The Coat Hanger and the Big Fella
OLIVE’S SEVENTH POST.
This post is about the opening of our famous Sydney Harbour Bridge, often affectionately called the coathanger. This happened exactly 75 years ago, next Monday.
Olive was there the day the ribbon was cut by her hero, the Premier of New South Wales, Jack Lang, the Big Fella as they called him.
Something unexpected happened that day which has gone into the history books. Olive will tell us about it when I get around to typing up her recollections, which will be soon, in fact further down this post.
But before that, sad to say, there’s no good news about Johnny Bosco, the lettuce man. You might remember his plight from the second post. Local TV did a story on him but they have yet to broadcast it and in a few days, at the end of March, his reprieve runs out.
I have just spoken to Johnny again. He tells me the ranger, the council cop, has been around to say that if he does no does not cease growing his hydroponic lettuces by March 31st, they will take legal action. So, he plans to stop on time.
Johnny also told me he managed to get on air with Alan Jones, a powerful radio talk back host. Who knows? Gosford council might begin to feel the heat pretty soon, but will it be in time? “The Mongrels.” says Ollie
How could you not want a lettuce like this grown next door?
Johny surveys his threatened patch
So, anyone who cares can email Gosford council about this matter or, if you are in NSW, get on to the Today Tonight show and ask them to broadcast the story that they’re holding.
Emails to the council (polite please) should marked “to the attention of Colleen Worthy-Jennings.” and addressed to goscity@gosford.nsw.gov.au.
Both of us, Ollie and I, are very concerned about this lettuce business. It’s crazy! Mike the helper.
Olive
It just makes no sense, does it?
Mike
To change the subject, you were working in a pub that day in March 1932, the 19th?
Olive
Yeah, down by Circular Quay. So, I had only a short walk up to the new bridge.
Mike
So, in your lunch time you came up and joined the crowd?
Olive
Yeah, there were grandstands and crowds of people all across the roadway. There was no traffic, you see, because it was not yet open. And there was a ribbon across the road waiting for Jack to cut.
Mike
Jack Lang?
Olive
The Big Fella, that’s what they called him.
Mike
Did you know there was an electric wire in the ribbon?
Olive
No, Why?
Mike
Because Dr. John Bradfield, the fella who designed the bridge, rigged it up so that when the ribbon was cut, that would cut a current in the wire and all sorts of thing were going to happen, cannons go off, planes fly overhead, ships start steaming under, firewworks fire……
Olive
Really? I never knew that!
Mike
I heard it on the ABC yesterday, Richard Glover’s program. Anyway, Bradfield had a premonition that something was not right and so he turned off the power….
Olive
….and De Groot came on his horse…..
Mike
Yes, Captain De Groot galloped up and slashed the ribbon. He was furious because Jack Lang was opening the bridge and not Sir Issac Issacs. Sir Issac was the Governor General, the King’s man in Australia and De Groot was a monachist . (All Bridge and Lang photos thanks to State Library of NSW)
Olive
I saw De groot do it. Slash with his sword! Just like that! But you know, Jack was cool as a cucumber and he just called for it to be joined again, and then he cut it properly.
Mike
…and presumably everything then went off as it should, the guns, the planes, etc?
Olive
I suppose so. I don’t remember all of that. I had to go back to work.Three kids to feed, remember.
Mike
Did you know that the De Groot people tried to kidnap Lang? We nearly had a coup in Australia. He was a member of an ultra right group called the New Guard and they lay in wait for Jack’s car. But he wasn’t in a Government car that day He was driving his own car, and they missed him.
Olive
I never knew that. What a mongrel he was!
Mike
And another thing you probably don’t know, Ollie. It was not De Groot’s own horse at the opening. He’d borrowed it from a Turramurra schoolgirl, Margo Wishhart, and it was called, Mick. That was the horse’s name, Mick.
Olive
Hmm!
Mike
Why was Jack so popular? Here he is in his office, by the way
Olive
It was the depression, see. And everyone was out of work. When Jack was elected in 1930, he refused to cut salaries like they told him to, and he would not let people be put out of their homes if they could not pay the rent. He stopped all that. Oh, he was real strong. The banks hated him I can tell you!.
Mike
Was he a good speaker? Here he is in some Sydney park.
Olive
I was there in that crowd.
Mike
How do you know? It looks like it’s all men?
Olive
I was there, right enough. Though he was speaking often, rallies and such. He was a wonderful speaker. So clear.
Mike
Sounds like you had a crush on him. Ollie!
Olive
I did!! I seen women go up to him in the street and kiss his hand. Women loved him, and not only women. Not like the politicians we’ve got today.
Mike
But they got him in the end, didn’t they? He was sacked by the Governor in May, 1932, just a couple of months after he’d opened the bridge. They got your hero, Ollie!
Olive
I know. I’ve never forgotten Jack and I never will.
Mike
By the way, you’ll be pleased to know that some of the old houses of the era still cluster around the approaches to the bridge.
Mike
And, what do you think of what I found here, Ollie?
Olive
I hope he gets down.
Saturday, March 17th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
This post is filed under Uncategorized.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
47 Responses to “The Coat Hanger and the Big Fella”
Leave a Reply
March 17th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
I hope everything works out with the lettuce man!
And I love reading your blob, Olive. I tell my friends all about it and they call you my “Australia Lady”. You’re an inspiration.
March 17th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I hope you can get something done about the poor lettuce man!
March 17th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
One of the things I love about your blog is that I get a peak into Australian history–something that I never had any clue about before. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to search for more on Captain DeGroot and The Big Fella
March 18th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Hi Ollie!
I just wanted to say you have a really good blog! I love reading about your life! (And somehow I’ve always been facinated of listening/reading about people’s lifes before fex. World War 2. My dad was born in 1940, and he remembers a few things from the war. I always loved to hear my grandparents and my father’s stories! )
I’ve added your blog to “my favorites” on the Pc, so I can follow your Blog on the way
Greetings from Lene, in Norway
March 18th, 2007 at 12:08 am
My chinese name is hua ning!(ĺ?Žĺ®?) Chinese is very hard! I know this is web”http://www.allaboutolive.com.au/”, but I can`t find where is sign in! I am a little faint! My msn is :urey2007@hotmail.com! Do you have MSN? Your blog is different with our chinese blog!!My blog has west lake of picture,and there has my photo!Hope to you like!! The web :http://www.blogcn.com/u/28/11/urey2006/blog/55005264.html
I visited you blog blog, Huaning. It’s very beautiful. I hope others will have a look too. How did you make those lovely superimpositions? The photos of the West Lake and the flowers are stunning. I know your city, Hanzou, and the West Lake bacause I made a feature film for children a many years ago which was partly set on the lake.
It was called, Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller. If I had a DVD of it, I’d send it to you you. Maybe I can ask the producer in Canada if it has been put onto DVD yet. It would be fun to see if you could find the chinese children from Hangzou who star in the film. They would be in their late 20’s now, and I’ve completely lost touch with them but often wondered what happened to them. if I can get a DVD of Tommy Tricker, would you like to do some research for me? Ollie thanks you for your site too. Mike the helper.
March 18th, 2007 at 12:12 am
oh!now china is March 17th at 21:19 pm !!
March 18th, 2007 at 1:16 am
It must have been something to see De Groot ride up to the ribbon with his sword drawn!
March 18th, 2007 at 1:46 am
Nice blog. It’s charming!
March 18th, 2007 at 1:46 am
I luv you!
March 18th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Hi Nan and Mike, I have sent an e-mail to Gosford council. I hope their decision can be reversed. Lynne at Bulli.
March 18th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
I love hearing your stories. Your stories are like having an Australian living right here in my house. You remind me of my grandmother with all her lovely stories from her childhood.
Take care, and don’t let Mike boss you around too much!
D’Arcy in Wisconsin, USA.
Yes, there is a danger of that. But when Ollie does not want to do something, that’s it. She’s steering th blog towards broekn hill now. I await photos. Mike the helper
March 18th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Hi Olive!
I just wanted to congratulate you on your amazing blog and great attitude!!
I’ve read about you on a magazine:”the most long-lived blogger lives in Australia”…so here I am to visit your blog!
Really interesting and charming with your stories from the past.
Greetings from Italy (you’re becoming famous in our country too!)
Alessandra
Alesssandra, It is good to have you vist us. As you know there are very many italians in Australia. I myself am of Italian background. Olive is english background. her mainden name was Dangerfield. Mike the helper.
March 19th, 2007 at 2:03 am
Hey Mike and Ollie…
Sometimes I think the burocratic things are just hard eveywhere in the world, not only in Brazil. It’s really sad what’t going on about the lettuce guy…I hope everything turns out fine in the end.
I loved this post aout the bridge. I must say that I know not much about Oz altough I work wirh lots of Australians and one of my best friends is a Polish-Australian ldy that works in Sydney for one of the TV channels there. So, cos of your blog I am “studying” a little bit of Oz history and I am amazed!
I am flying to China in a couple of weeks for a job and I will be there til August, I hope I can make it to Oz afterwards and maybe get the chance to meet you guys…who knows?!
Well…keep bringing this delightful pieces of history for us!
Take care.
Marcia.
We hope to see you too, Mike
March 19th, 2007 at 5:23 am
wow, just as well they turned the power off eh?! It’s a very nice place you have here and the stories are really entertaining. I hope everything works out OK with the lettuce man.
March 19th, 2007 at 8:26 am
Dear Olive and Mike,
Thank you so much for sharing these stories. They’re such wonderful glimpses into a life well lived. As Oscar Wilde once wrote, “Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.” And now, thanks to the internet, a girl in Missouri can read Olive’s diary and learn the amazing story of a fiesty Aussie.
I wish you the best in your blogging and look forward to joining you both on many more memory adventures!
(And I’ve written about Johnny’s lettuces. Here’s hoping!)
Much love,
Amy
Lovely quote Amy. I am thinking of lending a few of the DVD’s of Olive’s film, All About Olive, to people who write touching responses like yours. The idea is that you’d look at it and pass it on to someone else, and another commenter of your choosing. Interested? But they are pal DVDs and will probably only play on a laptop. Mike the helper.
March 19th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Hi… i think you have a lot of story to tell us. I don’t speak english very well but I’ll read your blog often.
More coming, Van. Mike for Ollie
March 20th, 2007 at 1:13 am
Greetings from Italy ! Congratulations for this blog and your age !
Thanks, Fiore. Mike for Ollie.
March 20th, 2007 at 1:34 am
Mike-
I was reading the comments on here, and saw your comment about Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller. This was my FAVORITE movie as a child, and right after I read your mention of it, I checked on Amazon, and there it was on DVD (which I am going to purchase sometime in the near future!).
Thanks for giving us all a chance to get to know Olive. She is a delightful lady, and I look forward to reading new posts by her!
Thanks-
Rachel from Tennessee
Thanks rachel, that’s great news about Tommy. Mike
March 20th, 2007 at 6:37 am
Hi Olive,greetings from Singapore here!luv readin ur entries a lot!keep up the gd work =)
Candace, you are th first from Singapore I think. Well done!. Mike for ollie
March 20th, 2007 at 6:57 am
Hello Olive and Mike!! Wow, that post was really interesting. It was very useful for me because I had never heard of that man. He must have been a really good man filled with good intentions; it’s incredible that he didn’t want people to be left without a home if they couldn’t pay the rent; that comes to show the kind of person he was. By the way: it’s nice to he was Olive’s idol at that time
BTW: Who is the boy of the last picture and what was he trying to do????
Lots of kisses from Spain. Your BLOB rules!!
Monica, that boy on the house is a plastic man. Looks real, doesn’t he? It’s a joke!
Yes, it seems that Jack Lang was great man. But if you were to ask any Australian school kid about him, they most likely would never have heard of him.
( I had never heard of him till I met Ollie) These days, we don’t admire politicians who fight for the underdog, since society is officially Darwinian, and the survival of the smartest, is the name of the game.
Mike and Ollie.
March 20th, 2007 at 7:53 am
Mike and Ollie,
I would like to say that I very much enjoy reading your blob. It reminds me of my great-grandmother, who was born in 1900 and lived until 2002. Unfortunately, I rarely saw her and never got to talk with her about her life during important world events.
I am in high school and my history class is learning about World War I. I was wondering if I could arrange an online interview with Olive (perhaps by e-mail?) about how the war affected her life and Australia. It would be a great oppurtunity for my class to learn from someone who experienced the war themselves, and it would certainly be a unique experience for me. Keep posting the blob!
Hayley
Hayley, I am sure we can set it up. Mike
March 20th, 2007 at 9:49 am
I wonder why the local TV station hasn’t broadcast the story of Johnny’s lettuces. I hope something will be done before it’s too late.
Imagine being there when the Harbour Bridge was opened! That’s amazing! It all sounds very exciting.
I wonder if Jack Lang was speaking at The Domain. I used to go there and listen to the speakers years ago. It was a great Sunday afternoon passtime.
Olive has an amazing memory Mike. What a character she is. Fiesty is a good description for her
It’s fun to visit you both while we’re in the midst of yet another snowstorm here in the Northeast US.
Please give my love to Olive,
Kerri xoxo
Yes, Kerie, I remember speakers corner in the Domain as well. It may well have been there that Ollie heard Jack Lang.. She says it was just a short walk from the city pub where she worked as a barmaid. But Jack regulary addressed massed rallies.
We are still hoping they will broadcast the lettuce story, Kerri. As for the radio talk show, Alan Jones, he with the power, supposedly, to share the universe, I tried to get on the program myself on Johnny’s behalf, but the number is constantly busy.
I guess the regulars have some sort of automatic redialing system which enables them to push their way through the telephonic queue. How does a busy lettuce man or a blob helper, like myself, compete?
Johnny has till the end of the month, and then he has to leave. He does not strike me as the sort of guy who will practice civil disobedience. Mike for Ollie
March 20th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Hey Olive, we have something in common, you may have been there the day the harbour bridge was opened,can you believe this, my mum was born on the day it opened…Yes she was 75 on the 19th…
Carol, Your mum should be given free lifetime crossings. Ollie and I will work on it. Mike
March 20th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Dear Ollie!
I loved your recent posts. I’m very interested in reading all these stories. It’s living history.
Mike! Can I have your e-mail address? We could discuss the Van Gogh-topic further
Hugs
Vica
I am very curious as to what Vica wants to discuss. I have a theory, not yet shared with Ollie, that Vincent did not cut off his ear. Well, not alone. That it happened in a struggle with Paul Gaugin. I will explain if pressed. Mike the helper
March 21st, 2007 at 3:53 am
It get´s me every time:) awesome story
Love
Siggi
Siggi has written the letter below letter to Gosford Council on behalf of Johnny Bosco, the lettuce man. Thanks Sigge, Mike and Ollie.
Dear (local) politicans
Please let the lettuce man go on with his work. Sometimes it´s good to bend
the rules so that good may blossom.
If there will no be any change in this matter, I will further send this
“matter” to the University of Iceland, the law department to be precise. Im
pretty sure that the student´s there will not mind assisting a lettuce farmer
and a 107 year old women. This matter is really making Australia look BAD,
and there´s no need to look BAD!
Signed, Siguraur.
March 21st, 2007 at 3:53 am
un abbraccio tenera vecchietta…
March 21st, 2007 at 6:20 am
Hello, Mrs Riley!
I ‘m french, and I don’t speak very well english… I’ve heard of you at the TV…
CONGRATULATIONS!!! It’s very nice to have a blog!
Best regards, Florence Carton.
Bonjour Florence. C’est pas un problem que vous parlez pas Anglais tres bien. Moi, je parle francais et je peux traduire. Michel, L’assistante.
March 21st, 2007 at 7:26 am
Dear Mrs,
I am a French Woman, and I adress you best a lot of best Congratulations for your blog and your very nice health. Long life for you from France. Sincerely your’s. Babou
merci, babou. Mike et olive
March 21st, 2007 at 9:49 am
Bonsoir.
Je viens de dĂ©couvrir votre blog et bien que je ne parles pas très bien l’anglais, je vous dis FELICITATIONS (congratulations) et je vous embrasse (I kiss you)
Good Kiss of France
Bizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Joëlle
Merci, Joelle. J’espere que vous allez continuer de lire les histoires d’Olive, Michel, L’assistant.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:05 pm
cialis
news
March 21st, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Thank you for the beautiful glimpse into history! You two are quite incredible. May I pass this blog address on to the listeners of my radio show in southwest Louisiana?
Niki
KYKZ 96.1
Of course you can Niki. You can even interview us if you like, Long distance calls cost nothing these days. Mike and Ollie
March 21st, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Hi, just a little Hello from France ! I wish u a nice day !
Merci, Dom. Mike et Ollie
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:37 am
Mike (and the lovely Olive),
You were querying about sharing the DVD of “All About Olive” and I would be delighted to see it and to pass it around to everyone I know (and that’s quite a lot of people!). I’m also a volunteer at a retirement home in St. Louis and I know the community there would love to reminisce with Ollie! If you’d like, feel free to email me and we can sort through the details.
I hope you two are having a lovely day!
Amy
I’ll send you one Amy, another is going to Norway, England, and hopefully to Brazil. Mike and Ollie
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:51 am
Hi.
I comment to you at your third post.
I’m from Croatia, have only 13.
I’m so happy because you answer to me.Actualy, your helper Mike.
I will suggest your blog to my friends.
Enjoy!
Hi, agela. Glad you came back to us. What’s new with you? If you send a photo of Croatia, I’ll show it to Ollie. Your English is very good for 13. Katya learnt English when she was your age. Ollie doesn’t speak a foreign language. It was very rare for her generation to do so. Australia was heavily anglo saxon till the Italians began arriving after the second world war. Now, we have all sorts of people here, Croatians too. When i hear the name of your country, I think of a frog croaking.
I am so frustrated waiting for these photos of Annie and Danny so i can continue the 8th post. Lorrain has disappeared. I think I’ll jsat do the text. Mike for ollie
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Dear Ollie and Mike,
I learn and Italian, too.
thank you for the compliment for my English. I’ve got A
My uncle lives in Sidney, and he comes to Croatia every 2 years.
What can I say for Croatia?
It’s a small country in Europe, very famous with tourists, had a beautiful sea (Adriatic sea), a tie is from Croatia… Croatian people, her country calls Hrvatska. Maybe hard name to say for you.
I will send a photos another time.
Can i get your e-mail?
Bye-bye
Of course, Angela. (email I mean) I have a 14 year old daughter, Ellen, and olive has recently discovered a 12 year old great great grandaugher she did not know she had. Mike.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:48 pm
Ok.
Salute Ellen!
March 26th, 2007 at 11:07 am
This Canadian is still reading your stories Riley!! I can’t wait for more. It’s just turning Spring here, and your stories sound so warm.
More warmth to come. Lori-Ann. We’ll run some more photos of culloden. Mike and Ollie
March 28th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Hey olive, my name is Skyla and I’m a college student in Tasmania. I just thought you should know that we just did an assigsment on you..You are so I amazing. I would love to met you.
Hi, Skyla, so glad you got this assignment. Do you think you’ll visit after the assignment is over? That’s the real test as to whether Olive’s blog is interesting or not. Also, we are curious about the circumstance surrounding the assgnment. What it was exactly? Who gave it to you and for what course? Are you free to tell? I’ll sent you an email so you can anser that way if you wish.
PS. I translated you message from Textlish into written English because Olive has a lot of foreign visitors who might not be able to understand Textlish. I hope you dont mind. Mike and Ollie
March 28th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Continuing to enjoy your “blob,” Olive. Fascinating to see so many comments from so many different countries as interested as I am in what you have to say. When you talk about your youth I’m reminded of so many stories my mother told me as she was born the same year as you, grew up on a farm in the U.S. It’s nice to see how your experiences are the same and how they’re different. Do keep blobbing with Mike’s help. I’m still hoping The Lettuce Man is not put out of business, but not many days left.
Thanks for reminding me Joared. I must right Johnny Bosco and see what the latest is. I think he’s pretty much resigned to his fate. Did you write to the council? It’s worth doing. Mike and ollie.
March 30th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
I am so glad you are writing this blog..It is very interesting and well written. Keep up the good work.
I live in Florida, USA.
April 1st, 2007 at 4:05 am
Olive can you give the Internet world contact information or Web sites for the powers that be who want to put The Lettuce Man out of business.
Perhaps if they get lots of publicity something will change.
It’s already there, Rose. In post 10. Mike the helper
June 17th, 2007 at 4:59 am
[…] and blogs at The Life Of Riley recounting her life experiences. Her experiences take us to 70-80 years back. As she can’t see well all the posting is be done by her blogging assistant.
Thanks for linking to Olive, Tech Orchard. Mike the helper
August 4th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Wow! Fancy seeing the opening of the Sydney Harbour bridge! This really brings that part of our history to life for me; thank you.
October 17th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
[…] Ad esempio, mentre il 17 marzo l’Australia celebrava i 75 anni del ponte del porto di Sydney, Ollie si permetteva di postare un emblematico “Io c’ero, ecco cosa accadde quel giorno del ‘32″. […]
April 28th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Great Stuff !!
I love the old sydney stories.
I had a lunch party in germany to celebrate the bridge opening 75 years ago.A lot of my friend thought I´m nuts, having a party in Germany to remembering an australia bridge….. I couldn´t be down under at that time. My next trip to Sydney and OZ( it will be my 8th or 9th …) will be in Jan 2009.
All the very best Ollie.
Katrin, Germany
July 18th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
[…] the world over the years, stories about the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in March 1932 (see “The Coathanger and the Big Fella”) to a funny story about some of her friends that “peed over the […]
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Hi Mike and Olive,
Over coffee today (in Ireland)my colleague Evelyn O Farrell recounted the story of De Groot, a relation of hers, to me as I head to Oz on Tuesday. When we googled it lead to your fascinating blog. My experience of The Bridge is in 1973 I drove from Perth to Sydney in an old Holden with a surfboard on the roof and lost it in the crosswinds on the bridge.
I was involved in the building of ae Electricity station in Gladstone, Central Queensland then with very interesting trade union experiences (as a labourer). Cant wait for Oz.
Rory