Mosman Junction

Mosman Primary School was right next to Mosman Junction. Often, after school when I was a bit more grown up (in fifth or sixth grade) instead of going straight home, I was allowed to visit friends and on the way to their homes we would wander past the shops.

We weren't interested in the delicatessen or the greengrocer's but we did enjoy looking in the window of the chemist's. The chemist shop was a depressing dark brown with lots of drawers behind the counter and the pharmacist measured out pills and made up tonics - so different from the chemist shops of today. It was the place to buy olive oil and you got it in small bottles for 'medicinal purposes'. Sanitary items and prophylactics were hidden behind the counter and had to be especially requested, which led to many funny stories about embarrassed people who couldn't bring themselves to ask the shop assistants for what they needed. However at the age I was then, I was blissfully unaware of such things.

We liked looking at the gift packs of talc and soap. I can't remember seeing scents other than 'rose', 'lavender' and 'lily of the valley', but we thought they were beautiful and I aspired to buy my mother a pack, but they were too expensive.

There was a lingerie shop which we drooled over. In summer the window featured diaphanous nightgowns with matching robes and in winter there were brushed cotton nightgowns and pyjamas as well as quilted dressing gowns with satin covered buttons and collars. I thought it was all impossibly glamorous. Items such as bras and undies weren't displayed in the window. In those days they were still called 'unmentionables'. Years later I actually bought two nightgowns there. It was a beautiful shop.

There was a milk bar but I don't remember ever spending any money in there. It never crossed our minds to buy a milkshake because neither my friends nor I had that much spare cash.

Further along the junction was a pet shop. When I was about 5 and my mother was next door in 'The Exclusive', a bakery run by Dutch people, I watched a mouse running in a wheel. I thought it so funny I laughed and laughed so loudly that people stopped to see what was so funny. My mother was very embarrassed when she came out to see a group of very amused people watching me and she hustled me away. Digressing now, I embarrassed my mother even more when I was very little. We were waiting for a tram at Circular Quay (that's how long ago it was) and I laughed really loudly so that people looked to where I was pointing. I thought the two dogs were dancing! My mother would have gone bright red and been very pleased when the tram arrived.

Getting back to the pet shop at Mosman Junction, we always stopped to admire the puppies and kittens and I used to wish really hard that one day I would be given a pet such as a puppy or a kitten for my birthday. The shop owners didn't mind us patting the animals and standing around admiring the birds in cages or the fish. I suppose they expected us to drag our parents back to make a purchase. I did actually plead for a pet because I loved animals so much.

One year as my birthday drew closer I got the vibe that something special was going to happen and my imagination ran away with me. The actuality was a tank, gravel, weed and a goldfish. I tried really hard to be enthusiastic. A whole series of fish kept dying. Finally we decided we weren't any good at keeping fish and scoured out the tank. Right in the corner we discovered a leech that must have attacked the fish in the night and then hidden itself away during the day. Although the assassin had been discovered I was too discouraged to get any more fish and so the tank and gravel were packed away.

The next shop, the bakery called 'The Exclusive', was frequented by my mother who liked the Viennese biscuits and apple turnovers. She would grudgingly buy me a meringue which I used to lick so that it would last longer. Not a good idea because my tongue would bleed. Just the thought of it now makes me shudder. My friends and I never went in there. If we had any money to spend we much preferred the Australian cake shop that was down Avenue Road, away from the Junction.

Further along was a gift shop. It's treasures would make us pause for ages. As well as vases and various ornaments there was a large display of costume jewellery which we thought was the real deal. I told my father about a wonderful 'opal' bracelet that I thought Mutti would like and it was a very reasonable £5. He rushed there and was very disappointed when he saw how tacky it was.

There was a haberdashery which was so crowded with rolls of fabric, wool, sewing baskets and all sorts of other bits and pieces that you had to squeeze past to get to the counter. I'm pretty sure that's where we bought the various items that we needed for sewing lessons that weren't provided by the school. It was the sort of shop that you would visit with your mother, not school friends.

Across the road was a pub and we always rushed past because none of us liked seeing the crowds of men swilling down their beers and if anyone called out to us we would run for our lives giggling like crazy.

There were other shops at Mosman Junction such as a jeweller. We weren't terribly impressed because it was a tiny dark place with barred windows that only displayed a few items such as bits of jewellery and watches which weren't lit so looked fairly dull and ordinary compared to the costume jewellery across the road.

The florist didn't have much of a display either so we passed by without even a thought of looking inside.

There were other shops such as a butcher and grocery store as well as estate agencies and various office fronts of course, none of which interested young girls. We talked and dreamed extravagant dreams as we walked along. It was all good fun.