it is so much more preferable. smile

Cheers, John.

JocknNik · Senior Member

Damn! Was in Quorn last year and missed Emily's Bistro. So much to see, so little time. So much we missed everywhere, now we HAVE to go back!

Wonderful images John. And yes I do remember all the things mentioned here.

Kisha · Senior Member

Dickodownunder your welcome, its nice how when someone mentions something from many moons ago and it brings back super memories, its lovely to share with others. I love the Goldfields and in many ways have never left them. I could walk into the old Montys tomorrow, or Peter Pans milk bar for a spider lol, and Trahairs, and the Cremorne Picture theatre where I saw Marjorie Morningstar and Bombers B52 and feel quite at home, yes even without all the fancy shmanshy :) trimmings we have today, loving that different time and life. Always with a smile Kisha.

Tony Bev · Guru

Yes it is a pity that things have changed over the years

I also liked the Goldfields, and still have family and friends in that area

I also fondly remember the places which Kisha has mentioned

I can remember before Kambalda opened up

We left our keys, in the car, in case we lost them
Summertime (before air conditioners), would see everybody leave all the doors and windows open, to catch the breeze

Alas I recently read that Kalgoorlie, is fast becoming a future drug problem town
I passed through a few months ago, and could not believe how much they have expanded the prison

Dickodownunder · Guru

I have only been to Kalgoorlie once in my life and it was a brief visit to help my sister and bil move back east so did not have much time to look around.
I plan to go west in the next year or so and will spend more time in the town next time.

On another note regarding the overhead wire transfer of money in shops in days gone by, I had a fellow camp next to me for a couple of days and I was telling him about this post topic and he was saying that there is a similar system in a shop in Mount Morgan near Rockhampton and as he described it, it was in the form of a small "flying fox". (Interesting)

He was also saying that a lot of the town is being restored which would be a good thing.
I went through there years ago and it was a very run down place or at least that is how it appeared to me.
That will be another one on my visit list. :)

hako · Guru

Those Lamson sucker tubes are still used in many supermarkets mainly for security.

Good Luck.