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Nick and Claudia have been collaborating since 2020. They made their first audio walk in 2021 with awesome kids from St Mary’s Erskineville. 

Stories of Illawarra Rd is a guided audio journey by Marrickville’s locals both past and present. You will hear many of them at the locations these stories have taken place. A narrator will guide you to stop and listen in front of homes, playgrounds, laneways and shopfronts. A walk down Illawarra Road is a walk-through time. 

These stories represent only a part of Marrickville’s rich and deep history. There are many stories that are not told and many we could not tell.   Marrickville is a very loved place by those who live there and have lived there, we didn’t meet anyone who wasn’t proud of their Marrickville. Illawarra Road is stunning. When you walk down/up you are walking through the heart of Marrickville. And each block has its own heart beat.
We hope you enjoy it!
Nick and Claudia

With special thanks to Rod Aanensen, Chris Ahtypis, Angelo Constantine, Nora Barakat Francis, Gemma Haigh, Theo Houllis, Peggy Lane, Tina Dana Lopez. Craig Pietersen, Brian Slattery, Andreas Andrew Stathopoulos, Cain Stewart, Cecily Su, Alex Ozmen,  and Platon Theodoris. This project has been created by Nick Wishart and Claudia Chidiac

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Illawarra Rd

GLOBAL

Nick Wishart

Rod:
You have now reached the corner of Chapel Street and Illawarra Rd Road. Hello, my name is Rod and I've lived in Marrickville since 2005 and I've come to love this place. It doesn't look very much, but this was once the centre of Marrickville. In 1855 the landowner, William Dean built a hotel on the corner of Chapel Street, <inaudible> Road and he called it the Marrickville Hotel. Land sales didn't go very well, but a school was built and a chapel was built that would hence the name Chapel Street. The school was built in 1864 and in 1870, Council Chambers were built right next door. 
You are probably standing outside the Henson Hotel, but I do not consider this the Henson Hotel. It’s only been around for about 80 or 90 years. There's actually been a hotel here since 1855 when it was originally called the Marrickville Hotel. That was also not really a hotel, it was actually a huge two story house, but in those days a hotel could be a public house or a house. So, for a few years it operated as a hotel, the Marrickville Hotel, and then it was when it was sold, it became the home of a man called Samuel Payton. He lived there for quite a number of years, but then it was sold again and it became a pub again. And this time it was called the Town Hall Hotel because the town hall had moved around from Chapel Street to Illawarra Rd Road. Eventually it would be sold and demolished and the hotel that we all call the Henson came into existence.
Turn right into Woodland Street and walk to the entrance of Henson Park

1 Woodland Street \|||// Rod:
You have now reached the corner of Chapel Street and Illawarra Rd Road. Hello, my name is Rod and I've lived in Marrickville since 2005 and I've come to love this place. It doesn't look very much, but this was once the centre of Marrickville. In 1855 the landowner, William Dean built a hotel on the corner of Chapel Street, <inaudible> Road and he called it the Marrickville Hotel. Land sales didn't go very well, but a school was built and a chapel was built that would hence the name Chapel Street. The school was built in 1864 and in 1870, Council Chambers were built right next door. 
You are probably standing outside the Henson Hotel, but I do not consider this the Henson Hotel. It’s only been around for about 80 or 90 years. There's actually been a hotel here since 1855 when it was originally called the Marrickville Hotel. That was also not really a hotel, it was actually a huge two story house, but in those days a hotel could be a public house or a house. So, for a few years it operated as a hotel, the Marrickville Hotel, and then it was when it was sold, it became the home of a man called Samuel Payton. He lived there for quite a number of years, but then it was sold again and it became a pub again. And this time it was called the Town Hall Hotel because the town hall had moved around from Chapel Street to Illawarra Rd Road. Eventually it would be sold and demolished and the hotel that we all call the Henson came into existence.
Turn right into Woodland Street and walk to the entrance of Henson Park

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Chapel St

Tour Item

English

Rod Chapel St V2 _mixdown.mp3

Claudia:
I’d like you to meet Peggy Lane
Peggy is a local treasure. Born, raised and still living in Marrickville.

Peggy:
I was born in Des Point Street, 20 Des Point Street. I may have been about two when we moved there. I can't remember that. But I just know that my other two sisters were born there. One forty-six. That was where I was. I went to Marrickville Chapel Street School and then from Chapel Street School I went on to DWI Hill. I actually got selected to go into Chapel Street because it used to be selective. Many years ago, it was attached. It was this primary school, high school. You went from there to there. But my father said no, I had to go to Dolly Hill because I had to learn cooking and so on and all that to help the family.
That was a bit of a disappointment in my life, believe me, I never forgave him for it. It was so nice how the people always kind of took care of us because my father was okay widowed. And my father was only young. He was young with three children. There was no pensions, nothing to help him at all.

21 Woodland Street \|||// Claudia:
I’d like you to meet Peggy Lane
Peggy is a local treasure. Born, raised and still living in Marrickville.

Peggy:
I was born in Des Point Street, 20 Des Point Street. I may have been about two when we moved there. I can't remember that. But I just know that my other two sisters were born there. One forty-six. That was where I was. I went to Marrickville Chapel Street School and then from Chapel Street School I went on to DWI Hill. I actually got selected to go into Chapel Street because it used to be selective. Many years ago, it was attached. It was this primary school, high school. You went from there to there. But my father said no, I had to go to Dolly Hill because I had to learn cooking and so on and all that to help the family.
That was a bit of a disappointment in my life, believe me, I never forgave him for it. It was so nice how the people always kind of took care of us because my father was okay widowed. And my father was only young. He was young with three children. There was no pensions, nothing to help him at all.

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Peggy Lane

02b Peggy Woodland_mixdown.mp3

Rod:
Henson Park sits on the site of the Stand Shore Brick company. This company was run by a man called Thomas Daley and produced steam power machine bricks for all of Sydney. The ground is actually filled in because for many years after the closure of the brick pit, it was used as a rubbish dump. It had to be filled in because the hole was enormous, so big that it filled up with water and became known as the blue Lake or the blue pond. It was a very dangerous sight. Many children, many young boys drowned in the waters of the blue pond.
Walk back to Illawarra Road and turn right. Your next stop is Jimmy's Brake Service

37 Woodland Street \|||// Rod:
Henson Park sits on the site of the Stand Shore Brick company. This company was run by a man called Thomas Daley and produced steam power machine bricks for all of Sydney. The ground is actually filled in because for many years after the closure of the brick pit, it was used as a rubbish dump. It had to be filled in because the hole was enormous, so big that it filled up with water and became known as the blue Lake or the blue pond. It was a very dangerous sight. Many children, many young boys drowned in the waters of the blue pond.
Walk back to Illawarra Road and turn right. Your next stop is Jimmy's Brake Service

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Henson Park

Rod Henson Park Hotel_mixdown.mp3

Claudia:
Peggy remembers growing up and walking everywhere.

Peggy:
Not many people had cars. You walked everywhere. But next door to where I live was a place called Fitzroy Plating. And Mr. Lindsay owned it, but he had one of those old cars, I think they were T Ford, they've got running boards. We used to love to run up to the lane that's a bit halfway up the street, hop on that board and he'd drive us down to the factory. And that was the biggest event of our life. My father never had a car. We never owned a car. We walked everywhere 
Claudia:
Continue walking to your next destination, the Greek Atlas Cultural and Community Centre.

94 Illawarra Road \|||// Claudia:
Peggy remembers growing up and walking everywhere.

Peggy:
Not many people had cars. You walked everywhere. But next door to where I live was a place called Fitzroy Plating. And Mr. Lindsay owned it, but he had one of those old cars, I think they were T Ford, they've got running boards. We used to love to run up to the lane that's a bit halfway up the street, hop on that board and he'd drive us down to the factory. And that was the biggest event of our life. My father never had a car. We never owned a car. We walked everywhere 
Claudia:
Continue walking to your next destination, the Greek Atlas Cultural and Community Centre.

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Jimmy's Brakes

Rod Jimmys Brakes_mixdown.mp3

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Rod:
You have arrived at the corner with Council Street. That large building in front of you is Marrickville's First Town Hall. It was built in 1879 by a design from a local Jean Baptist Depo, very French sounding from a Swiss French family. The town hall wasn't enough for all the business that was being carried out, so four years later, they built the second story. When the council moved out in 1922, they sold this building to the Department of Education and it was used as a part of the Marrickville Public School around on Chapel Street. It was known as the boy’s department and young boys up until the age of 12 or 13 would be schooled here. During the Second World War grounds of this building were used as air age shelters, so the boys had to dig trenches in the ground and every now and then have practices of running outta the school classroom and diving into these trenches. When the Department of Education had finished with the building, they sold it to the Department of Housing, Department of Housing, split it down the middle, the land that is and built the pensions, residential buildings next door. In the 1990s, it operated as a library for the Jessie Street Women's Library, but the condition was poor, so they moved. The building was left untouched for many years until the community and the Marrickville Heritage Society decided they needed to do something about it. A heritage listing was finally placed on the building and then it found a rescuer that was the Greek Atlas Club. They took over the building and renovated it to a very high standard. As you can see today.

Claudia:
Continue walking down Illawarra Rd. It’s time to meet Gemma Haigh. Gemma lives with her family and dog and a…. ghost.

96 Illawarra Road \|||// Rod:
You have arrived at the corner with Council Street. That large building in front of you is Marrickville's First Town Hall. It was built in 1879 by a design from a local Jean Baptist Depo, very French sounding from a Swiss French family. The town hall wasn't enough for all the business that was being carried out, so four years later, they built the second story. When the council moved out in 1922, they sold this building to the Department of Education and it was used as a part of the Marrickville Public School around on Chapel Street. It was known as the boy’s department and young boys up until the age of 12 or 13 would be schooled here. During the Second World War grounds of this building were used as air age shelters, so the boys had to dig trenches in the ground and every now and then have practices of running outta the school classroom and diving into these trenches. When the Department of Education had finished with the building, they sold it to the Department of Housing, Department of Housing, split it down the middle, the land that is and built the pensions, residential buildings next door. In the 1990s, it operated as a library for the Jessie Street Women's Library, but the condition was poor, so they moved. The building was left untouched for many years until the community and the Marrickville Heritage Society decided they needed to do something about it. A heritage listing was finally placed on the building and then it found a rescuer that was the Greek Atlas Club. They took over the building and renovated it to a very high standard. As you can see today.

Claudia:
Continue walking down Illawarra Rd. It’s time to meet Gemma Haigh. Gemma lives with her family and dog and a…. ghost.

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ATLAS Community & Cultural Centre

Rod Mville Town HallV2_mixdown.mp3

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Gemma:
Hi, you've arrived at one 18 Illawarra Rd Road. My name's Gemma. We've lived in this house since 2006. When we bought it, it was known as the Baker's House and it had four stables at the back of the property and we were told that the stables housed the horses that delivered all the bread to Marrickville and surrounds. And when we moved in, we did find horse bolts in the stables and lots of horse shoes in the ground When we dug up the backyard to renovate. Since we moved in, my youngest daughter has always seen two ghosts in the house in the front part of the house in her room. One of them is a younger guy in his late teens. She knows him as Ed and he looks very young, very happy and he's a friendly ghost. Sits on a bed, stays in the corner and walks up and down the hallway occasionally. She's also seen an older guy in a long coat and we don't know his name. He's not as friendly and only appears every now and again, but she's seen him since we moved in here when she was three and she's now 18 and she says the visits aren't as frequent as they used to be when she was younger, but she still feels his presence and we have had psychics in the house who said, Yes, there's a good strong presence of a past life here, but we don't mind Ed. He keeps the company at night and she feels safe with him around. I love the history of this house. It was built in 1880 and we've tried to keep as many of the original features as we can, the windows and the stables and the fireplaces and I love looking around our house and thinking of all the people that have lived here and the history that's within the walls. We love this house and we love the history that it's come with and we love living on Illawarra Road.

Claudia:
Continue walking down Illawarra Road. Walk to the traffic lights and cross over to the corner cafe that is in the building on the corner of Illawarra and Sydenham Road. 

122 Illawarra Road \|||// Gemma:
Hi, you've arrived at one 18 Illawarra Rd Road. My name's Gemma. We've lived in this house since 2006. When we bought it, it was known as the Baker's House and it had four stables at the back of the property and we were told that the stables housed the horses that delivered all the bread to Marrickville and surrounds. And when we moved in, we did find horse bolts in the stables and lots of horse shoes in the ground When we dug up the backyard to renovate. Since we moved in, my youngest daughter has always seen two ghosts in the house in the front part of the house in her room. One of them is a younger guy in his late teens. She knows him as Ed and he looks very young, very happy and he's a friendly ghost. Sits on a bed, stays in the corner and walks up and down the hallway occasionally. She's also seen an older guy in a long coat and we don't know his name. He's not as friendly and only appears every now and again, but she's seen him since we moved in here when she was three and she's now 18 and she says the visits aren't as frequent as they used to be when she was younger, but she still feels his presence and we have had psychics in the house who said, Yes, there's a good strong presence of a past life here, but we don't mind Ed. He keeps the company at night and she feels safe with him around. I love the history of this house. It was built in 1880 and we've tried to keep as many of the original features as we can, the windows and the stables and the fireplaces and I love looking around our house and thinking of all the people that have lived here and the history that's within the walls. We love this house and we love the history that it's come with and we love living on Illawarra Road.

Claudia:
Continue walking down Illawarra Road. Walk to the traffic lights and cross over to the corner cafe that is in the building on the corner of Illawarra and Sydenham Road. 

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Ghost Story

GemmaV2_mixdown.mp3

Claudia:
Illawarra Road is lined with converted corner shops. But they were once thriving businesses for locals who only had to walk down the road to get the week’s groceries. The building you are stopping at next is currently called Miss Sina’s, it’s a vegan cafe, but it was a place that Peggy remembers going to as a child to pick up things for her mother.

Peggy:
I have a very special memory of Kavachi’s and that they were a lovely couple, never had children but they were always good to us. They actually knew that my father was widowed with, they always called us the Bell girls. We were always referred to as the Bell girls before my mother died. They knew my mother, she dealt there. I used to go down and get shopping for her, give me a note, go down and get something. Anyway, one of my memories of her in the earlier part, I've got a sister that was a bit cheeky and they used to stack outside the empty drink bottles. My sister used to go in and steal some of the bottles and take 'em around to the front and resell 'em to Kavachi Jack, Jack and Mary Kavachi. But they knew we did it. They knew they did it.

128 Illawarra Road \|||// Claudia:
Illawarra Road is lined with converted corner shops. But they were once thriving businesses for locals who only had to walk down the road to get the week’s groceries. The building you are stopping at next is currently called Miss Sina’s, it’s a vegan cafe, but it was a place that Peggy remembers going to as a child to pick up things for her mother.

Peggy:
I have a very special memory of Kavachi’s and that they were a lovely couple, never had children but they were always good to us. They actually knew that my father was widowed with, they always called us the Bell girls. We were always referred to as the Bell girls before my mother died. They knew my mother, she dealt there. I used to go down and get shopping for her, give me a note, go down and get something. Anyway, one of my memories of her in the earlier part, I've got a sister that was a bit cheeky and they used to stack outside the empty drink bottles. My sister used to go in and steal some of the bottles and take 'em around to the front and resell 'em to Kavachi Jack, Jack and Mary Kavachi. But they knew we did it. They knew they did it.

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Peggy Cnr Shop

before cnr store_mixdown.mp3

Claudia:
Brian also fondly remembers the Kavachi’s

Brian:
I can remember when I was growing up, it was a small corner shop and at that time it was owned by Joe and Mary. They were of Italian background. They'd arrived obviously just after the war. Joe was this wonderful dapper little man who dressed in a silk shirt, sometimes wore a cadet in order to serve people in his shop. Mary was a bit horthy and distant, but Joe was just a wonderful generous person. Behind him, framed behind him were all these glass boxes, glass shelves that could be pulled out as drawers, glass fronted drawers, and there would've probably been five or six draws high and probably as many as 10 or 12 wide. So, we're talking about 50 to 60 glass draws that be pulled out and in each of these drawers was a different kind of Italian pasta.

Claudia:
This became Con's grocery shop in the 80's/90's. And Cain was living on Sydenham road when he got a job here in his teens.

Cain:
The place smelled of grease. So, if you can of imagine that one third of its length was devoted to the cooking area and the shop keeping area or where I stood basically with the cash register and the counters in front of me and then sort of deli goods 
He let me always for my shift to drink Coca-Cola as much as I wanted, which was pretty generous and crazy. I used to always open a two-litre bottle and make that last because the bottles were the cheapest way to buy coke I guess as a wholesaler or even at retail.

Claudia:
It seems that this was the site for all things Pasta, burgers, coke and community. And now you’re going to make your way to Murdoch Playground on Illawarra Rd to listen to Brian’s stories.
Use the traffic light to cross Illawarra Road and turn right. Your next destination is Murdoch Playground. 

138 Illawarra Road \|||// Claudia:
Brian also fondly remembers the Kavachi’s

Brian:
I can remember when I was growing up, it was a small corner shop and at that time it was owned by Joe and Mary. They were of Italian background. They'd arrived obviously just after the war. Joe was this wonderful dapper little man who dressed in a silk shirt, sometimes wore a cadet in order to serve people in his shop. Mary was a bit horthy and distant, but Joe was just a wonderful generous person. Behind him, framed behind him were all these glass boxes, glass shelves that could be pulled out as drawers, glass fronted drawers, and there would've probably been five or six draws high and probably as many as 10 or 12 wide. So, we're talking about 50 to 60 glass draws that be pulled out and in each of these drawers was a different kind of Italian pasta.

Claudia:
This became Con's grocery shop in the 80's/90's. And Cain was living on Sydenham road when he got a job here in his teens.

Cain:
The place smelled of grease. So, if you can of imagine that one third of its length was devoted to the cooking area and the shop keeping area or where I stood basically with the cash register and the counters in front of me and then sort of deli goods 
He let me always for my shift to drink Coca-Cola as much as I wanted, which was pretty generous and crazy. I used to always open a two-litre bottle and make that last because the bottles were the cheapest way to buy coke I guess as a wholesaler or even at retail.

Claudia:
It seems that this was the site for all things Pasta, burgers, coke and community. And now you’re going to make your way to Murdoch Playground on Illawarra Rd to listen to Brian’s stories.
Use the traffic light to cross Illawarra Road and turn right. Your next destination is Murdoch Playground. 

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Cnr Sydneham Rd

Cnr Sydneham RdV2_mixdown.mp3

Claudia:
You are approaching a little park called Murdoch Playground on the left. Go inside and take a seat or sit on the grass and get comfortable.

Brian:
My name's Brian and I'll try and walk you through what this pale blue factory looking building, which is now residential, was like originally when I grew up here 71 years ago. At that time, this what looks like a factory now, was basically a whole lot of rusted, burnt corrugated iron. Stood up to make a fence at the front here and at the sides and at the rear. And what it contained were horses, draft horses that were used by the local bakery down on the corner of Sydenham and Illawarra Road in order to take their breads around to the various places. The horses finished their shift at the end of the day and myself and my cousins and other neighbourhood kids, of which there were probably a dozen or so of us, would all line up at the bottom of the lane at the rear of this building. And as each horse was brought across the bakers who ran the horses, the drivers would lift about six or seven of us up onto top of the draft horses and we would then do this slow plot up the back lane until we all got off, jumped off at the factory end here, which as I said was basically just a corrugated iron fence and that would become their stables for the night. We'd go racing back down to Sid Road to get on the next horse as it finished its shift and then subsequently the third or fourth horse after that. It was a wonderful time and I've always had a great love for horses ever since. If you walk through the small park adjacent to what's now the blue pale blue factory, you'll see there's a back lane, it's a dead end, it goes up for about another 20 or so houses.
And one of my early memories as a boy was it must have been around the time, around the spring carnival time when the racing was on, but there were large numbers of men milling in the dead-end back lane, up the top of the lane there. If you look up the lane, there's a bit of a slight hill and these men were milling there and I had no idea what it was all about. My sister's same thing. And then our dad went up there. I thought it was to stop the men milling, but I think it was actually to join them and what they were doing, there was an sp bookie located in one of the houses <laugh>, and they're obviously putting all their bets on during the racing carnival, which is usually springtime in Sydney and Melbourne. And then all of a sudden at the bottom of the Lane came, two police cars came roaring up the back lane and as they did there were men jumping over fences, men bashing their way through gates into houses.
They didn't know who lived there. Basically, they get away from being caught by the police. It was quite a Saturday morning adventure watching all that happen. It was like a scene out of a movie of Australia in the fifties. Next to the factory on the left-hand side facing the pale blue factory is a storm water drain basically extends probably way up past Marrickville Oval. These were obviously part of the drainage that had to be done for Marrickville to be established as a possible residential area. So, in draining the swamp, which was this lower part of Marrickville, these storm water drains or they were known to us as the canal or the gully like I'll meet you down the gully after school. Okay, that was, we knew where we were talking about. There are open drains, they're bricked on both sides with a concrete cap on each side and these were obviously meant to take storm water away, but as well to just generally keep the drainage of marital happening.
The one that's next to the factory here goes for about a kilometre or so before it then enters a tunnel which is near the intersection of Marrickville Road and Victoria Road. It enters a tunnel, which in itself that tunnel is completely dark and curves once or twice, so you cannot see the end of the tunnel when you enter it. It was known as Darkies Tunnel, but part of your right of initiation was to go through the tunnel by yourself from one end to the other and considering because it curved, you could not see where the end was, you basically had to feel your way along the brick wall. And naturally the people who'd set you this task, they go in the tunnel before you and then they hide in the middle of the channel so that as you are going past, they then grab your leg or your head or your neck and scare the living daylights out of you. This might happen on four or five occasions in a pitch-black atmosphere until finally it makes one last turn and you can see there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that's the exit. And by the time you get to that, you are almost at Tempe, which is kilometres away from where you began. It's quite an exceptional place to go and try and walk through sometime. I wouldn't like to do it as an adult, let alone as a child.

Claudia:
It's time to leave Murdoch playground, turn left and continue walking down Illawarra Road to your next destination, which is SDN Marrickville.

173 Illawarra Road \|||// Claudia:
You are approaching a little park called Murdoch Playground on the left. Go inside and take a seat or sit on the grass and get comfortable.

Brian:
My name's Brian and I'll try and walk you through what this pale blue factory looking building, which is now residential, was like originally when I grew up here 71 years ago. At that time, this what looks like a factory now, was basically a whole lot of rusted, burnt corrugated iron. Stood up to make a fence at the front here and at the sides and at the rear. And what it contained were horses, draft horses that were used by the local bakery down on the corner of Sydenham and Illawarra Road in order to take their breads around to the various places. The horses finished their shift at the end of the day and myself and my cousins and other neighbourhood kids, of which there were probably a dozen or so of us, would all line up at the bottom of the lane at the rear of this building. And as each horse was brought across the bakers who ran the horses, the drivers would lift about six or seven of us up onto top of the draft horses and we would then do this slow plot up the back lane until we all got off, jumped off at the factory end here, which as I said was basically just a corrugated iron fence and that would become their stables for the night. We'd go racing back down to Sid Road to get on the next horse as it finished its shift and then subsequently the third or fourth horse after that. It was a wonderful time and I've always had a great love for horses ever since. If you walk through the small park adjacent to what's now the blue pale blue factory, you'll see there's a back lane, it's a dead end, it goes up for about another 20 or so houses.
And one of my early memories as a boy was it must have been around the time, around the spring carnival time when the racing was on, but there were large numbers of men milling in the dead-end back lane, up the top of the lane there. If you look up the lane, there's a bit of a slight hill and these men were milling there and I had no idea what it was all about. My sister's same thing. And then our dad went up there. I thought it was to stop the men milling, but I think it was actually to join them and what they were doing, there was an sp bookie located in one of the houses <laugh>, and they're obviously putting all their bets on during the racing carnival, which is usually springtime in Sydney and Melbourne. And then all of a sudden at the bottom of the Lane came, two police cars came roaring up the back lane and as they did there were men jumping over fences, men bashing their way through gates into houses.
They didn't know who lived there. Basically, they get away from being caught by the police. It was quite a Saturday morning adventure watching all that happen. It was like a scene out of a movie of Australia in the fifties. Next to the factory on the left-hand side facing the pale blue factory is a storm water drain basically extends probably way up past Marrickville Oval. These were obviously part of the drainage that had to be done for Marrickville to be established as a possible residential area. So, in draining the swamp, which was this lower part of Marrickville, these storm water drains or they were known to us as the canal or the gully like I'll meet you down the gully after school. Okay, that was, we knew where we were talking about. There are open drains, they're bricked on both sides with a concrete cap on each side and these were obviously meant to take storm water away, but as well to just generally keep the drainage of marital happening.
The one that's next to the factory here goes for about a kilometre or so before it then enters a tunnel which is near the intersection of Marrickville Road and Victoria Road. It enters a tunnel, which in itself that tunnel is completely dark and curves once or twice, so you cannot see the end of the tunnel when you enter it. It was known as Darkies Tunnel, but part of your right of initiation was to go through the tunnel by yourself from one end to the other and considering because it curved, you could not see where the end was, you basically had to feel your way along the brick wall. And naturally the people who'd set you this task, they go in the tunnel before you and then they hide in the middle of the channel so that as you are going past, they then grab your leg or your head or your neck and scare the living daylights out of you. This might happen on four or five occasions in a pitch-black atmosphere until finally it makes one last turn and you can see there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that's the exit. And by the time you get to that, you are almost at Tempe, which is kilometres away from where you began. It's quite an exceptional place to go and try and walk through sometime. I wouldn't like to do it as an adult, let alone as a child.

Claudia:
It's time to leave Murdoch playground, turn left and continue walking down Illawarra Road to your next destination, which is SDN Marrickville.

playground.jpg

Murdoch Playground

Brian 173 Illawarra_mixdown.mp3

Claudia:
Brian’s memories of his childhood remind me of a story told by Angelo. Angelo grew up in Marrickville and is a cousin of a friend. 

Angelo:
When I was little, one particular time, I think in the late seventies, I'll never forget this. I was on my push bike as always. Yeah. Down in Jo Park and I heard this tremendous noise in the sky. It was incredible. And I always do. I looked up and it was the Concorde, it was the Concorde coming into land. I was walking along here one time.

Claudia:
There may be no Concorde’s flying over Marrickville these days, but there isn’t a shortage of planes flying in the Marrickville sky. Look up to see them or close your eyes and enjoy the roaring sound of an aeroplane engine!

193 Illawarra Road \|||// Claudia:
Brian’s memories of his childhood remind me of a story told by Angelo. Angelo grew up in Marrickville and is a cousin of a friend. 

Angelo:
When I was little, one particular time, I think in the late seventies, I'll never forget this. I was on my push bike as always. Yeah. Down in Jo Park and I heard this tremendous noise in the sky. It was incredible. And I always do. I looked up and it was the Concorde, it was the Concorde coming into land. I was walking along here one time.

Claudia:
There may be no Concorde’s flying over Marrickville these days, but there isn’t a shortage of planes flying in the Marrickville sky. Look up to see them or close your eyes and enjoy the roaring sound of an aeroplane engine!

concorde.jpg

Concorde

181 Illawarra Rd angelo concorde_mixdown.mp3

I'm Peggy Lane and I started work, I went, I just went one day I'd left another job that I'd worked 15 years, so I just knocked on the door. The director at the time was called Mrs. Kurruh. She opened the door and took me in and asked me what I wanted and I told her, I said, Look, I'm, I've just left where I've worked for 15 years, I said, and I'm interested in a different job. And she said to me, Oh, she looked at my references, I had references. She looked at 'em and she said, Oh no. She said, the pay here is a lot less. And I said, No. I said, Look, I'm mentally fatigued. I said, I've had enough of that, I just wanna change. And I said, I'll have to be honest, I'll probably only work here one year. Anyway, she said, well look it just happens that we could do with somebody, just somebody that's like an age just tidying up like your housework kind of clean and things and things like that. And I said, Okay, that'll do. I said, I'll just see how I go with it. She said, can you start the next day? I come in a green and white dress and I could always remember it when she opened the door. Oh, she said, You Irish? I said, No, I have a scotch background, an English background. I said to just like that anyway, and that's how I've run. And I actually started there in 1974 and have worked there, had worked there for 45 years.

Claudia:
Continue walking to the corner of Illawarra Road and Marrickville Road. You are about to Cross Marrickville Road.

239 Marrickville Road \|||// I'm Peggy Lane and I started work, I went, I just went one day I'd left another job that I'd worked 15 years, so I just knocked on the door. The director at the time was called Mrs. Kurruh. She opened the door and took me in and asked me what I wanted and I told her, I said, Look, I'm, I've just left where I've worked for 15 years, I said, and I'm interested in a different job. And she said to me, Oh, she looked at my references, I had references. She looked at 'em and she said, Oh no. She said, the pay here is a lot less. And I said, No. I said, Look, I'm mentally fatigued. I said, I've had enough of that, I just wanna change. And I said, I'll have to be honest, I'll probably only work here one year. Anyway, she said, well look it just happens that we could do with somebody, just somebody that's like an age just tidying up like your housework kind of clean and things and things like that. And I said, Okay, that'll do. I said, I'll just see how I go with it. She said, can you start the next day? I come in a green and white dress and I could always remember it when she opened the door. Oh, she said, You Irish? I said, No, I have a scotch background, an English background. I said to just like that anyway, and that's how I've run. And I actually started there in 1974 and have worked there, had worked there for 45 years.

Claudia:
Continue walking to the corner of Illawarra Road and Marrickville Road. You are about to Cross Marrickville Road.

sdn.jpg

SDN Childcare

SDN Childcare_mixdown.mp3

Claudia:
On any day, you can hear the sound of jazz music playing from Lazy
Bones, smell the fresh fruit and vegetables from one of the
supermarkets, or smell oil and garlic and freshly sautéed onions. You&#39;ll
always hear different languages and different greetings and horns
honking. This is how Cecily remembers her time here.
Cecily:
You have arrived on the corner of Marrickville and Illawarra Rd Road.
This used to be All U Store which was previously called All Seasons
Bargain. My name is Cecily. My parents ran All Seasons Bargain and
then my auntie took it over in 2010 and ran it as All U Store until
January this year.  My earliest memory of being in the shop was being
babysat at the shop because the shop was there before I was born.

And as I got older, I went to primary school. I remember bringing
home readers and getting the customers to help me read certain
words in the book because my parents&#39; English wasn&#39;t that great. The
shop has been a bargain shop for over 40 years and my parents took it
over from a Taiwanese family back in 1991. So, the shop had
everything from pendant necklaces to Oriental fans and toys and
Pokemon cards. I was actually, really ashamed of being in the shop
when my friends visited, but all my friends liked it and they used to
call it Cecily shop. The worst time of the year was Marrickville Festival
when I had to stand at the front of the shop and sell things and I&#39;d
recognize everyone on the street and I couldn&#39;t hide &lt;laugh&gt;. The last
day of trading was a bit nostalgic and sentimental. It felt like it was the
end of an era as one of the last long standing businesses still around
from the old Marrickville days, we had a lot of support from
customers not wanting to see us go, but as the suburb evolves and
the older generation in the business getting older, we felt that it
would be best for a fresh new business to come into the space. Like
something with a new business bottle and product offering more
fitting to the current community. For example, bars, fitness places or
cool hipster or vegan food places.
Claudia:
Cecily mentions that bars are something that are more fitting to the
existing community…well Craig from lazy Bones talks about that a
little.  The entrance to Lazy Bones is on Illawarra Road, on the left.
Craig: 
Welcome to Lazy Bones. We have been here for just under 10 years
and we average around about 15 bands a week, seven nights a week.
It&#39;s a journey that goes over three decades from Melbourne. I&#39;m an
electronic engineer background and with a passion for live music. I
think that lazy Bones has become more of an arts hangout than a
nightclub or bar. It was vacant, totally vacant. It was a Greek reception
centre. It was a karaoke bar. It was burnt down in 82 so it&#39;s got quite a
strong history but it always had a live music licence attached to it. So,
we&#39;ve taken that licence and we&#39;ve moulded into what suits us.
Claudia:
Across the road there is a laneway that Brian used to venture into.
Let’s go there.
Walk to the lights and cross Illawarra Rd Road, then turn left. and
continue walking down Illawarra Rd Road. Turn right into the first
laneway you see.

294 Marrickville Road \|||// Claudia:
On any day, you can hear the sound of jazz music playing from Lazy
Bones, smell the fresh fruit and vegetables from one of the
supermarkets, or smell oil and garlic and freshly sautéed onions. You&#39;ll
always hear different languages and different greetings and horns
honking. This is how Cecily remembers her time here.
Cecily:
You have arrived on the corner of Marrickville and Illawarra Rd Road.
This used to be All U Store which was previously called All Seasons
Bargain. My name is Cecily. My parents ran All Seasons Bargain and
then my auntie took it over in 2010 and ran it as All U Store until
January this year.  My earliest memory of being in the shop was being
babysat at the shop because the shop was there before I was born.

And as I got older, I went to primary school. I remember bringing
home readers and getting the customers to help me read certain
words in the book because my parents&#39; English wasn&#39;t that great. The
shop has been a bargain shop for over 40 years and my parents took it
over from a Taiwanese family back in 1991. So, the shop had
everything from pendant necklaces to Oriental fans and toys and
Pokemon cards. I was actually, really ashamed of being in the shop
when my friends visited, but all my friends liked it and they used to
call it Cecily shop. The worst time of the year was Marrickville Festival
when I had to stand at the front of the shop and sell things and I&#39;d
recognize everyone on the street and I couldn&#39;t hide &lt;laugh&gt;. The last
day of trading was a bit nostalgic and sentimental. It felt like it was the
end of an era as one of the last long standing businesses still around
from the old Marrickville days, we had a lot of support from
customers not wanting to see us go, but as the suburb evolves and
the older generation in the business getting older, we felt that it
would be best for a fresh new business to come into the space. Like
something with a new business bottle and product offering more
fitting to the current community. For example, bars, fitness places or
cool hipster or vegan food places.
Claudia:
Cecily mentions that bars are something that are more fitting to the
existing community…well Craig from lazy Bones talks about that a
little.  The entrance to Lazy Bones is on Illawarra Road, on the left.
Craig: 
Welcome to Lazy Bones. We have been here for just under 10 years
and we average around about 15 bands a week, seven nights a week.
It&#39;s a journey that goes over three decades from Melbourne. I&#39;m an
electronic engineer background and with a passion for live music. I
think that lazy Bones has become more of an arts hangout than a
nightclub or bar. It was vacant, totally vacant. It was a Greek reception
centre. It was a karaoke bar. It was burnt down in 82 so it&#39;s got quite a
strong history but it always had a live music licence attached to it. So,
we&#39;ve taken that licence and we&#39;ve moulded into what suits us.
Claudia:
Across the road there is a laneway that Brian used to venture into.
Let’s go there.
Walk to the lights and cross Illawarra Rd Road, then turn left. and
continue walking down Illawarra Rd Road. Turn right into the first
laneway you see.

lazy.jpg

Froth and Brew

Cnr Marrickville Rd_mixdown.mp3

If you look on your right, there's a small nondescript looking laneway here that leads up to a couple of dilapidated looking old buildings. When I was a kid, one of those buildings was actually, we called it the School of Arts. And what that basically was was a snooker hall. It was a wonderful looking place there. I can't remember if there were eight or 10 or 12 full size snooker tables. All of them dimly lit purely by the light over each table. And the perimeter of the room was set with benches and so that you could sit on these benches and watch the snooker being played. On the walls with old black and white photographs of men from the 1890s and early 1900s. And I'd always assume that these were previous snooker champions, but because it was called School of Arts, it may have been that they were related to it when it was really a place of education and learning for working class people. But my memory of it is a wonderful place to go after high school to play and shoot a few frames of snooker. We were entertained by Bob who was the young man who ran the place, who was a champion wiz himself. The lights were so low that it gave it a wonderful smokey atmosphere cause everyone smoked cigarettes at that stage. It was just one of those places you thought as a, you felt privileged to be able to go there as a teenager, to play snooker after school.

Claudia:
Brian’s experience makes me think of Angelo’s story of when he was a teenager. It’s different to Brian’s story. Angelo spent heaps of time walking up and down Marrickville Rd with his mates. 

Angelo:
I was walking along here one time, I don't remember which day it was or how old I was at the time. And then I saw one of the skinheads that was there was skinhead gangs. And I went up to one guy and for whatever disagreement they had, they pummelled him working in the middle of the road. Him, the whole group of them finished him off and they kept on walking.

Claudia:
Leave the laneway and turn right.
Continue walking down Illawarra Rd Road until you see a pedestrian crossing. Cross over and continue walking to Andrew’s Boutique at 341 Illawarra Road.


246 Illawarra Road \|||// If you look on your right, there's a small nondescript looking laneway here that leads up to a couple of dilapidated looking old buildings. When I was a kid, one of those buildings was actually, we called it the School of Arts. And what that basically was was a snooker hall. It was a wonderful looking place there. I can't remember if there were eight or 10 or 12 full size snooker tables. All of them dimly lit purely by the light over each table. And the perimeter of the room was set with benches and so that you could sit on these benches and watch the snooker being played. On the walls with old black and white photographs of men from the 1890s and early 1900s. And I'd always assume that these were previous snooker champions, but because it was called School of Arts, it may have been that they were related to it when it was really a place of education and learning for working class people. But my memory of it is a wonderful place to go after high school to play and shoot a few frames of snooker. We were entertained by Bob who was the young man who ran the place, who was a champion wiz himself. The lights were so low that it gave it a wonderful smokey atmosphere cause everyone smoked cigarettes at that stage. It was just one of those places you thought as a, you felt privileged to be able to go there as a teenager, to play snooker after school.

Claudia:
Brian’s experience makes me think of Angelo’s story of when he was a teenager. It’s different to Brian’s story. Angelo spent heaps of time walking up and down Marrickville Rd with his mates. 

Angelo:
I was walking along here one time, I don't remember which day it was or how old I was at the time. And then I saw one of the skinheads that was there was skinhead gangs. And I went up to one guy and for whatever disagreement they had, they pummelled him working in the middle of the road. Him, the whole group of them finished him off and they kept on walking.

Claudia:
Leave the laneway and turn right.
Continue walking down Illawarra Rd Road until you see a pedestrian crossing. Cross over and continue walking to Andrew’s Boutique at 341 Illawarra Road.


snooker.jpg

Snooker Hall

Brian Snooker Hall_mixdown.mp3

Claudia:
You have arrived at Andrew's boutique. Andrew was part of a generation of young migrants from Greece who came to Australia after World War II and settled in Marrickville.

Peggy:
Andrew? The tailor, I've known him a many, many years. We worked opposite. He used to bring his suits into my shop to be dry cleaned. And he also used to make and order things for my husband because he was so small.
Claudia:
56 years later and he's in the same shop where he started. The boutique is a step back in time with no smoking and do not touch display signs hanging. The stock is mostly old and I quote RIP Marrickville “You could walk out dressed like a Pierre Cardan Marrick- villain from the eighties and blend in with some of the seniors for next to nothing.”

Andrew:
My name is Andrew or Andreas Stathopoulos. I started as a tailor the year 66, 56 years. I do this job with respect and be always kind to the public. I lost my father in the war and my mother, she was a father and a mother together. And told me when I left the primary school, you have to choice in your life those days it was too many things to tire of. Be a barber, shoemaker, hairdresser to be a carpenter, mechanic and so, so. I choice clean job a tailor from 62 and still now I'm a mark, not resident, but my business occupy in Marrickville and I die here and I live these premises to my grand roots behind me. The old day’s people, they come in in mind to meet the tailor, not to buy off rack. Tailor made things. Today there is no demand because it's too expensive and there is no skills to help you. This the old days, the handcrafted, you have to stitch by stitch and you know where you put the stitch. I'm sad because my career is over. If I had a continuous people and ask desperately for tailoring made things suit, I would love to continue. 66’ when I started in Illawarra Road only, it was full of tailors from the start of Illawarra road just on the bottom of the street up to Warren Road, it was about seven tailors, they all gone. There only me left. The same address, the same premises. Marrickville It was a full of Greek shops. You can't miss anything you see in the seventies especially it was instead of to call Marrickville, they call the Greek town full of shops. Anything you want, you can't miss anything.

Claudia:
Continue walking down Illawarra Road. When you get to the pedestrian crossing on Warburton Street, crossover to the other side and stand on the corner of Illawarra Road and Warburton Street to listen to Brian share a story 

341A Illawarra Road \|||// Claudia:
You have arrived at Andrew's boutique. Andrew was part of a generation of young migrants from Greece who came to Australia after World War II and settled in Marrickville.

Peggy:
Andrew? The tailor, I've known him a many, many years. We worked opposite. He used to bring his suits into my shop to be dry cleaned. And he also used to make and order things for my husband because he was so small.
Claudia:
56 years later and he's in the same shop where he started. The boutique is a step back in time with no smoking and do not touch display signs hanging. The stock is mostly old and I quote RIP Marrickville “You could walk out dressed like a Pierre Cardan Marrick- villain from the eighties and blend in with some of the seniors for next to nothing.”

Andrew:
My name is Andrew or Andreas Stathopoulos. I started as a tailor the year 66, 56 years. I do this job with respect and be always kind to the public. I lost my father in the war and my mother, she was a father and a mother together. And told me when I left the primary school, you have to choice in your life those days it was too many things to tire of. Be a barber, shoemaker, hairdresser to be a carpenter, mechanic and so, so. I choice clean job a tailor from 62 and still now I'm a mark, not resident, but my business occupy in Marrickville and I die here and I live these premises to my grand roots behind me. The old day’s people, they come in in mind to meet the tailor, not to buy off rack. Tailor made things. Today there is no demand because it's too expensive and there is no skills to help you. This the old days, the handcrafted, you have to stitch by stitch and you know where you put the stitch. I'm sad because my career is over. If I had a continuous people and ask desperately for tailoring made things suit, I would love to continue. 66’ when I started in Illawarra Road only, it was full of tailors from the start of Illawarra road just on the bottom of the street up to Warren Road, it was about seven tailors, they all gone. There only me left. The same address, the same premises. Marrickville It was a full of Greek shops. You can't miss anything you see in the seventies especially it was instead of to call Marrickville, they call the Greek town full of shops. Anything you want, you can't miss anything.

Claudia:
Continue walking down Illawarra Road. When you get to the pedestrian crossing on Warburton Street, crossover to the other side and stand on the corner of Illawarra Road and Warburton Street to listen to Brian share a story

boutique.jpg

Andrew's Boutique

Andrews Boutique and Snow_mixdown.mp3

wallpaper.jpg

Claudia:
As you walk to your next destination, listen to Peggy thinking about Marrickville with her husband Teddy.

Peggy:
The thing that I've always liked about Marrickville, it's, it's in the very earlier part of my life when Teddy and I were going together. Cause we went together kind of long time. My father was very, very strict. But I know in the beginning we were talking about going to buy Paddington and my father said, my daughter's not living in Patton. That's the pits. And then Newtown, it was the razor again, pits again. He would tell me, so don't, you're not buying anywhere here. So, we end up still in Marrickville. But the thing that I like about it is the, it's locality is so close to the city. I know when we were young, we used to go in groups of a Saturday night and walk to the city and out. That was our entertainment. We didn't have money so we had to walk a big group of us walk all into the Broadway and back out again.

Actually, one incident that I did have, it was a Saturday morning. It'd be back about I, I predicted maybe 45 years ago. I was coming to work with my husband. He's driving me down to the shop and it snowed in Marrickville. It snowed all day. And as we drove down, somebody, a boy on his skiers skied down past us, down the Illawarra Road to Marrickville Road.

Claudia
Keep walking until you get to the pedestrian crossing on Warburton Street and crossover.

359 Illawarra Road \|||// Claudia:
As you walk to your next destination, listen to Peggy thinking about Marrickville with her husband Teddy.

Peggy:
The thing that I've always liked about Marrickville, it's, it's in the very earlier part of my life when Teddy and I were going together. Cause we went together kind of long time. My father was very, very strict. But I know in the beginning we were talking about going to buy Paddington and my father said, my daughter's not living in Patton. That's the pits. And then Newtown, it was the razor again, pits again. He would tell me, so don't, you're not buying anywhere here. So, we end up still in Marrickville. But the thing that I like about it is the, it's locality is so close to the city. I know when we were young, we used to go in groups of a Saturday night and walk to the city and out. That was our entertainment. We didn't have money so we had to walk a big group of us walk all into the Broadway and back out again.

Actually, one incident that I did have, it was a Saturday morning. It'd be back about I, I predicted maybe 45 years ago. I was coming to work with my husband. He's driving me down to the shop and it snowed in Marrickville. It snowed all day. And as we drove down, somebody, a boy on his skiers skied down past us, down the Illawarra Road to Marrickville Road.

Claudia
Keep walking until you get to the pedestrian crossing on Warburton Street and crossover.

roadsign01.jpg

Peggy's Stories

Peggy RSL story_mixdown.mp3

Brian: 
Here we are on the corner of Illawarra Road and Warburton Street. And if you look down Warburton Street, you'll see the parkland there. But in my adolescence, early adolescence, Marrickville Council had built a swimming pool there. It was a complete and utter social life for us. We could go there after school if we remember to take our towel and togs to school. But you were basically spent all weekend there. When you are leaving home every morning, you'd usually get told now go out and stay out all day. We don't wanna see you back here until sunset. All right, got that. So, we would spend the day mixing with the friends at Marrickville Pool there at the end of Warburton Street. It was wonderful and sure gave us something to do. It was wonderful.

Claudia:
Continue walking down Illawarra Rd Road to your next destination.  You are going to where Nora’s dad Chuck Barakat used to work. When you arrive, imagine you are standing in front of a store lined with fruit and vegetables.

346 Illawarra Road \|||// Brian: 
Here we are on the corner of Illawarra Road and Warburton Street. And if you look down Warburton Street, you'll see the parkland there. But in my adolescence, early adolescence, Marrickville Council had built a swimming pool there. It was a complete and utter social life for us. We could go there after school if we remember to take our towel and togs to school. But you were basically spent all weekend there. When you are leaving home every morning, you'd usually get told now go out and stay out all day. We don't wanna see you back here until sunset. All right, got that. So, we would spend the day mixing with the friends at Marrickville Pool there at the end of Warburton Street. It was wonderful and sure gave us something to do. It was wonderful.

Claudia:
Continue walking down Illawarra Rd Road to your next destination.  You are going to where Nora’s dad Chuck Barakat used to work. When you arrive, imagine you are standing in front of a store lined with fruit and vegetables.

126667225-surface-of-blue-swimming-pool-background-theme-of-water-in-swimming-pool.jpg

Old Pool

Brian Old PoolV2_mixdown.mp3

Nora:
You have arrived at 364 Illawarra Road, Marrickville. My name is Nora Barakat Francis. If you are standing in front of Call Fresh, you'd be mesmerised by the beautiful fruit standing before you and the different colours, rows of bananas, apples, oranges, all the fruits that you could think of. And as you walk into the shop you would see a whole array of vegetables, your beautiful green herbs, your carrots, your potatoes, your onions. And you couldn't help but smell the smell of fresh fruit like peaches and nectarines in the summer or cherries and mangoes. The aroma of the fresh fruits is something that you'll always remember and takes me back. This is where my family ran their fruit and vegetable shop Call Fresh. From 1989 to 2017, my father Chuck Barat and my mother, Gene Barat, operated this business for over 28 years. 
In the 1960s he was situated on Marrickville Road with his brothers. Dad is a much loved and well known character in the streets of Marrickville. Everyone knows Chuck or Chucky as he was fondly nicknamed, he welcomed everyone into the shop with a big smile and a loving heart. Dad was very generous, most often giving away fruit and veggies to all that came to visit. Dad loved Marrickville and still does. He loved everything about it and I believe in my heart that he still calls Marrickville home. Many times, people would honk their horns as they drove past the shop and give away to dad.
Some of them would be lucky enough to have a rotten tomato thrown at them as they drove past very much of dad's character. We spent a lot of time in there in our school holidays going to the markets with dad, helping him sit up in the shop serving customers. Dad migrated to Australia in the sixties from Lebanon and he worked alongside his brothers in a fruit shop on Marrickville Road called Barakat Brothers. They were there for over 20 years and when my uncles retired, dad and mom opened up on Ila War Road in 1989. Unfortunately, dad was forced into retirement in 2017 due to a knee replacement. Dad is a real fighter. He operated his fruit shop through his diagnosis of Parkinson's disease for at least 15 years. He kept pushing on going to the markets and coming to the shop to open up and set up all on his own. Dad's a fine example of a worrier, a hardworking family man that put his family's needs before his own. Never had a day off or a sick day or went on holiday. It was all about working for his family. That's what most people admire about him.

Claudia
Walk to the pedestrian crossing and cross to the other side and walk up to your next destination Fruit Mart.

368 Illawarra Road \|||// Nora:
You have arrived at 364 Illawarra Road, Marrickville. My name is Nora Barakat Francis. If you are standing in front of Call Fresh, you'd be mesmerised by the beautiful fruit standing before you and the different colours, rows of bananas, apples, oranges, all the fruits that you could think of. And as you walk into the shop you would see a whole array of vegetables, your beautiful green herbs, your carrots, your potatoes, your onions. And you couldn't help but smell the smell of fresh fruit like peaches and nectarines in the summer or cherries and mangoes. The aroma of the fresh fruits is something that you'll always remember and takes me back. This is where my family ran their fruit and vegetable shop Call Fresh. From 1989 to 2017, my father Chuck Barat and my mother, Gene Barat, operated this business for over 28 years. 
In the 1960s he was situated on Marrickville Road with his brothers. Dad is a much loved and well known character in the streets of Marrickville. Everyone knows Chuck or Chucky as he was fondly nicknamed, he welcomed everyone into the shop with a big smile and a loving heart. Dad was very generous, most often giving away fruit and veggies to all that came to visit. Dad loved Marrickville and still does. He loved everything about it and I believe in my heart that he still calls Marrickville home. Many times, people would honk their horns as they drove past the shop and give away to dad.
Some of them would be lucky enough to have a rotten tomato thrown at them as they drove past very much of dad's character. We spent a lot of time in there in our school holidays going to the markets with dad, helping him sit up in the shop serving customers. Dad migrated to Australia in the sixties from Lebanon and he worked alongside his brothers in a fruit shop on Marrickville Road called Barakat Brothers. They were there for over 20 years and when my uncles retired, dad and mom opened up on Ila War Road in 1989. Unfortunately, dad was forced into retirement in 2017 due to a knee replacement. Dad is a real fighter. He operated his fruit shop through his diagnosis of Parkinson's disease for at least 15 years. He kept pushing on going to the markets and coming to the shop to open up and set up all on his own. Dad's a fine example of a worrier, a hardworking family man that put his family's needs before his own. Never had a day off or a sick day or went on holiday. It was all about working for his family. That's what most people admire about him.

Claudia
Walk to the pedestrian crossing and cross to the other side and walk up to your next destination Fruit Mart.

fruit.jpg

Nora and Chuck

NoraV3.mp3

Claudia:
Theo and his brothers have been running Fruit Mart since 1969
This place is more than a fruit and vegetable store, it is a meeting place for Theo and his brother’s friends, who come and drink coffee and keep each other company.

Theo:
My name is Theo in English. I come here in Australia 61, the end of 61 and 62 we buy the first house here in Marrickville. And this shop here we buy in 66 when change from pound to dollars and that time the price goes very good. Very cheap plenty work and the life was very cheap. And after, when we buy this, we used to work in buildings. When we stay here in Sydney then we go to Queensland, pick sugar cane, you know cut sugar cane, six months, five, six months. When you come down we make holiday couple months and after going to Victoria and work in pick fruit, grapes or separate to, we cut peaches and pears for SPC factory and 69 we open the shop here, the fruit shop. The business was very good of course the first years but after steady steady come down because open the supermarket and the population was changed too. We three brothers together. It was a building before and we fix it. Fruit shop, we make the cool room and everything and we start fruit shop in 69. The population was like say in this area, 30-40% was Greeks, some Italian, some Lebanese and Australia people at that time everybody work, they shop for the whole week from the different shop but was very cheap. The best customer in 69 was $6/$7 to fill two boxes, everything and got delivery in the home too. And steady steady you know the things change. We come here usually when we buy the house, the agent because he was in Marrickville and that time the population in Marrickville was too big from Greeks. They say in the news that time it was about 33-35,000 Greeks in Marrickville area. Because we will stay in one place If you stay one place you like better, we don't want to move.
The Marrickville now is not much good now because change the population, the system, the business, you know all this. And they move other places. Like when open the metro down there, the business in Marrickville and the prices come all down no good. When we open the fruit shop is in Marrickville area, Marrickville Road, Illawarra Road, we be about rough about 10 fruit shops and all we work very good. Yeah, work seven days. We work seven days a week from six o'clock open up to seven o'clock. The old years we close nine o'clock because was busy. But now we close seven o'clock when I die <laugh> I retire. Yeah because we got the shop here for just to pass the timing. We not make like we know by rent. We keep it to pass the time if we take some rent, that's all.
Claudia
Walk to the set of traffic lights on the corner of Warren Road and Illawarra Road and crossover 

439 Illawarra Road \|||// Claudia:
Theo and his brothers have been running Fruit Mart since 1969
This place is more than a fruit and vegetable store, it is a meeting place for Theo and his brother’s friends, who come and drink coffee and keep each other company.

Theo:
My name is Theo in English. I come here in Australia 61, the end of 61 and 62 we buy the first house here in Marrickville. And this shop here we buy in 66 when change from pound to dollars and that time the price goes very good. Very cheap plenty work and the life was very cheap. And after, when we buy this, we used to work in buildings. When we stay here in Sydney then we go to Queensland, pick sugar cane, you know cut sugar cane, six months, five, six months. When you come down we make holiday couple months and after going to Victoria and work in pick fruit, grapes or separate to, we cut peaches and pears for SPC factory and 69 we open the shop here, the fruit shop. The business was very good of course the first years but after steady steady come down because open the supermarket and the population was changed too. We three brothers together. It was a building before and we fix it. Fruit shop, we make the cool room and everything and we start fruit shop in 69. The population was like say in this area, 30-40% was Greeks, some Italian, some Lebanese and Australia people at that time everybody work, they shop for the whole week from the different shop but was very cheap. The best customer in 69 was $6/$7 to fill two boxes, everything and got delivery in the home too. And steady steady you know the things change. We come here usually when we buy the house, the agent because he was in Marrickville and that time the population in Marrickville was too big from Greeks. They say in the news that time it was about 33-35,000 Greeks in Marrickville area. Because we will stay in one place If you stay one place you like better, we don't want to move.
The Marrickville now is not much good now because change the population, the system, the business, you know all this. And they move other places. Like when open the metro down there, the business in Marrickville and the prices come all down no good. When we open the fruit shop is in Marrickville area, Marrickville Road, Illawarra Road, we be about rough about 10 fruit shops and all we work very good. Yeah, work seven days. We work seven days a week from six o'clock open up to seven o'clock. The old years we close nine o'clock because was busy. But now we close seven o'clock when I die <laugh> I retire. Yeah because we got the shop here for just to pass the timing. We not make like we know by rent. We keep it to pass the time if we take some rent, that's all.
Claudia
Walk to the set of traffic lights on the corner of Warren Road and Illawarra Road and crossover

Theo Fruit Mart

TheoV2 .mp3

Rod:
You are now standing in front of the Roseby Uniting Church. This church was named after its most famous minister. Dr. Reverend Thomas Roseby was an interesting character. He was a devout Christian, but he also was prepared to deal with scientific world that was emerging in the late 19th century. So, he was a keen astronomer and he set up his own observatory in the grounds of the church. He was a keen geologist and he tried to deal with the new ideas of evolution which were emerging. He had a number of children and two of his daughters became the mistress and head mistress of the Redlands School on the North shore, which they had purchased

Claudia:
Cross Warren Road and continue walking down Illawarra Road to Alex’s place called Joe Linda's Jewellery and Watch Repairs at 404 Illawarra Road. 

388 Illawarra Road \|||// Rod:
You are now standing in front of the Roseby Uniting Church. This church was named after its most famous minister. Dr. Reverend Thomas Roseby was an interesting character. He was a devout Christian, but he also was prepared to deal with scientific world that was emerging in the late 19th century. So, he was a keen astronomer and he set up his own observatory in the grounds of the church. He was a keen geologist and he tried to deal with the new ideas of evolution which were emerging. He had a number of children and two of his daughters became the mistress and head mistress of the Redlands School on the North shore, which they had purchased

Claudia:
Cross Warren Road and continue walking down Illawarra Road to Alex’s place called Joe Linda's Jewellery and Watch Repairs at 404 Illawarra Road. 

roseby.jpg

Roseby Church

18_Roseby.mp3

Alex:
Oh my name is Alex Iskander Osman 1990 came to Australia. But I tried to see what I'm gonna do. Interpreter working office. They told me to go to asbe because speak many language. And there was one fellow here in Marrickville Illawarra Rd said he's gonna sell his shop. Actually, in back home, I work with American United Air Force bases, you know NATO? Nearly about 10 years. And petrol companies, petrol chemical complex, Istanbul Petrol Refinery, then in the jewellery business in Istanbul, Ankara, Ismir, Ismirna, many things to talk. I start jewellery here, 1980, 1/9 February till now. 42 years I'm standing. Why I came to Australia? Because too many problem in Middle East country. You know the sources, religion, discrimination, Turkey, Greece, Kurdish, Arab. I said let me go. And I am so happy cause I was with American with English people in Turkey working for many years when I was young, single.

Claudia:
The next destination is not far! We’re going to Athena’s Cake Shop where Chris runs the family business

Chris:
Athena when my father-in-law opened the shop in the 1974 there was another name I think back then because somebody else had that small shop already. But it was closed at the time. And when my father-in-law opened the shop, he decide to put his wife's name. So, my mother-in-law's name is Athena. So, they called the shop Athena back then. And believe me, there was a bit of I don't know if you wanna put this in racism back then in this area, people used to come in and tease my father-in-law. Do you have any lamingtons? Any scone’s? Or any cream like cream buns? something like that. So, father-in-law, he didn't know anything about these things. He only knew about the Greek pastry. And slowly, slowly he looked at the recipe books, Aussie Australian books and he start making some of their demand too. And then we brought the people, the Australian people into the shop. Now they love our sweets and we don't depend mainly in the Greek community. We cater for everybody. We love them and they love us too because we've been with them for so many years here.

Claudia:
Athena’s and Dana’s Deli are so close, you don’t have to walk that far. Cross the road!

400D Illawarra Road \|||// Alex:
Oh my name is Alex Iskander Osman 1990 came to Australia. But I tried to see what I'm gonna do. Interpreter working office. They told me to go to asbe because speak many language. And there was one fellow here in Marrickville Illawarra Rd said he's gonna sell his shop. Actually, in back home, I work with American United Air Force bases, you know NATO? Nearly about 10 years. And petrol companies, petrol chemical complex, Istanbul Petrol Refinery, then in the jewellery business in Istanbul, Ankara, Ismir, Ismirna, many things to talk. I start jewellery here, 1980, 1/9 February till now. 42 years I'm standing. Why I came to Australia? Because too many problem in Middle East country. You know the sources, religion, discrimination, Turkey, Greece, Kurdish, Arab. I said let me go. And I am so happy cause I was with American with English people in Turkey working for many years when I was young, single.

Claudia:
The next destination is not far! We’re going to Athena’s Cake Shop where Chris runs the family business

Chris:
Athena when my father-in-law opened the shop in the 1974 there was another name I think back then because somebody else had that small shop already. But it was closed at the time. And when my father-in-law opened the shop, he decide to put his wife's name. So, my mother-in-law's name is Athena. So, they called the shop Athena back then. And believe me, there was a bit of I don't know if you wanna put this in racism back then in this area, people used to come in and tease my father-in-law. Do you have any lamingtons? Any scone’s? Or any cream like cream buns? something like that. So, father-in-law, he didn't know anything about these things. He only knew about the Greek pastry. And slowly, slowly he looked at the recipe books, Aussie Australian books and he start making some of their demand too. And then we brought the people, the Australian people into the shop. Now they love our sweets and we don't depend mainly in the Greek community. We cater for everybody. We love them and they love us too because we've been with them for so many years here.

Claudia:
Athena’s and Dana’s Deli are so close, you don’t have to walk that far. Cross the road!

clock.jpg

Alex and Chris

Alex and Athena_mixdown.mp3

Tina:
Good morning. My name is Tina Dennis Lopez and I am from Dana’s Deli Cafe. I work here with my mom and my sister and we run the little deli cafe on the corner of Illawarra Road. Dana’s Deli has been in Marrickville since 1962 and this year will be 60 years. So, our 60-year anniversary is this year. We have a lot of memories because there's four of us. So, we have two brothers, Olga and we grew up on top of the shop, so it was kind of like a little hub for everyone. Our memories are growing up in the shop, our cousins were always here because their parents worked. So, the babysitting was done here. <laugh> all the kids in the neighbourhood were in our backyard.
 I'm just gonna quickly add a few little things like about my dad who started this in 1962. So, he would also be very much community oriented. Cause he has such a hard upbringing. He became a JP so he signs documents for people and he would read all of their letters from various places or help them with their, not help them pay their bills, although some people needed to read their electricity or things like that. He also delivered their groceries because no one had cars back then coz he was single. He saved his money and he could buy a car and he could. So, it was deliveries in the early sixties and seventies. So, he contributed to the community. A lot of people remember him and sadly he passed away this year in February. But remembered by a lot of people coz he used to walk up and down Marrickville Road every day to get his paper wave at everybody. And so yeah, fond memories for a lot of people on Illawarra Road. Oh no, they're very hard working, there was no sell and retire. My dad was 86, he was still in here every day. What's happening? What have you got here? What's happening there? I saw this. Do you wanna try that? This is what happened here. A lot of contribution.


418 Illawarra Road \|||// Tina:
Good morning. My name is Tina Dennis Lopez and I am from Dana’s Deli Cafe. I work here with my mom and my sister and we run the little deli cafe on the corner of Illawarra Road. Dana’s Deli has been in Marrickville since 1962 and this year will be 60 years. So, our 60-year anniversary is this year. We have a lot of memories because there's four of us. So, we have two brothers, Olga and we grew up on top of the shop, so it was kind of like a little hub for everyone. Our memories are growing up in the shop, our cousins were always here because their parents worked. So, the babysitting was done here. <laugh> all the kids in the neighbourhood were in our backyard.
 I'm just gonna quickly add a few little things like about my dad who started this in 1962. So, he would also be very much community oriented. Cause he has such a hard upbringing. He became a JP so he signs documents for people and he would read all of their letters from various places or help them with their, not help them pay their bills, although some people needed to read their electricity or things like that. He also delivered their groceries because no one had cars back then coz he was single. He saved his money and he could buy a car and he could. So, it was deliveries in the early sixties and seventies. So, he contributed to the community. A lot of people remember him and sadly he passed away this year in February. But remembered by a lot of people coz he used to walk up and down Marrickville Road every day to get his paper wave at everybody. And so yeah, fond memories for a lot of people on Illawarra Road. Oh no, they're very hard working, there was no sell and retire. My dad was 86, he was still in here every day. What's happening? What have you got here? What's happening there? I saw this. Do you wanna try that? This is what happened here. A lot of contribution.


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NICK WISHART

Illawarra Rd

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