New Bondi will be old Bondi to somebody someday
I remember coming to Bondi around 1987 or 88 to come and stay at my brothers house. He took me to this bar called “Positive Vibrations” on that little section of O'brien street, between Hall and Roscoe. It was a Rasta Bar and not ever seeing anything like it, I thought it was one of the coolest places I had ever been. We hung out, my brother new everyone, I was wowed and amazed and then, somehow over time, it just disappeared from existence.
Before I moved to Bondi, I would come and visit my brother regularly. He lived right on the corner of Gould and Hall St. before that block was renovated. It was that typicaly beautifully shit Art Deco building. Brown, cool in temperature, wooden floors, small and old cockroach kitchen with black and white checkered tiles in the bathroom. It was when Sam’s Bondi Hardware was directly underneath on the corner before he moved a little further up Hall St, before he closed his business because of rising rents just before the restaurant with the same name opened up in the same spot. It was when Joe’s mini mart was on Hall Street, just opposite the now “old” post office. I saw him the other day. He never forgets to ask “ Hows your Bradda?”. Legend!
When I first came to Bondi, the place was falling apart. It was delinquent and there wasn’t the money that is here now. It had this magical feeling that was just cool. There wasn’t any million dollar fit outs of restaurants or bars and the realestate wasn’t off the chart like it is now.
When I first came to Bondi you could go to Yahabibi’s Turkish restaurant on Gould Street, Belly dancers on Thursday nights, and order 20 bucks worth of pot and smoke it in a big hooker bong on the floor cushions after your meal. It was just across the road from where the cop shop is now but wasn’t then, that spot was a public vegie garden.
We would go to the Bondi Hotel back bar, which is now General pants and Drake eatery and play pool. It was rough as guts. If you wanted to grab some take home beers, you’d go to the bottle shop on Gould St. where Sanoma bakery is. In fact, the Bondi Hotel took up that entire foot print from Gould Street through to Campbell parade. The only Thai food was Thai Flora on Hall St or Ploy Thai on Wairoa Ave. During the week, the streets where dead of a night time. As far as cafes, we'd go to the Lamrock cafe, Hall St Cafe where some bar is now or Millies, which was under the Bondi Diggers Club on Campbell parade, which isn’t there now either. At the bottom of the Diggers was a super dirty art deco public pool, in its own way beautiful. Brown Sugar was another Cafe that I loved, back when it was up in north Bondi before it was on Curlewis, but that was a little bit later. And the original Oporto’s at the North Bondi bus depot, before it was franchised but that was later too.
When I first came to Bondi, it was before Icebergs had been renovated and it was nothing to head down and jump up and over the turnstile gate for a late night swim, which we did often. It was beers at the icebergs club on Friday nights and parties. There was always house Parties. It was when the Hakoa Club in all its giant grey bulk stood tall and ugly on Hall St. before it became the Adina Hotel and the shopping complex beneath. Bates’ Milk bar was still on the corner before it became Platypus shoes. Nino’s seafood restaurant was there too.There was two fish and chip shops on Campbell parade. It was when the beach Road hotel was the Rex, The Royal Hotel was the fucking Royal Hotel, scary as shit and Old castle Pizza was across the road where the Corner House is. God I loved their pizza.
The beach has always been the beach, a lot cleaner now than it was but it had a mermaid statue on the rocks at north. It was when the skate park didn’t exist, only two half pipes on the promenade. It was all local owned shops on the beach front, McDonalds was met with loads of local resistance and had to fight hard to get their spot. To this day they don't fulfil there condition of approval of sending someone out every shift to pick up Maca's rubbish.
It was different. It was fun and cool and easy. It was local and affordable and creative and it was genuine and real. It was my Brother. It was Paul McNeil and Julie Bennet. It was Burt and Lulu, Carla, Simon and Jay, Dave Jackson and so many other people I would see almost daily.
Thats my old Bondi, which is so much different to my friends Greg and Chantelle old Bondi, who actually grew up here. Their old Bondi was wild. Which is so much different to my mother in law, Caz, her old Bondi was trams and the cinema at 6 ways. Fuck, imagine old Bondi to the Gadigal people before it was stolen from them?
The constant has always been the beach. It's what draws people here. It is what lifts the soul and makes you want to have fun and take that with you into your day and into your life. It’s that energy and playfulness that has washed into the immediate streets and people and places. And for as much as I like to bitch and moan about the constant change of the face of Bondi, that energy still exist.
My kids see it. My friends kids see it, feel it and live it. They're out being cool and having fun in the new Bondi with all its health and contemporary architecture and hip bars and eateries which in time will be their old Bondi to reminisce about. To sit back and say ”I remember when”.