Shopping in the 1950s

The other night, I was wandering the aisles of the local supermarket trying to remember whether I had to buy red or green capsicums.

Confronted by no less than 30,000 items on the surrounding shelves, it occurred to me how fortunate we are to be able to shop late on a Sunday evening, with a choice of food and packaged meals to satisfy most palates and ethnic predilections.

How different things were back in the '50s when I was a young teenager.

Most shops and businesses were closed promptly at 5.30pm on weekdays and usually at 1pm on Wednesdays when the whole town presumably went home for a siesta.

Until 1955, the pubs closed at 6pm which encouraged most drinkers to order a few more schooners before the unwelcome shout of "last drinks" was heard.

But for us kids, we discovered the world was changing irreversibly when told we could no longer ask for sixpence worth of batter scraps from the local fish and chips shop.

If that wasn't enough, the portentous news that a bag of broken biscuits would become extinct with the introduction of pre-packaged biscuits was pretty devastating for the insatiable demands of hungry kids.

This all happened at a time when frugality and restraint were still practised in the home.

Pocket money was hard to come by, so the best way to earn a few bob was to find and cash in as many returnable soft drink bottles you could find.

The beach during the summer holidays was the best place for empties which you could then take to the nearest shop and collect sixpence per bottle - enough perhaps to buy an ice-cream.

However, some of the youngsters were pretty eager, so you can imagine sitting on the beach thinking nought but good and quietly sipping a cool refreshing drink.

Suddenly you become aware you're no longer alone.

You look up and there is a young boy with doleful eyes standing there holding a few empty bottles.

His gaze travels between you and your half finished bottle until he finally asks: "Can I have that bottle when you're finished, mister?"

You tell him very politely to come back later (nowadays a similar request would be phrased somewhat differently!).

He takes three steps back, sits on the sand, all the while keeping a close watch on you and the bottle, until finally you can't stand it any longer and pour the remainder of the drink into the sand and hand over the empty bottle in quiet resignation.

Yes, those were the days when you could walk into any milk bar along the beachfront and buy a billy can of boiling water for a shilling or two to make a cup of Bushells tea, the stronger the better.

Nowadays Work Cover wouldn't be impressed with anyone walking through a crowded shop carrying a billy can of boiling water.

Back in the '50s, we used to puff cigarettes without so much as a care in the world.

Some of the most popular brands were Ardath, Craven A, Lucky Strike, Capstan, Rothmans and the most cough inducing of all, Turf, which many believed came directly from the stables of the local horse stud.

No gruesome pictures or health warnings, and all untipped.

We also bought headache powers by the dozen.

Bex, Vincents and Aspros were readily available until it was discovered that Vincents in particular was not only addictive but was also destroying kidneys at an alarming rate.

Running a milkbar or general store in those days was certainly no picnic.

Constant blackouts, no town water and a cantankerous spearpoint pump which had to be primed, usually during the busiest part of the day, were some of the problems one had to contend with whilst serving customers.

The other problem was refrigeration which at best was unreliable, with Rex Mower or Sid Thomas frequently being called upon to carry out urgent repairs.

Email, 12 Jul 2010 Fred Landman, Daleys Point