another problem, solved

We were most intrigued by this bit of advertising revealed when whatever the building was on the corner of Nicholson St and Brookes Crescent North Fitzroy, was demolished:

Actually I suppose it is possible to look at Google Earth and see what the building was...

It was not one but two buildings, differently beautiful. Imagine perpetrating that demolition. You'd have to hate yourself. 

Anyway, we wondered what the ad was for, so strangely phrased. A bit of newspaper searching and it came up - the very oddly worded 'Monkey Brand won't wash clothes but with it the cook cooks in clean dishes.'

This is from the Hobart Mercury. I won't bother giving an exact date because the ad is replicated all over the place in newspapers from the first decade of the 20th century. 

It seems there were two versions but this is about all it ever was, apparently. 

The only other thing I have to say about Monkey Brand and its advertising is that it seems to have been very prominently advertised in newspapers in Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania but seemingly not as much in Victoria,* in fact of the Victorian papers I can only find one advertisement (and that was in Ballarat). But maybe it advertised in different ways in Victoria - well, obviously it had at least one wall advertisement.

I am still pissed off these houses were demolished and also that only this much of the ad remains on the wall of 554 Nicholson St but as all the smart people say, 'it is what it is'. 

*Don't know about SA or NSW - you check that out for yourself OK

homicide episode 12, 'the decimal point'

This one is actually a pretty tight script and quite compelling. It could have been a decent film. It's essentially about four men who steal money and only one of them knows where it is hidden. The hiding place is threatened (it's going to be dug up for a dam) so he escapes and retrieves it. You don't need to know all the details, I mean, it's a good episode, watch it. 

The most interesting part of the episode IMO is the shots of Elgin St Carlton where the character of Lister, played by Owen Weingott, has his used car yard. 

Lister's car yard - Doran's tyre service was on the corner of Nicholson and Elgin. 

Humorous, I guess, moment when Lister sees the police coming and tries to drive off in one of the old bombs he sells, but the wheel comes off lol. 

This is the most interesting bit to me - a split-second shot of a tow-truck coming towards the car (for no obvious reason, he couldn't have called it, it comes about two seconds after his wheel falls off). the interesting bit is that this is a scene from the north side of Elgin, which was completely demolished a few years after this was filmed, for high-rise housing commission homes. 

I liked the fact that this was clearly (well, almost surely) people just assembling to look at some filming happening. But although they don't explain it in the show, it could just as easily be people assembling to see a car the wheel of which has fallen off. 

Weingott, by the way, had an amazing career and has one of the best-written wikipedia pages I've ever seen. Check it out just to see an artisan of wikipedia practicing their craft.  

Also in this episode (and by the way don't ask me, I know you were going to, why this text is right-aligned - blogger won't let me fix it) are Earl Francis, Jan Leeming,  who wikipedia reveals has had a career you couldn't make up,  Ronald Quinn, Roy Alexander (whose name for some reason I keep wanting to write as 'Royal Exander'), Nevil Thurgood, Kenric Hudson and  William Jeffries.

Oh, and there's a very strange exchange at the end which surely comes from someone saying 'we need twenty more seconds of dialogue - say something!' which is about breaking your sump going over a hump.      

Melbourne Age 4 February 1965 p. 29