Blaxland Newsagency

My grandparents bought a business in Blaxland in 1947 for 400 pounds, when the town had around 150 people. It was a small tight knit, growing community.

The original “shop” that they bought was a house with a table of newspapers and magazines on an open verandah. Our family closed in the verandah and expanded the business to offer dry cleaning, photo developing, books, toys, stationery, icecream, drinks and confectionery. With my Dad running the post office at one end, the shop became a busy spot from dawn till dusk.

Newspapers arrived by van from Sydney around 4am. In the early 50’s my grandfather rolled the papers and delivered them by car in the dark before going to his job at AE Goodwins in St Marys. My Dad took over delivery in the mid 50’s.

The shop was across the road from Blaxland railway station and opened at 6:00 AM with papers for early travellers. There was always a rush at 7:00 AM before the fast train to Sydney, the “Chips”, arrived. Regulars had their name written on the top of the paper. If a customer was late for the train Mum would meet them at the door with their paper. Small town.

It didn’t matter when the shop was closed, so long as the house lights were on, people knocked on the door. “Knew you’d be up”, they would say. We were a beacon on the highway for out of hours visitors. Lost travellers, weary hikers, swaggies looking for work, police wanting local knowledge, smokers desperately needing to buy cigarettes, a woman needing a safe place before the next train out, an unkempt man with a bleeding arm who Mum patched up with a bandage and Dad treated with smokes and a lift to Penrith, who later turned out to be an escaped prisoner, causing another after hours visit from Sgt Cleary. The newsagency was more than a place to buy papers and cigarettes, It was our home.