The Dwyers
He went to see how Rich was going at Footscray and found things a bit out of order. He was not a good businessman and slowly, over a few years, the milk run was falling to pieces. So he went to board there and work the milk run up again to get Rich his money back. He sold out to Nolan, another milkman who was established in the district for many years. He was a kind man, your Grandfather, to do anything like that.
Manly, Sydney, from late '20s
The years passed and eventually, when next we came over to Sydney, Andy's health broke down. He suffered a bad bout of pneumonia which kept him in hospital with a collapsed lung. He was there for 6-8 weeks, eventually going to Walker Home to recuperate. Getting on his feet again, despite the Depression which was worsening, we went away to the country on a sheep station. His health improved and, having accumulated some money, we came back to Sydney and he started a business in Manly. We had a milk depot in Pittwater Road and he went yodelling around Manly under the name of White and Dwyer. They were in partnership as Jim White bought the cart and horse. They eventually broke up and J. White had half the run in the Fairy Bower area and Andy had his run in Balgowlah.
(Bill Dwyer - Andy and Ethel's son, and our father - tells of Andy's reputation as the yodelling milkman of Manly in his own memoirs.
- An electoral roll of 1930 shows that they lived at 47A Pittwater Road Manly. He is listed as "milk vendor" and she as a cook.
- However another roll dated 1930 lists them both at 26 Hereford Street Toxteth, he as a "station hand". There was a part of Glebe called Toxteth Estate from the mid 1800s until it was subdivided for housing in the 1900s.
- In the roll of 1933 they were both at 60 Whistler Street Manly, he as a "milk carter" and she as "home duties".
- In the roll of 1936 they were at 270 Bridge Road Glebe, he as a "labourer" and she as "home duties". Coincidentally, Anthony Dwyer inspected this house in the 1980s with a view to renting it but decided on a house in Newtown or Enmore instead.
- In 1937 they were at 174 Bridge Road, and in 1943 they were at 205 Bridge Road. )
1st photo: 270 Bridge Road Forest Lodge, 2nd photo: 205 Bridge Road Glebe (both obscured by trees)
Both photos taken by Anthony Dwyer in 2005
In the Depression the milkmen were required to give one gallon of milk away every day to the poor. Things continued to worsen and Jack Lang, N.S.W. Premier at the time, brought in the Block System which involved pretty drastic measures for finance and it prevented small milkmen from getting customers as they shifted out and the bottom fell out of the milk trade giving the dairy farmers co-operative and others a monopoly position. Then the bank troubles started and people began to take their money out of the banks, as they were allowed to do, never to put it back in again. (Read more about the NSW financial crisis at Wikipedia.)
I got Aunt Nell (my sister) over from Melbourne to look after the dairy and shop (we sold milk, honey, cream and eggs) and I took a job as a cook in the city as our rent was fairly high. Eventually, when things got unsettled, Andy sold the runs to the Northern Milk Company and we went to live permanently at Whistler Street (this would be Whistler Street Manly).