257 – Stories of shopping, summer, and Saturday nights

Lina and Don Violi are two people who’ve been part of the fabric of SA society all their lives. Lina has held a number of jobs for iconic brands, and Don has been a hairdresser to the fashionable and famous since the era of Don Dunstan. So, tonight, we have gathered, towards the end of The Adelaide Show, to spend some time reflecting on stories about life in Adelaide and SA from the 60s to the 90s, relating to shopping, summer, and Saturday nights.

Revisit #shopping #summer and #SaturdayNights in #SouthAustralia and #Adelaide through the #60s #70s #80s and #90s with Don and Lina Violi from #Khrome #Hair Studio in #Prospect https://t.co/rNLnYJKYHw #Wine from @ShinglebackWine & #music from @lostwoodsmusic

— The Adelaide Show (@TheAdelaideShow) July 25, 2018

Lina, what are some of the jobs you’ve held over the years?

Don, where have you cut hair?

SHOPPING

Let’s start with the old Le Cornu site. Our found out today my folks bought their first bedroom suite and kitchen chairs from their around 1965.  Did you ever shop there?

Robert Godden pointed out that it had the longest non-reflective window in the Southern Hemisphere, and the Cardinals Book Club guys pointed out that there was an ad with a woman getting on a bus, the bus driver asked Where To, and she replied Le Cornu Carpets please.

What was shopping like on weekends? Do you recall most shops closing?

Did you know Melbourne Street, North Adelaide, had Saturday morning markets?

Do you remember Cravens? It was a big department store on the corner of Rundle and Pulteney Streets, with a reputation for low prices because John Craven would travel to Europe and buy in bulk, directly from factories.

Here is a story from the Adelaide Remembers When site: Mum took me with her to the big sale after that fire at Cravens in 1964. I was about 12. The police came on horses to control the huge crowds who were trying to get bargains. There were so many people they were blocking the roads. We were stuck in the middle of the mayhem and the mounted police tried to push the crowd off the road. The crowd was so dense that some people got pushed against the big glass windows, and one (maybe more) broke under the pressure. Some people were badly injured if I remember right. I remember the awful crash of breaking glass and the screams. Anyway, it was too much for Mum and me and we fought our way out of the melee and went for a cup of tea in Cox-Foys cafeteria!

Cox Foys. I remember it had an amusement centre on its roof.

SUMMER

I see lots of photos of beaches full in the evenings during heat waves. Did you take your family?

How else did people stay cool.

Would you hit the beach in a car without air conditioning today?

SATURDAY NIGHTS

This is where we might as well talk about pinball machines. While they were in milk bars and fish and chip shops, they were gathered in lots of places.

Why did you buy some?

Did you play much? Where?

Today we have The Beach House but did you ever go to Downtown?

What were the precursors to Downtown. Would that have been Ginos in Hindley Street?

Nigel Dobson-Keeffe challenges the panel to pick the fake story from three stories from South Australia’s past.

Victor Harbor Times November 1955
SCOUT ACTIVITIES
A large number of jobs were completed at a working bet of Scouters, Scouts, and Cubs at the troop’s grounds on Saturday last. Scouts, please note that the meeting this week has been transferred
to Saturday night at 1930 hours at the Scout Hall. Any lads with fireworks are asked to bring them to this meeting, as it is intended to light a small bonfire by the mouth of the Hindmarsh River at the
conclusion of the meeting. Supper I may also be brought.

News October 1928
SPEEDWAY ACTIVITIES MEETING ON SATURDAY
Speedway-racing will be held at Speed way Royal, Wayville West, on Saturday night, when the pick of South Australian riders will be seen in action. Owing to a crash while practising in Sydney Dick
Sulway, who was to have competed, will be unable to ride. Although he was not seriously hurt, his machine was smashed to pieces. He has intimated his intention to compete at the meeting to be
held at Speedway Royal on Saturday, October 27. Jack Chapman, the local champion, is still at the top of his form. He will defend the Gold Helmet against all comers tomorrow night. His machine is as
fast as ever, and this daredevil rider will be hard to defeat. Harry Butler, although married on Thursday night, will again compete. He can be relied on to put up his usual good show before departing, for his honeymoon. Ned Kelly is a rider who has probably gained more placings than any other competitor this season. If he keeps on improving it will be surprising if he is not placed with the back-mark men before long.

News February 1952
Drive-in bottle store opens
Adelaide has a new hotel facility — the first drive-in hotel at the Royal Hotel in Railway Terrace, Mile End. The bottle store, which opened its doors for business on Saturday, has been formed with the
conversion and renovation of an old Southside Hotel. . This new establishment is now allowed because of the recent passage of the Alcohol Act Amendment bill that was passed through the
government last year. With an entrance from the front of the hotel, the 600 square-foot drive-in facility is open from 4p.m to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The facility is manned and includes provision for drivers wanting to hurry through and those wishing to browse. The bottle store will sell wines, particularly featuring those of the Southern Vales, spirits of all kinds, beers — interstate, imported and local — and a range of wine giftware. Also available will be some rare tawny and vintage ports and old clarets and burgundies, including collectors’ items.