It’s Adrian Bo here, standing against the lunacy known as “Cancel Culture” and bringing to you another piece of our beautiful history in the Coogee Randwick community. I’m outside today number 155 Dolphin Street in Coogee. A hundred years ago in 1920, a local couple Bridget and William Stones opened the Stones Milk Bar on this particular site behind me. Bridget was born in Liverpool in the United Kingdom and was considered a formidable lady by the locals. Local kids would call her “mum”, and she was known to open a packet of cigarettes and sell them for three pence each back when society had no idea of the health consequences of smoking. Now Stones Milk Bar became famous all over Sydney for its milkshakes and fruit cocktails but particularly for its live entertainment on Sundays, where amateur singers would showcase their talent, the Australia Idol of the era if you like and it’s not a coincidence now that the Coogee Palace or the Coogee Pavilion now does something similar 100 years down the track. In fact, as a small venue this particular site launched many singing careers including Nessie Small, Tessie Hamilton and Richard Grey. Now during the second world war, Stone’s Milk Bar was packed with American servicemen. An amazing piece of history in particular is that Prince Philip was known to have been a customer here as a young bachelor naval officer, that’s amazing.

Now, when Bridget Stones passed away in 1948, the business was sold and turned into “Teen Cabaret” and “Stones Cabaret”, hosting rock ‘n’ roll bands. This was quite controversial at the time as the local area was quite conservative back in the ’50s. How things have changed in the Coogee precinct now. Johnny O’Keefe was born in Bondi Junction and was also an old Waverley College boy same as myself and I still remember hearing the tales of how Johnny O’Keefe was such a cheeky and quite a interesting character and eccentric character through the ranks and the eras and generations of Waverley College. And he became the first Aussie rock ‘n’ roll performer to make it big in the USA. He did his first gig with his band, “The Dee Jays” at the Stones Cabaret, here behind me back in 1956. The gig unfortunately began but didn’t end too well because it erupted into a massive brawl. Now, eventually the bar closed in 1967 and was reopened as a Hungarian restaurant then in 1978 it turned into the Coogee Comedy Theatre Restaurant and once again became a venue for live acts. Eventually this little pocket of Coogee history was demolished and replaced with the apartment building, that’s now behind me being 155 Dolphin Street.

However, a recent social media campaign by a guy named “Little Bobby” has led the RCC erecting a plaque to relate a summary of his history to avoid it being forgotten. So that’s a really good initiative there by RCC and also by that particular chap named “Little Bobby”. Now over my 31 years in selling in Coogee, I’ve helped transact hundreds of properties on Dolphin Street and the surrounding areas both as an auctioneer and as an agent. Now two properties I recently recall selling are an apartment at 88 Dolphin St & an apartment at 97 Dolphin St. Also, I’ve been very fortunate enough to actually sell two apartments at 155 Dolphin Street, which is the site in discussion today being apartments two and apartment seven on multiple occasions. Now in total there are 254 units and 26 houses on Dolphin Street, 30% being owner occupied, 70% rentals interesting anecdote there just given the interest in rental accommodation, being such close proximity to the beach here on Dolphin Street. Now, the average owner-occupier has lived here for just over five years, so that’s quite a transient population given the average for surrounding streets and suburbs would be double that around 10 years. Now I hope this has been of interest to you, and again, I’m really standing against Cancel Culture, it’s a misnomer and it’s really out of respect to people that have fought for us all over the world to bring us here where we are 200 years later as a great country enjoying the beautiful lifestyle that we do. Please enjoy the spring in Coogee and don’t forget, your home is worth more with Adrian Bo.