The formative years of William Patrick (Pat) Robinson, from the mid-1920s through to 1942, were spent in Bulwarra Rd, Ultimo. In July 1996 Pat and youngest Mick were interviewed for an oral history project about this time in their lives. This interview provides a fascinating insight into not just the Robinsons, but working class family life in Ultimo before World War II.

1927

The Robinsons move to Ultimo

Times would have been tough for the Robinson family after World War I. Arthur Sams (by now calling himself Arthur Robinson) seems to have had no particular trade or work skill. Nellie had struggled for years as a single mother with a growing family to feed after separating from husband Robert Robinson while they were living in Waterloo (see The Journey from Arthur Conway to "Fither" Robinson).

The Robinson family must have been grateful therefore to secure a house rented from the Catholic Church at 259 Bulwarra Rd, Ultimo. The house, still standing today, was next door to a recently opened Catholic parish school and just down the road from the local Church, St Francis Xavier’s.

No doubt reflecting the generosity of the Church Pat and his younger brother, Michael (Mick) went to the parish school and for more than 10 years Pat served as altar boy at the church even though Arthur was nominally an Anglican. Both boys, as well as their sister also received their First Holy Communion and Confirmation while at Bulwarra Rd, cementing a strong personal commitment to Catholicism that was to last their whole lives.

First Holy Communion of Pat Robinson at Ultimo, about 1928.  Pat is the third boy from the left, top row — First Holy Communion of Pat Robinson at Ultimo, about 1928. Pat is the third boy from the left, top row

In July 1996 Pat and Mick were interviewed for an oral research project. This interview provides a fascinating insight into working class family life in Ultimo before World War II. The original tapes and notes of this interview are held in the Mitchell Public Library, Sydney and run for over two hours in total.

In his interview Pat recalls that when the family first moved into the house it had no electricity, an outside toilet and bathroom, gas lighting as well as a fuel stove for cooking and hot water. Both Pat's father, Arthur, and oldest brother, Robert (“Bobby”) Richard, lost their jobs early on in the Depression. The family was reliant on wages from the two eldest daughters, Winifred (usually called “Nellie”, like her mother) and Madeline.

The two sisters worked at the Reckitt and Coleman factory on a piecemeal basis in the manufacture of Reckitt’s “Bag Blue” an iconic product in those days used in laundry tubs during washing to brighten clothes. According to Pat his older sisters also did most of the household chores.

During his interview Pat reminisces using his billy cart to collect coal, wood and ice as well as being sent across the road for everyday items to a small general store. The family kept a “book” at the store in which their purchases were recorded for later payment. The billy cart was also Pat’s source of fun, using it to zoom down the hills in nearby streets.

By age 15 Pat himself went to work to bring more money into the house, while Arthur continued to scrounge work wherever he could.

Pat describes the house in detail, especially how small it seemed when he returned to it just a few weeks before the interview was conducted. He tells how, although life was tough, the Robinson children never went hungry. Pat also recounted how he always marvelled at his mother’s ability to prepare meals in the house’s primitive kitchen.

Mick recalled how his mother would walk into the city almost every Saturday across the old iron bridge that connected Ultimo to the city (since demolished as part of the Darling Harbour redevelopment) to go to the downtown shops. Family outings centred on picnics at Clifton Gardens and Nielsons Park.

Nellie Robinson (centre back) with her daughter, Madeline, and son, Pat, at Clifton Gardens, late 1920s.

Later in the 1930s the family’s situation improved a little, as Pat remembers first electricity being brought into the rooms downstairs, paid for by older brother Bobby. Later Bobby purchased the family's first radio and, later, Winifred bought a pianola. According to Pat that Pianola became the centrepiece of regular get togethers each Friday night, when there was open house at the Robinsons. Pat’s older siblings and their friends would bring food and the latest Pianola rolls to which they would all listen and sing along. Winifred also paid for the installation of a telephone which Pat and Mick believe was one of the first in the street.

But family was never well off. Arthur seems never to have held on to a steady job and Pat recalls that their mother, Nellie, had to go back to work in her fifties as a cleaning woman in offices.

The Robinsons moved from Bulwarra Rd to Cook Street, Randwick late in 1942 or early 1943. In his 1996 interview Pat talks fondly of his life in Ultimo. He emphasises that despite the family’s difficult circumstances he had no regrets growing up there.

Maurice-Robinson Family

The Robinsons at Bulwarra Rd

1927

The Robinsons move to Ultimo