another blast from the past - photos of Lae from the 50's and 60's.

[wendyemc]

Photo 26

[wendyemc]

Photo 27

[wendyemc]

Photo 28

[wendyemc]

Photo 29

[wendyemc]

Oops:-)
Photo 30

[wendyemc]

That's it for now folks. catch you later.

[wendyemc]

Originally posted by Scott Martin
I am fortunate to have my mother, Barbara Martin, staying with me... Mother lived in Lae from the early 1950's until 1974 and is a wealth of information about Lae of old. Mind you she is getting on a bit and wants it known that the memory can be a little hazy at times.

Mother advises that the shop in 4th Street you enquired about was called "Betty's Green Shop", owned by Betty Crowley and stocked with greens and vegetables flown in from the Highlands by her husband Laurie Crowley (Crowley Airways).

Eric Whitton also sold fresh vegetables in his shop on 7th Street, between Yuk Chee Wong and Jimmy Birrell's Century Motors, and across the road from Alf Arenas' Garage...

Me again, Scott. I'd already worked out from another of your photos that the blue building with the food mart sign next to Yuk Chee Wong was Whitton's Freezer and Gift shop in my day. The ANZ bank was on the other side of Yuk Chee Wong's, on the corner of Coronation Drive and 7th Street. Century Motors must have been on the corner of 7th Street and Central Avenue and the garage on the other side of Central Avenue? There was also another fruit and vegetable shop in 4th Street, next to Worrals chemist, called the Salad Bowl. It's in one of the photos I posted, though again the detail is unclear once the photo has been downsized. Dad can't remember who owned that either, except he does remember that when Mum took the Lumme kids in while their mother Hope was in hospital for a good number of weeks that the people who owned it refused to let her pay for any fruit and vegetables she needed the whole time she had them in her care.

Regards, Wendy

PS. Say hello to your mother for me.

[RonM]

Wendy , That looks likje the IPI building to me. It was in top town and built by my Dad Bill MIENTJES and others of course. We had many good times there and in fact there was a coffee shop in the arcade where we spend a lot of my youth.

Ron MIENTJES

[wendyemc]

Thanks for the info, Ron. I had a private message re the IPI building from Hawk, who was manager of the Hotel Cecil in the late 60's, then worked for Ansett during the 70's, who were the main tenants of the building, apparently. Using his information re the coffee shop, I went back to Scott Martin's tourist booklet posted elsewhere on these pages, and was able to work out that it was called the Terrace Coffee Shop and that the IPI building was in 1st Street (probably where it ran into the commercial section of Second Street.)

Interesting to know that your dad was one of the builders. Can you tell me exactly when it was built? And can you answer any of my other questions, such as who owned the Salad Bowl and Highland Products stores on the opposite side of 4th Street to the Lae Theatre milkbar (near Worrals Chemist) in the 60's, or was that before your time?

Regards, Wendy

[Jim Dudgeon]

Wendy, htere was a hair cutting business over the road from the theatre, also a radio repair shop, called ROOKS RADIO.
Hope htis will help
Jim Dudgeon