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My father started a business at home repairing shoes. He then opened a shop near the picture theatre next to Brian Langdon's radio shop. Then there were new shops built in Garden St when the library was relocated. I spent a lot of time helping my father in the shop repairing shoes after I broke my leg going to school in 1954. I was in plaster for almost a year then my father bought me an old bike to strengthen my leg and I spent every weekend delivering repaired shoes around Yallourn as out-of-towners got preference in their repairs as they had to catch the bus home on a Saturday morning - there was no shoe repairer in Moe or Morwell at the time. Cliff Cleverley's father in Fairfield Ave used to sub contract some of the shoe repairs. Dad had a number of Greek Cypriots workiing for him repairing shoes. They were very skilled and used to take me to Meadow's cafe for morning tea and a long chat every Saturday morning. this became more meaningful to me later in life when I worked for the United Nations in Cypress where most business is conducted arond a coffee table in a coffee shop....it is a very important part of their culture. When I was in Grade 5, I thought I could throw a briquette over the house. I would have been successful had I been standing closer to the house. It was already on the way down by the time it reached the house and went through a window and hit my grandmother while she was sleeping on the bed. When my father sold the shop, we were told to leave Yallourn even though we were living in the house prior to opening the shop. We shifted to Newborough and I travelled by bus to the Yallourn High School after that.
Zenon Miltiadous moved in after we moved out.
Immediate Neighbours: No 12 - Mrs Boucher and son Jack (boarding house) No 16 - Newtons Mr and Mrs - Alan, ? , Brian, Janice and Garry
Nearby Neighbours: Across the road - Mr and Mrs Hamilton (kids Frank, Ian and Val) - Graskie and Milne (Bert the Mrs and Linda). Up the street to the west were Mr and Mrs Berry at 10; Cliff and Mrs Cleverley and Peter at 8 , Don and Peggy McMaster with Alan, Gregory and Ian at 6 (Bruce was born Later when they moved to Newborough) Mr and Mrs English lived to the east and across the road next to Milne.