Old Drinking Holes ..Rockers etc.
just thinking about many a pissy run had at the Rockers . last time i went there about 30years ago at about 6 pm on a friday night i didnt see a sailor . is it still going ? i remember the 1 hour tea break in 1961 you were just getting the taste for a beer and they tipped you out for a hour .you wandered around like lost sheep or got a couple of bottles and went over to the domain. another great place comes to mind "The Bognor". they used to have a whole bench of rums poured out ready to go just put in the coke they must have made a fortune from the under weights . saw some bloody good floor shows there surfie music was in ,Ventures,Shadows, Beatles were just starting ..and after wards fell down the steps more than once not drunk mind you just slightly confused and just tripped over me bell bottoms . Kings was another pussers hang out used to play the juke box and chat up squaries another top spot was the Civic which was shared with the chockos ..in melbourne we used to go upstairs to the lounge at the London for starters then stagger around to Barbeetes where everything was bolted down and the juke box was in a steel cage. Jim Carey and i one afternoon played the same record for 20 or more times straight :twisted: (i wonder wonder who wrote the book of love) they certainly didn't love us :roll: we got told to piss off and the sea going patrons threw us out.. i still dont why. it was great song. i can still hear the groans and yelling and bitching now. of course we went quietly.. :lol: jesus those stairs were hard and i think i only touched the bottom one. talk about the flying cook ...maybe some of the more mature ex pussers cooks might have some good stories to tell about these great hotels and dens of inicquity.. shutters down scrans off.. Johnno

Good thread to start Johno Drinking dits we all have one or a dozen to spin and no doubt we will be be in fine form at the reunion.Yeah i don,t know how rockers is going these days I have heard its gone all Yuppie now and that wouldn't surprise me.A lot of the young sailors were heading to the rocks when Left in 1991 and were drinking cocktails and spirits I think the pub was the Brooklyn for memory i went a couple of times but always ended up back at Friscos.Allas a lot of the places mentioned were not frequented by me when i joined in 71 Of course i had heard them mentioned in dispatches. I can never recall going to the Bognor , Kings , or the civic but im led to believe they were good runs. Now for the dit some of you may have heard it but well worth a rerun .It was closing time at rockers and as usual there were your crowd of drunken sailors hanging around There was this little chiawawua dog tied to a post waiting for his owner And one of the sailors feeling a tad bloated decides to have a spew and without looking spews over the poor dog Carrots and peas ans a half eaten hot dog all over the dog he looks down at the dog And Says Christ "I cant remember eating that" That dit done the rounds for some years and it originated at the Rockers . The Venus Room and The Chevron and Texas Tavern And Rockers And the Friscos were my favourite haunts in those days and the Eastern suburbs league club was a popular Run if you got sick of the Cross. Thanks for starting this thread Johnno it will generate a few replies thats for sure keep well mate Regards Quinny

Old Drinking Haunts
Well a flash from the past , how the Memories come flooding back.............The Rockers,The Bells , The Frisco,Royal Standard,Bogna,Kings , The Hasty Tasty ,Quarterdeck Bar ,The Fleet Club starring The Rum session and the Snake Pit . In Melbourne we had The London , Barbetes,The White Ensign Club on a Sunday Etc. What do pussers cooks do today for a "Pissy Run?"

Yes Cliff With all this political correctness These days you are probably right. Wouldn't have done in our days when we all called a spade a spade and not a shovel.Dont Know what the cooks do and where they go for a run ashore these days .But it would be a fair bet they wouldn't be having as much fun as we did in my time in pussers. How many 2nd duties did i do while alongside when i just bluffed me way through with some of the biggest hang overs you could imagine i used to come good around lunch time and ya know what, at knock of time it was a quick dobes and start all over again We would have a race to see who would be at the rockers or Friscos first Oh the memories gives you some thing to talk about on Anzac Day .

Here is an advertisement for the Rock'n'Roll Hotel in Bourke Street. The advertisement dates back to 1962. The location given is 'East Sydney'. I wonder if it is the same Rockers we knew at Wooloomooloo. (The street is the same at least)

Cliff it is the same pub but is now called by its original name the Macquarie hotel called down there whilst in Sydney last year for the first time in twenty years . There was another pub at the Cross where we used to drink at in the sixties it was the Mayfair up behind the Chew an Spew always good for the ladies. and anything else

:grin: Thanks for the update Budgie and a big welcome to the forum too mate.

City of Sydney Razzle on a friday night , now there was some variety . Mostly over 40 , but all wanting to mother a young sailor all to pieces over the weekend . Not bad for off-pay weekend . Surprising talent too!! :shock: 8)

What about the other side of the harbour. Celebrated quite a few birthdays, postings etc, etc at the Manly Hotel, also the occasional visit to the Mosman pub and Balmoral. Had some good smokies on the beach as well :grin: I was in Sydney last month and couldn't believe just how much the Cross had changed. Don't like it now, no character like it used to have. My sister took the wrong turn coming off the bridge and we tried to detour down Roslyn Gardens which is now one way. Just about went back over the bridge to go out to Vaulcluse :? . Know why I live up north now, don't think I could handle the traffic down there and all the tunnels, etags etc. Back to the simple life :grin: