The image, from a postcard dating to the first 10 years of the 20th century, is an evocative glimpse into a business that has long been linked to Martin Place (then Moore Street).
Martin Place had long been a bustling hive of activity, full of people going about their daily work. This bustling activity made it a perfect place for flower sellers to ply their trade, attracting passersby and many impulse sales. Yet most flower sellers did not start off in Martin Place at all, being forced off other, busier streets to make room for ever increasing traffic. Martin Place was the ideal place for flower sellers to congregate though, setting themselves up near the steps of the General Post Office and pouncing on people hurrying to mail their letters.
The earliest Martin Place flower sellers began to set up stalls in the 19th century, but it was during the 20th century that Sydney’s most iconic flower seller plied her trade. Rosie Shaw had once had high hopes of a career in opera, coming to Sydney from London in 1927 to seek fame and fortune in the land Dame Nellie Melba had called home. Rosie’s dreams never came to pass, but she grew to the status of a Sydney icon none the less. In 1931 she first set up shop on Martin Place, plying her customers not just with flowers, but with snatches of opera and tall tales of her history of a ballerina and singer. Rosie soon became very popular and increasingly influential, using her iconic status to act as one of the earliest defenders of gay men in Sydney. She sold flowers for 40 years, finally packing up her stall in 1971.
Just a reminder that our June speaker, Ian Burnet, will be talking about his new book, The Tasman Map. It delves into the story of the first Dutch voyages to Australia, set against the background of the struggle of the newly formed Dutch Republic to gain its independence from the Kingdom of Spain and the…
Bundy Clock from the Australian Gas Light Company In November 1888 Willard le Grande Bundy, a jeweller in Auburn, New York patented a timepiece to track the hours worked by employees and to calculate pay. The device was powered by mechanical and later electrical means. A year later his brother Harlow founded the Bundy Manufacturing…
The Sydney Icebeg (April Fools’ Day – 1978) On the morning of April 1, 1978, a barge appeared in Sydney Harbor towing a giant iceberg. Sydneysiders were expecting it. Dick Smith, a local adventurer and millionaire businessman, had been loudly promoting his scheme to tow an iceberg from Antarctica for quite some time. Now he…
Most residents of Mortlake-Cabarita and Breakfast Point know the Palace Hotel in Tennyson Road. Opened in 1926, the Palace has been synonymous with the changing character and fortunes of the district. Some residents might also be aware of an earlier Palace Hotel – the only reminder of which is Palace Lane, a pedestrian thoroughfare between…
The Blue Bird Sewing Machine Bebarfalds, a retailer of home furnishings and manufacturer of furniture, traded for many years from its landmark location opposite the Sydney Town Hall on the corner of George and Park Streets. They are best remembered for their sewing machines, introduced around 1917, and branded as ‘Blue Bird’ from about 1926….
Prior to settlement. the area now known as the City of Canada Bay was occupied by the Wann-gal clan (also often referred to as ‘Wangal’) whose name was derived from the word for their country. The Wann-gal were a clan of the Darug (sometimes spelt Dharug) tribe or language group. They called themselves the Eora,…
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