Sunday, March 8, 2015

ASPIRATIONAL TEENAGER , JOHN HOWARD AND LUNA PARK

A piece  of  ephemera found in  North Queensland - a four page vocational guidance report  for  a  Sydney teenager in   April  1959 - has resulted in a  colourful  follow up  tale  about  the residents  of  a  street  in  that  capital  city.  
 
The report  was  for   Richard  Lionel Holliday , aged 14 years nine months , who lived  at 9 Milner Crescent, Wollstonescraft , a now desirable  North Shore suburb, not far from famous  Luna  Park .  In fact , the   man responsible  in 1935 for  the  removal from South Australia to Sydney of   Luna Park  , engineer  Ted Hopkins, also lived  in  the same crescent  , number 15,  his  property eventually selling  for the  first time  in 75  years  for  about $1.7million . In Luna Park today there is the Ted Hopkins Room, with great harbour views,  used  for lavish  wedding  receptions . 
 
Milner Crescent  is also  the same street  where John  Howard  and his wife  moved  after nearly 12 years in  plush nearby Kirribilli House  following  the  election defeat . Residents  noticed that three months before the election that saw the  PM lose his seat of  Bennelong  there was  building activity- a   new back fence , renovated windows  and  a  new roof on the garage - at  the  Howard  house . Some took this  as evidence that  Howard expected  to  loose  the  election.  He and  Janette  live  there  today. During the Liberal Party fight which resulted in Tony Abbott grabbing   leadership of the Opposition  by one vote from  Malcolm Turnbull , Joe Hockey, from nearby North Sydney , was  seen lumbering  up  the stairs  into  the  Howard  Milner  Crescent residence .  

The  report , signed by  the Director of  Youth Welfare  in  the NSW Department of Labour and Industry  , D. E. Rose ,  indicates  that   young Holliday  had expressed  a desire to  manage a  pastoral property, possibly a sheep station ,  and  was  advised to seek work as  a  jackeroo .  Also beneficial would  be  correspondence  courses  in  station bookkeeping or  wool classing . Diploma   courses at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College would equip him for employment as  an  agricultural field officer  or  agronomist; wool classing and  buying   were  other options .