Premier Blinds

The Diaries of Russell James Sparrow 1908 to 1991

On that next day Colin went to New Guinea, as he did at intervals, and other places too to conduct clinics, and Jean and I took him to the airport.

Shortly after we got home a message came through to say that I had secured the post and would I go again to see Mr. Best on Saturday June 3rd. This pleased me I can tell you, after being told that this was a young man’s country and there was no hope for anyone over 40! and I was 59! I obtained my driving licence and then on the Saturday I went to the headquarters of Premier Blinds in Windsor and was shown around. I was introduced to Harold Bacon who would be my mentor and to other members of the staff who were proud to show me the 2 way radio system recently installed.

In the meantime we had rented a flat, one of three in a converted house in Toowong. Queensland was known as the backward State, lots of the suburbs were without mains drains and with B class roads, which consisted of a tarmac centre and strips of gravel on either side. I started work on June 5th spending that day in the office and was lent a Ford Falcon ‘Ute’ until I was established, which didn’t take long because the very next day I was sent out on my own. For the rest of that week and the following week I went out with one of the measurers. We moved into the flat on June 7th and on Saturday Jean and family came to tea. Fiona stayed over the weekend because Monday the 12th was a Bank Holiday. We shall never forget that weekend because Brisbane was visited by a frightening tropical storm a) frightening to us because we had never experienced rain and wind of such intensity and b) our flat was roofed with corrugated iron. The noise 72

The Diaries of Russell James Sparrow 1908 to 1991

was as bad as the blitz and lasted for hours, there was enormous damage everywhere. The flat was situated halfway down a hill and the force of the water had taken the soil from the gardens above us and deposited it at the foot of the hill. The next day men were barrowing the soil back up the hill to their gardens. We were fairly near the Brisbane river and we walked down to see if it was in flood, and it was!! Riverside hotels, houses and streets were all under water, and as the water in the river tore out to sea it carried trees, dead animals and people’s furniture. Our factory which was near Breakfast Creek flooded to a depth of 12 feet in places and all the available staff had spent the Saturday night and all day Sunday rescuing materials and equipment from the awning factory. We were to see and hear more of tropical storms but none as bad as that one. On Monday June 16th I started on my own in a new Ford Cortina car

PIL 571. I was allowed the use of the car for private purposes together with free petrol within a certain radius of the city and for holidays

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The Diaries of Russell James Sparrow 1908 to 1991

a free allowance of petrol to cover 500 miles. Not bad, eh? I started by introducing myself to all the architects in the city and then out to the various suburbs and on to house builders, property developers, industries, hospitals, prisons, T.V.

Brisbane Cricket Club

studios, churches, army and navy barracks and married quarters, Queensland University at St.Lucia, Brisbane Cricket Club at the famous “Gabba” ground. This in turn led to my being responsible for measuring, quoting and obtaining orders for work at all these places. At the end of July we had a 2 day Sales Seminar at one of the hotels when all the branch managers and management staff and the managing and measuring staff from H.Q. met for discussions and policies etc. This concluded with a dinner, plenty of drinks and a cabaret. Harold Bacon introduced me to the various managers as a ‘pom’ and to one in particular as a fellow ‘pom’. To our mutual surprise it turned out that he came from Baylham, at one time worked as a carpenter in Needham for Theobolds and had a father living in Claydon. Small world!

The Royal Brisbane Show is held every year in August at the Exhibition Ground, a permanent and well-planned site commonly referred to as the Ekka. This caters for everything and everybody, lasts a week and has a daily attendance of about 130,000 people. We had a stand and all did various times from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. manning it. As well as the usual displays of bands, gymkhanas etc.. there were sheep-shearing and timber felling contests and we were most impressed by the very well attended “Speed the plough” service which

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The Diaries of Russell James Sparrow 1908 to 1991

was held in the arena on the Sunday. I well remember the occasion because we wandered into the arena looking for a good position to sit when I spotted some seats in the grandstand and made a beeline for them only to be stopped and asked what organisation we were representing. My answer was the good old B.B. whose button-hole badge I was wearing and we were put in seats close to the Governor of Queensland, I learned afterwards that the grandstand had been reserved for V.I.Ps.

We exchanged visits with another couple from Suffolk whom I met in an architects office, the wife had at one time worked with my friend Cyril Whitehead. The third Suffolk man I met was in a builder’s office in Kenmore, as it turned out the firm were responsible for Colin and Jean’s house which they were having built when we first arrived. I questioned him about a building term that he used while we were discussing a project. The Aussies use a different pronunciation and he revealed that he came from Combs and was a friend of the Knight family who were customers of F.Sparrow and sons!.Then in 1968 we entertained Rosemary Ince whose father ran the gents outfitter in Stowmarket. She was on her way home from New Guinea where she had been working as a nurse/teacher for the Methodist church.

We became members of the City Congregational Church and choir, and throughout our stay we were both actively involved in church work as well as other interests. For example Mum was a volunteer worker in the office of the U.N.O. and we were both members of the Queensland branch which met periodically in Brisbane. Mum joined the Country Women’s Association, the Aussie W.I. and was a member of their district choir. The members in the ‘outback’ had their monthly meetings by radio where each sheep station or whatever had its own receiving and transmitting set and this method was applied to some of the children’s education in very remote parts. As well as the main airport for the city there was a 75