Below is a 1969 newspaper advertisement from Gavan and Shallala promoting house and land packages at Revesby. Based on the map, the estate featured was in Beaconsfield Street and Wall Avenue. As for the house (illustration) featured in the advertisement, it is located at 133 Beaconsfield Street.
McDonald's Yagoona is Australia's first McDonald's restaurant, opening in 1971. It closed in 1994, following restaurants opening in Bass Hill and Bankstown, which took away business from the Yagoona store. In 2021, McDonald's reopened on the site, with a contemporary design incorporating historical elements from its first incarnation.
Source: Mason, D. 1994. "Original Macs faces the chop". The Sunday Telegraph, August 23: 7.
The closure of any McDonald's restaurant was rare back in that time. Since 2000, the closure of McDonald's restaurants has increased, but it is still outnumbered by store openings. Some closures result from a decision to relocate or in some instances beyond their control, e.g. McDonald's Pitt & Park Street closed to make way for the Sydney Metro around 2017.
Below is a 1969 newspaper advertisement from The Sun promoting Bankstown Square as the "Australia's Greatest Shopping Centre".
Source: Bankstown Square. 1969. "Bankstown Square Australia's Greatest Shopping Centre" (Advertisement). The Sun, June 19: 14.
Entry of Interest
In the 2000 Olympic Games, Bankstown hosted track cycling events at the Dunc Gray Velodrome in Bass Hill, which was built specifically for the Olympics. It is currently the only indoor cycling venue in New South Wales.
Did you know that Bankstown Council was to host Olympic road cycling events until The Sydney Morning Herald stepped in?
Why Bankstown?
The Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) had initially been selected for the Eastern Suburbs. The Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox Studios did not want the course running through its "front door".
In response, SOCOG moved the road cycling events to Bankstown because of lower operating costs and "fewer roundabouts". Track Cycling events were being hosted at Bankstown (Bass Hill), and their onsite media centre could be utilised by media agencies covering the road events.
The Sydney Morning Herald adds its two cents
On May 28 1999, The Sydney Morning Herald published a report on Page 1 written by Olympics Editor Matthew Moore. Two leading cyclists - Brett Dutton and Stephen Hodge, tested the course around Bankstown.
It was deemed "too flat" and would not attract leading international cyclists while praising the course running through the Eastern Suburbs.
SOCOG backflips
Days after the article was published, SOCOG withdrew plans to undertake the road cycling events in Bankstown on the grounds of traffic congestion on local roads. This decision was not welcomed by Bankstown locals, including Bankstown Council. A modified course for the Eastern Suburbs was prepared and ultimately was the route used during the Olympic Games.
e
Source: Trute, P. 1999. "A suburb betrayed". The Daily Telegraph, June 3: 9.
I can understand why Bankstown locals were unhappy, and it comes down to equity and the east vs. west rivalry that is so common in Sydney. Bankstown is real suburbia and would have given the locals an opportunity to experience the Olympic Games in their own neighbourhood without having to pay for the privilege or travel to the eastern suburbs to watch the race.
