Richmond Childhood Night-Time Paper Seller by Derek Kosbab

When I was 12 years of age, I was a paper-seller in Bridge Road Richmond, from the corner of Church Street moving west up the hill towards the city for about 100 yards. For some period of time I sold papers after school until early evening. Mostly, I stood outside of the ANZ bank and sold papers to passengers getting off the tram that stopped at the corner. One particular customer brought a paper from me every weeknight. We got to introducing ourselves. He had a funny name: Orme. Orme offered me a job as an office boy in the engineering factory just across from the corner in Church Street; and, so it happened that for two Christmas school holiday breaks I worked fulltime. Orme became a family friend and when dad lost his job at the Pelaco shirt and pyjama factory he became the storeman at the engineering factory and worked there for fifteen years.

My memory of selling papers is stuck permanently on Saturday nights and only in winter. During winter in Melbourne the nights can be very windy and cold; and, is the time of the year when the Victorian football code is played. Consequently, in those long-ago years in 1953, I would be on Bridge Road in the near-dark, windswept and cold, selling papers to motorists held up by the traffic lights on the corner of Bridge Road and Church Street. That is why this picture appears to be in darkish blues and greens: it is a night-time painting!

Two papers were available from street paper-sellers: the night-time Herald on traditional white newsprint and the Sporting Globe which was printed on pink paper. Every sports fan in Melbourne who was driving home from the horse races or football would wind-down the window of their car to get the Sporting Globe; and family-oriented folk would buy the Herald. In those days, every League football game was played simultaneously from 2.15pm on various grounds in the suburbs that gave name to the teams. For example, the Richmond Football Club team would play home games at the Richmond Football Ground and away games at the Collingwood Football Ground, Essendon Football Ground—or, Windy Hill as it was known—Fitzroy, South Melbourne, Footscray, Hawthorn, Geelong, or Melbourne played at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground. So, by the time I started my evening shift at 5pm, the result of every football game was published in the late afternoon/evening edition of the Herald. Also, the result of every horse race was known. The Sporting Globe not only published the results of the football and horse races but also published programs for the trots and dogs that would be run on Saturday night. Since television did not arrive in Melbourne until 1956 newsprint was the only way to get results or sporting events apart from the radio news.

To start my evening shift I would go to the newsagency, known in those days as the paper shop. The manager of the paper-shop would sit in a room at the back of the shop with a small window through which he would hand me twenty Heralds and twenty Sporting Globes. It was my job to either stand on the footpath near the corner, or take risks by walking onto the road in the dark where two lines of traffic came down the hill away from the city of Melbourne. The road was lit only by sporadic weak street lighting or the bright headlights of cars. Two lines of traffic would fit comfortably only when there wasn’t a tram on the road. When there was a tram at the corner, two lines of traffic would be held-up behind the tram as passengers left and boarded the tram. This was great for paper-sellers since it gave time to offer a paper to at least 20 cars, by almost running up the hill in-between and around cars, and sometimes, getting more than 10 sales in one quick session. Trams came along at 15 minute intervals. So, in the selling period between 5pm and 8pm there were approximately 12 traffic hold-ups when there were good opportunities for quick and numerous sales.

Often, by 7.30pm, there was less traffic and less sales; and, by this time, I was freezing cold and hungry. I had sometimes accumulated two or three shillings in tips from generous or booze-filled paper-buyers. I would spend some of my tips at the Greek’s fish and chip shop close by. A huge Greek man and his dark-haired wife would fry six pennyworth of chips with 2 potato cakes, and after sprinkling it with salt and vinegar would wrap the lot tightly in newspaper. Even with the top of the package torn-off to get to the chips, the contents would stay finger-burning hot for 15 minutes. Delicious and tongue-burning.

I always knew what time it was since the clock on the tall tower of the Richmond Town Hall was visible from where I sold papers; so, at about 8pm I would take my unsold papers back to the paper shop where the manager would tally my sales and pay my wages. Then, I did what every paper-selling boy in the shop did. I would by a Herald for myself and then dawdle around the magazines near the front of the shop away from the direct view of the manager; and, when I found a magazine of interest I would slip it between the pages of the Herald before leaving for home.

Acrylic on canvas: 500mm x 500mm