PART TEN - Everybody Needs Good Neighbours

In this final part I set myself the task of finding some sort of explanation as to why Scott Bonnar
only stayed at Young Street for just a year, possibly a year and a half. After a century, we're not
likely to ever know.

The last advertisement at Young Street was dated Saturday, 7 July, 1917. The first advertisement at
his new address - at Bloor Court - was dated Wednesday, 11 July, 1917. That's a pretty accurate date
for the move to new premises just one block north of the Young Street address.

Apart from the obvious reasons, I would like to put forward two reasons that I found in the record
trail. The first is straightforward; the second explores "the dark side" of Young Street ...

For one thing, the premises were put up for sale in March of 1917. In the advertisement I reproduce
below, we learn a lot about the physicality of the church property. Note that the 'stone structure'
is the church itself; the slightly larger corrugated iron 'workshop' was the original church hall,
which fronted the Eliza Street side of the property. Of particular interest is the suggestion for
purpose - manufacturing or motor garage! That's what Scott Bonnar had used it for; that's what Ern
Bateup (and others) would use it for shortly.

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THE DARK SIDE
The second reason is left-of-field. To put it bluntly, Young Street gained a 'reputation' that was
less than savory for Christian loving Adelaide folk.

Here's a great 1917 photograph of the east side [taken from the Photo 3 point on my Mud Map]. If Scott
Bonnar walked out the front of his shop, and looked across the street, he would have been facing the
little shop with the awning, and a row of residential tenements. That was Mrs Zschorn's shop, listed
as 'confectioner and cool drinks' in the 1917 Directory.

The stern looking woman at door (with barefoot child) is at No.10. I wonder if she's the Mrs S. Smith
listed in the Directory? The building just visible on the far left is Publishers Limited, which was
shown in Part Two [Photo 1 of my Mud Map]. Here is Photo 3:-

[Linked Image]
Photo 3 Mud Map

These were working class folk. The thing is, though, in the time Scott Bonnar was in Young Street,
the residents (and their visitors) seemed to be getting in the newspapers way above the normal frequency.

Let me cite a few examples. It was reported in the Daily Herald (7/06/1916) that Frederick Smith (No.10)
received two months' imprisonment for "using indecent language to his wife in Young Street". He had six
previous convictions for similar offences. Fred would stay in the papers, for in March of 1918 he would
accuse his wife of inflicting a scalp wound. Of course, this is domestic violence, and it can happen
anywhere - as it also did at No.14, in a shocking case of a wife being abused, assaulted, and then thrown
out in the rain. Not fully dressed, she crawled her way to her aunt's place.

However, nothing would compare with the scandal that would erupt over 'other behaviours' that would
occur on this side of the street. It would make headlines in all the papers for months ...

TO BE CONTINUED ...