Kandos a Rare 20th Century Town
According to the Mudgee Guardian Kandos Stores had “a distinct air of progressiveness”. Double-fronted, two-story, with overhead balcony and paved entrance, it was built with CCCs locally manufactured ash and cement concrete blocks, 9 inches by 18 inches.
Billiards rooms were men's domain, a place for them to gather, gossip, loiter, play, bet, fight, smoke and scrub up.
The Greeks in Australia learnt by osmosis that a café was a good way to earn a living and give them financial security – a café, that is, that served Australian cuisine, not Greek.
The Depression had a devastating impact on Kandos property. At the second mortgagee sale in 1934 seven “fine” Kandos properties sold for a total of £135 (one property worth an estimated £800).
On 15 July 1933 Kandos Talkies would treat you to a double-bill, Beauty and the Boss, a “radiant romance, spicy and snappy – She had ‘IT’ but she hid it”; and “a sparkling satire Once in a Lifetime which reveals what goes on in the private offices of Hollywood film studios”!
As early as February 1920 the cement workers were agitating for a pay increase. The trouble was, the area was in severe drought, the company dams were empty and the company was importing 40,000 gallons of water by train daily.
That was Meg’s secret, like many women at that time. Keeping it secret enabled her to gain employment and a husband.
What could be more mood-altering than a dance hall that suggested a glittering French palace.
There is something about an orchestra that sets it apart from a band. A band swells in the open air. It is an exciting spectacle, its natural space a rotunda, a park or a main street. An orchestra shines under electric lights. It radiates romance, its natural space a ballroom or concert hall. It woos and charms, caresses and pursues.
Buildings have their history and also their mystery. The name alone, Cockroach Castle, is intriguing. When did the reputation of this building sink so low as to acquire that pejorative?
W B Murphy jumped out of on-line newspapers so many times I finally said, 'OK! I'll do your story.' But how to begin?
Kandos History 