Boolaroo Bulletin Centenary Issue

(Who is that boy in the photo?)

Not everyone is as famous as T.C. Frith and A.G. Hawkins, we must stop and remember the "small businessman" and employees who were hardworking and also helped to make Boolaroo the unique town it is today. In conditions a little less desirable than in today's society, men worked long hours, when there was little choice. For example if you drove a tram, you might have to stop and get off to push it up a hill. What about the men on the Sanitary Truck with no tyres? Some worked in the larger stores or in later years might have been a bootmaker. As the years passed Boolaroo became a thriving town with 4 butcher shops, a bank and you couldn't move in a grocery store even though most shops sold grocery lines and there were 3 department style outlets. To shop in Boolaroo, you only had to go as far as TC Friths - in those days one did not have to leave town at all.

In 1998 you can still get a great haircut at one of the many hairdressers or for the men try Arty's Barber Shop. In years past there was a Barber Shop and Billiard Room, a meeting place for the men which James Murnain owned and operated from approx. 1909. His young son Eric was only 8 at the time and this is the little boy in the photo. Eric's daughter and husband still live in Boolaroo, but would like to stay out of the limelight.

Times change and focus of this publication has been on the difference of how this town evolved. There are now businesses who have been in Main Road for over 30 years, like Alan Craig Motorcycles and Shiral Electronics, 50 years like HCB Electric Pty Ltd, Lance Needs for 64 years. To all the more recent employers and employees - let us all work towards keeping Main Road, Boolaroo alive and work on initiatives to revitalise and turn it into the flourishing town it was in the past.