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.
Christmas is celebrated as the birthday of Jesus although there is no evidence he was born on that day. It was declared his birthday in 440 AD. In England Christmas was originally called Yule. The old Saxon word Yule meant mid-winter. However when the Saxons were converted to Christianity the word Yule came to mean…
At the time of the First World War there was little understanding of what today is termed post-trauma stress disorder (PTSD). Returned soldiers often suffered lingering psychological damage which, although largely unrecognised, was at least as debilitating as physical injuries. Doctors were generally reluctant to diagnose a patient with shell shock, attributing their condition to…
What would have happened if the three wise men had been three wise women? They would have . . . asked for directions arrived on time helped deliver the baby cleaned the stable brought practical gifts made a casserole. And what would they have said as they left the manger? “Have you heard that Joseph…
The volunteers wondered just what they were getting into when, as they prepared to infiltrate Borneo, they were offered a cyanide pill. Some secrets take a very long time to emerge. Such is the case with a secret military operation formed as the war in the Pacific reached the halfway point in 1943. Men as…
Deltiology, the official name for postcard collecting, is thought to be one of the three largest collectible hobbies in the world, along with coin and stamp collecting. Postcards are popular because of the wide range of subjects, with just about every subject imaginable being at some time, portrayed on a postcard. History itself can be…
The Stanton Brothers When war broke out in Europe in 1914, the Stanton brothers like many of their contemporaries, were eager to enlist in defence of “God, King and Country”. Older brother, Charles signed up in July 1915, leaving his wife May and two young children, Winifred aged 3 and Francis, born just 7 months…
