Christmas Snapshot: 1992

Next Monday, we will celebrate Christmas. As customary here, we will head back a generation to see how Sydneysiders marked this special time of the year 25 years ago.

Australia was still reeling from the effects of the recession "we had to have". The economy was growing again, yet people were still losing their jobs as unemployment reached 11%.

Belts were still being tightened.

There was still plenty of Christmas Cheer.

On November 15, Grace Bros held its Christmas Pageant. No one knew that this would be the final one. I remember watching it on Channel nine at home. The turnout was massive. Grace Bros claimed 500 000 attended while one source reported only 10 000 attendees. As The Sydney Morning Herald reported on November 16, there were "alot of children" lining the 2.1km route. An estimated 5000 followed Santa inside Grace Bros City Store. They even published a photo of people sitting on the roof of one of the entrances to Town Hall Station.

Christmas Specials

I love sharing them each year. This year I've covered different types of products.

Woolworths

Woolworths had plenty on offer:

And extended trading hours during the week.




Grace Bros

 

Lots of great toys on offer (including computers).



Kmart

Big W

Pauls Warehouse

Angus & Robertson (Hurstville)

For the first time this year, I'll add TV schedules because they make great comparisons.

One program on Christmas Eve that hasn't changed has been Carols by Candlelight (Nine Network), except in recent years it has been moved forward by an hour. Ray Martin was the host.

And there were some Christmas Specials during the day on Christmas Eve. A highlights package of John Martin's Christmas Pageant (Adelaide) would entertain those on Channel Seven. Note that it was held in November. This is no longer screened in Sydney each year.

Christmas Day

Carols in the Domain was staged on December 19 attracting approximately 100 000 people to The Domain. It was their 10th annual concert, hosted by Barry Crocker & Jackie Love.

Source: Wilkins, M. 1992. "Carols by candlelight bring joy to thousands". The Sunday Telegraph, December 20 11.

For those who could not make it to the city, had the option of Carols by Candlelight at Parramatta Stadium on December 20, featuring Julie Anthony and an all-star team of John Williamson, Kamhal, Gina Jeffreys and The Deltones. 

Source: St George. 1992. "Carols by Candlelight: Stars Over Parramatta: Sunday 20 December" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 19: 13. 

The Daily Telegraph Mirror on December 24, looked at how some were planning to spend the day.

In the same edition (Late Final), it also reported on the Christmas rush at the Sydney Fish Markets at Pyrmont.

Source: Anon. 1992. "Shoppers jam fish markets". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 24: 2.

What services could you get over the holiday period? Find out below:

Below is some coverage of Christmas Day as reported in The Daily Telegraph on December 26.

The Sydney Morning Herald on December 26 reported on the annual gathering of backpackers and tourists at Bondi Beach.

Source: Signy, H. 1992. "The colonial Christmas: beach, brolly and beet". The Sydney Morning Herald, December 26: 2. 

This is only a snapshot of how Sydney marked Christmas in 1992. Everyone will have their own experiences and memories.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

Christmas Snapshot: 1991

Christmas Day is tomorrow and I thought I'd share with you how Sydney marked the big day 25 years ago.

Australia was coming out of recession by the end of 1991, but the impacts were still being felt. Unemployment was yet to peak and our country and the world saw some big changes.

Just one week before Christmas, Australian got itself a new prime minister - Paul Keating. He defeated Bob Hawke in a leadership ballot 56-51. After more than 8 1/2 years, Hawke became the first Prime Minister from the Labor party to be voted out by their own caucus. Keating would later reign over Australia for four years.

Below is some coverage from the major networks of the change of leadership.
 

If the political chaos in Canberra or the economy didn't impact on you, you might have had your travel plans thrown into disarray when Compass Airways collapsed on December 20.

And there was the end of the Soviet Union on Christmas Day itself.

You ask with a poor economy - What was on special? If you had a job, how should we spend our dollars? Below are a few advertisements that were published by Grace Bros in The Daily Telegraph Mirror in the lead up to Christmas.

The discount department stores had some of their own bargains.

 Some were happy to wait for the Boxing Day sales to snap up their Christmas gifts.

Source: O'Callaghan, L. 1991. "Shoppers Wait for The Sales". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 19:21. 

Yes, you could shop on a Sunday as shops were allowed special permission to trade on Sunday. Major retail centres in Sydney had been allowed to have their shops trade on Sunday e.g. Parramatta. Within 12 months, all retailers in Sydney would be allowed to trade on a Sunday.

It was interesting to read an article from The Sydney Morning Herald on December 24, 1991, which reported that gifts tended to be geared towards family use. The gift may have been intended for one person, but to be shared around e.g. board games or sporting equipment.

Grace Bros launched the Christmas Season with their 3rd annual pageant on November 24. I couldn't find anything from the papers relating to the pageant itself. 

  

Carols in the Domain was a near washout with only 4000 braving thunderstorms and rain. In fact, it nearly got called off. Master of Ceremonies was Barry Crocker and Jackie Love.

  

Source: Gibson, A. 1991. "Singing in The Rain: Only 4000 carolers brave it at the Domain". The Sunday Telegraph, December 22:17. 

I did manage to find a video on Youtube of Judith Durham singing that evening along with the finale.

As usual, British backpackers descended on Bondi and were treated to the perfect summer day with 15 000 present. However they did leave a big mess that lingered into Boxing Day.

Source: Skelsey, M. 1991. "Bondi Rubbished: Anger as beach left like a tip". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 27:3.

It was mentioned that those flying had some problems getting to their final destination if their airline had gone out of business. Train commuters had their issues too if they were heading north to the Central Coast and Newcastle. 

Finally, what were the specials at the Stocktake Sales that followed for those who ended up holding off on their gift buying or had any cash left?

 

They were going for broke... 

Source: Thorp, D. 1991. "Big shops go for broke". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 27:1 & 2. 

And the final wrap up.

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I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and keep safe as you celebrate. 

Christmas Snapshot: 1990

Christmas is on this Friday, and this week we focus on how Sydney marked Christmas in 1990.

1990 wasn't as a dramatic as the year before, but Australia was entering the recession "that we had to have". In November, Paul Keating delivered the news that the nation was going to dread.

So Christmas 1990 was going to be tough for some and the fear of losing one's job or income would see some keep their cash in their wallets.

It was up to the retailers to persuade you to put your fears aside as these advertisements show.

Grace Bros were happy to save the best deals until the last moment, a bit of a forerunner to some of the deals you see in the lead up to December 25.

Source: Grace Bros. 1990. "We've Left The Best 'Til Last (Advertisement). The Sunday Telegraph, December 23: 18.

Source: Brashs. 1990. "Brashs 4 Day Christmas Sellout (Advertisement)".  The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 21: 22. 

And Woolworths promised lots of specials.

Source: Woolworths. 1990. "Christmas brings you Lower Prices (Advertisement)". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 19: 56-57. 

As with 1989, retailers were permitted to trade on the two Sundays in the lead up to Christmas Day (December 16 and 23) which actually required legislation by the NSW Government to be passed before it was approved. Sunday trading was generally still not allowed in NSW.

The Christmas Season in Sydney had begun over a month before. On November 11, Grace Bros put on their second annual Christmas Pageant which began the Christmas season as an estimated 200 000 lined city streets to welcome Santa Claus to Sydney on November 11. The parade was held under sunny skies as celebrities and Santa himself was paraded down Macquarie, Market and George Streets through to Darling Harbour.

Source: O'Rourke, J. 1990. "200 000 join parade". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, November 12, 4-5. 

Carols in the Domain was held on December 22. It had an earlier starting time than today (7:30pm) and the Electricity Commission replaced Esso as the main sponsor.

Source: Anonymous. 1990. "Carols in the Domain". The Sunday Telegraph, December 23: 4. 

Western Sydney had their major carols event to compete with those in the east. On December 16, 40 000 packed Parramatta Stadium for the St George Carols by Candlelight.

Christmas 1990 didn't produce the dramatic news events that shaped the following Christmas, but bushfires on the northern beaches tried to put a dampener on celebrations. Fires swept through suburbs including Wahroonga, North Turramurra, Forestville, Killarney Heights, Terry Hills & Allambie Heights on December 23. Around 20 homes on the Central Coast were destroyed by fires. Cyclone Joy was also menacing Far North Queensland but was downgraded to a tropical low by the time it crossed the coast near Townsville.

The front page of The Sydney Morning Herald on December 24, 1990, with some amazing pictures of bushfires on Sydney's Northern Beaches. 

On Friday, I was taking some Christmas themed photos in the city, and one of my stops was the Queen Victoria Building, where their Christmas tree just becomes more and more ornate each year.

Photos taken by the Author. 

Compare that with 1990, which was quite modest in my view.

Source: Bishop. K. 1990. "Artificial Christmas trees - a growth industry". The Sydney Morning Herald, December 22: 3. 

Next week, New Year's Eve 1990 is our focus and then we will scale back to one entry for the month of January. Given the huge interest in old property advertisements, I'll keep them going and that also gives me time to research.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.