AUS-NSW-SYDNEY-L Archives

Archiver > AUS-NSW-SYDNEY > 2003-12 > 1071010729


From: "Janice Doughty" <>
Subject: [ANS] Old Hotels and the Ball season in the '50s
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 09:58:49 +1100


Marg and Listers,

After opening up the memory cells of 'Down Town' as a child at Christmas time and how the city of Sydney has changed, and mentioning the Trocadero, more memories came flooding back of how things once were in Old Sydney Town in the late 50s. I started to recall the Spring Balls and their venues and the wonderful old hotels that are no longer there, pulled down years ago to make room for the modern Sydney. This was the pre Sydney before all the demolition took place in the mid 60s. These hotels belonged not to my generation, many of them to the late 19th early 20th century, though I was lucky enough to see them and dine in them, or have a drink in them before attending a ball.

The Annual Spring Balls were held mostly between the months of September and October. There were three venues 'Down Town' for the Balls that I attended, the Trocadero, the Empress Ballroom at Mark Foy's and the Sydney Town Hall. If you knew you were going to attend a number of balls over the season you made sure you had at least three ball gowns. You were lucky if your mother could sew, my mother was a wonderful dressmaker and I really did not at the time appreciate what she did for me. She would rampage through material shops buying remnants of material, and what she made up looked as good as any purchased ball gown.

You became aware that the Ball season was soon to begin when the lovely gowns began to appear in the store windows in the Imperial Arcade and other stores, which were all mostly situated in Pitt Street between Market and Park Streets. It was the time of the year when the ladies could look their very best, in taffeta, nylon, satin, silk, voile and lace, and the men could dress up in their best suits. Lunch hour on the Friday you were to attend a ball was spent at the hairdressers for a comb up. If you had the large roll curls on the top of your head, you had a virtual iron mongery in your hair from the fine pins holding it all together, and then your hair was sprayed with a heavy doses of Gossamer.

Balls were always held on Friday night and it was such a rush to get home and ready and return to the city. Some actually changed at work or went to the Women's Centre in Hyde Park near St James Station to get ready. This was a great facility for women, where you could shower, iron your clothes, dress and apply your very best make up and most favourite perfume. Some ladies would wear diamante earrings and a matching necklace or choker. Your high heel evening shoes were also very special, either gold or silver, and some were covered in coloured satin. You could take your shoes to have them covered at the Boot Makers, some shoes were even covered in the same material as the ball gown. There was also the wonderful tradition for your gentleman partner to present you with an orchid corsage. Some ladies did not want to pin the spray to their lovely dresses, so it was pinned onto their evening bag. You took your own wine, and this was when we would drink the ladies' wines of ei!
ther Sparkling Star Wine, Porphyry Pearl, Spumante or Red Duck.

Pre ball drinks would be enjoyed at Pharlets in Jamieson Street, or the Hotel Metropole in Lang Street, the Plaza Hotel around and over Wynyard Station (now the Menzies), the old original Colonial Wentworth Hotel in Phillip Street, the Hotel Australia in Castlereagh Street, the Gresham Hotel in Druitt Street, these were really classy hotel. Who can remember having dinner in the Jade Room at the Australia Hotel and walking down the stairs to the restaurant and the walls of the stairway where covered in black mirror tiles? In the foyer of the Australia when you walked in, over the reception desk was at least six clocks showing the different times all around the world. After the ball, everyone would make for George Street, near the Town Hall, for a couple of good reasons, there were a number of great Coffee Shops (very rare in those days) around there and also everyone was close to Town Hall Station and the buses to take them home. We would catch a bus down George Street to C!
ircular Quay and catch the last Ferry home to Manly.

These are wonderful memories of Sydney Town as it once was.

Regards,
Janice


This thread: