My mother was the owner of 79 Evans Street from 1950-1973. I lived there with the family from 1952.

Before we lived at Evans Street we lived in Ross Street, next to the Stuarts. I was about 13 when we moved. I think we did a house swap with the Coopers who had been in 79 Evans Street before as tenants. I do remember it was difficult to get them to move out. At that time the kitchen and bathroom were in what is now the back garden. Mum wanted a bigger house for us. There was little gate at the back leading into the lane and we went to the shops that way. The garbage truck collected from the back.

Father was a waterside worker but later he worked at Kitchens. We used the side way a lot and never locked the back door and women would go up the back lane and into each others houses. There were five of us boys and we had parties in the back yard. Two or three of the boys had wedding receptions in the yard with a marquee.

We all played in the rockeries, and played footy and cricket in the street, at the corner of Ross and Bridge Streets. There was enough space in the rockeries for games and footy. Some good footballers started there like Frank Johnson. There used to be a tan track went through the middle. All the fellas used to meet on the corner and we knocked around near the milk bar. We used to play across Bridge Street and went crook when a car came.

There was a lot of competition between the group from Ross and Bridge Street and that from Graham Street, that lot from near the Graham Street gates. We used to go on picnics, tugs of war and foot races. Ross Street was very busy because it was a direct route to the pier. There were big gutters at the corner of Ross and Raglan and Ross and Farrell, which really slowed the cars down.

Mrs Baker ran the store at the corner of Farrell and Ross Streets. She was a great cook. You could get the best pies and pasties there. I remember Cyril McNamara, at 77 Evans Street, he used to train foot runners. On the other side was Dredge, he was a real character. Crichton was a little fellow with a pork pie hat on.