Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Photo essay - a taste of Eastlakes

As you may have gathered from the pattern of posting across my blogs, I am having a bit of a struggle at the moment with writing priorities and directions given other things. Tonight, another very short photo post.

In Photo essay - a taste of Glebe markets, I tried to provide you with a taste of the variety in Sydney. Incidentally, drawing my basic description form Wikipedia, I said without thinking that Glebe was 3k south west of the CBD. It can't be! Glebe is north or north west from the CBD depending on where you draw the line!

Eastlakes, population a bit under 7,000, is 8k south east of the CBS. This is a different world from the cafe metro lifestyle of Glebe, but just as varied. 

This shot is of the small cafe strip. This one place where the older Greek men gather to drink coffee. They also gather on the chairs outside Woolworth's inside the centre. There they sit, yarn and pass the time.

P1010047  This is the Di Blasi barber's shop. I used to have my hair done here until I decided the shave my head. Note the sign one owner since 1956. The Greeks and Italians came to the area as part of the first big migration wave after the Second World War. Just down the road is the Geek Orthodox Cathedral

P1010041 Later came the next wave, those from Asia. This is the Chinese butcher's shop. The other one is Greek owned. A Thai temple is to be found just outside the shopping centre. Falung Gong devotees practice in the nearby park hoping to attract adherents. They are getting noticeably older, if not as old as the Greeks!

P1010042   Now comes a new wave of migrants. On Chinese New Year last year, I watched the Chinese dragon with full drum accompaniment prance past women in full hijab. Outside, the older Greek men drank their coffee and smoked their cigarettes. In Woolworth's, a dozen nationalities manned the check-outs. 

P1010038

This is not posh or metro Sydney. The shopping centre is surrounded by housing estates now being broken up. The prices in Woolworth's are up to 20 per cent cheaper than those in posher places. But it is a microcosm of a city undergoing fundamental change. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jim

Again your geography is askew? I think Eastlakes is around the golf courses which I've played in more athletic times, so is South East of the city, not South West?

Anyway, this and the last post are very interesting for the history and your observations. I remember traipsing around markets like that just as you describe - a sort of unwilling accomplice in the search for the latest bit of tat. (Although we did get some quite decent ceramic dog water bowls one time - which of course I then had to lug around for a couple of hours)

kvd

Jim Belshaw said...

Sorry for the delay in responding, kvd. I have been in Wagga Wagga. Annoyingly,I left my camera behind!

That's the second male roll after following, carrying. But in this case you seem to have inflicted it on yourself!